Pete Carroll hired Shane Waldron to be the new offensive coordinator of the Seahawks because they have the same vision.
This should come as a surprise to no one. Carroll fired offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer — reportedly set to become Jacksonville’s passing game coordinator — because they did not have the same vision. It would have been nonsensical for Carroll to follow that move by hiring someone else with whom he isn’t aligned philosophically. No matter whom Carroll chose to replace Schottenheimer, there was always going to be a line about being on the same page with the boss atop the “requirements” section of the job listing.
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That is how Carroll ended up with a first-time play caller with no direct links to Carroll or anyone he has worked with closely in recent years. Offensive creativity and strong relationships are apparently not as essential as getting in the (virtual) interview room and kicking the conversation off with a discussion of ball security. Which is why much of Waldron’s news conference sounded like a replay of Carroll’s weekly media sessions.
The first core principle of Waldron’s system: “It’s always going to be all about the ball. It starts there from an offensive perspective. There is no greater statistic that leads to wins and losses than that turnover differential.”
The second: “We’re going to be a fundamentally sound offense. From the start of the pee-wee football all the way up to the professional level it’s a great game, and it’s always based on fundamentals, and I don’t think that can get lost because you’re getting higher and higher up as far as the competition and the level of players.”
The third: “We’re going to be a balanced offense. It’s going to have that ability to create explosive plays with that attacking mindset. We want to be the one that the foot is on the gas pedal. I’m sure some of these questions will come up, the tempo and all that different stuff — well, hey, there’s going to be a wide variety of pieces to this offense, but that mindset is never going to change.”
It is not worthwhile to read too much into Waldron’s comments Tuesday. As he said, this is a relationship-based business, and right now this is the honeymoon stage. Everyone is excited. Egos aren’t an issue.
Will that change over time? There’s no good answer for that. But very few people would have imagined that Schottenheimer, the guy who in his first year stated he wanted to be able to run the ball even when the defense knew it was coming; who subscribed to Carroll’s Rule of 53; who came to Seattle with experience deploying run-heavy attacks, would, after coordinating three straight top-10 offenses, end up fired because he wasn’t in agreement with Carroll’s offensive mindset.
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As Waldron also said Tuesday, this is a results-based business, and whether Seattle’s offense is still on the field this time next year will mean more than anything Carroll or Waldron says this offseason. That said, two of Waldron’s statements will be key to determining how successful his stint in Seattle may end up being.
Waldron said he talked to Carroll “a bunch” about autonomy in his position as coordinator. Carroll has a history of stepping in (on both sides of the ball) and tailoring adjustments to his liking, so it’s understandable this was a subject of their conversations. Waldron said Carroll has his back and will be fully supportive.
“The way I’m looking at this thing, it’s like any other part of football: This is a team sport, everyone is in this together,” he said. “It will be through my direction that this offense is being run, with that great support of Coach Carroll.”
It’s hard to know what “through my direction” will truly mean, but if that holds true through Waldron’s good times and the bad times in Seattle, that qualifies as significant. Carroll is naturally risk-averse, which explains his “all about the ball” mentality. In Carroll’s mind, running is inherently safer than passing, which is why his primary adjustment to the “Let Russ Cook” era was to put the ball in the hands of the running backs. Waldron and Carroll may be totally aligned in this way, but in the event Waldron ever wants to pivot from that direction, his control over that pivot will be interesting to see. The public may never actually know how this plays out, but if 2020 is any indication, chances are the on-field product will give clues.
Asked about marrying the desires of Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson — which is the hardest part of Waldron’s job, really — the new play caller reiterated the importance of a balanced approach.
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“The great part about Russell Wilson within this system is he does have an ability to do a lot of different things,” Waldron said, “and just because I’m saying it’s a balanced attack doesn’t mean that’s a conservative attack. I don’t ever want to get that confused.”
“Balance” is a nice buzzword that means different things to different people, though Carroll has revealed where he’d like this team to be: close to 40-45 percent pass in early-down, neutral situations. It’s unclear whether Waldron has the same number in mind when it comes to run-pass distribution. Can a first-time coordinator implement an aggressive approach that maximizes the strengths of his franchise quarterback while also satisfying Carroll’s requirements for “balance”?
If the answer is yes, Seattle should achieve all of its offensive dreams during the course of this new partnership. If the answer is no … well, we’ve seen how that goes. Offensive coordinators don’t last long around here if Carroll’s plan is being carried out properly.
Waldron spoke for about 30 minutes Tuesday and, for the most part, said all the things you’d expect someone in his position to say. He’s grateful for the opportunity. He’s excited to work with Russell Wilson. He has a sense for the value of analytics.
Ultimately Waldron will be judged by how well he puts the Seahawks in a position to be playing football in February. Everyone is aligned on that mission, but recently there hasn’t been a clear vision for how to achieve it. Right now, Carroll and Waldron are on the same wavelength. The fate of the franchise rests on their ability to stay that way.
(Photo of Shane Waldron: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
