Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is known as a meticulous decision-maker, which is why his search for a new offensive coordinator is now well into its third week.
But things appear to be heating up.
Fifteen days after Seattle fired Ryan Grubb, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported Tuesday that Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley was scheduled for a second, in-person interview with the team later that day. Fraley’s initial interview was held virtually during the Lions’ first-round bye, but with their playoff run over, the two sides can now meet face-to-face.
Fraley, 47, joins New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Minnesota Vikings assistant OC/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski as candidates who have advanced to a second round of interviews with Seattle. The team also interviewed Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown and former NFL quarterback and OC Byron Leftwich, and is compliant with the Rooney Rule.
Those are the known candidates, though it’s possible there are more names that haven’t been reported.
Kubiak, 37, has the most experience of the trio to get second interviews, not to mention some famous NFL bloodlines. He served as OC for Minnesota in 2021 and New Orleans last season, and called plays for the second half of 2022 for the Denver Broncos after head coach Nathaniel Hackett relinquished those duties. He is the son of Gary Kubiak, former coach of the Houston Texans and Broncos.
Kubiak’s resume as a playcaller begs a significant question — how committed to the run will he be? After all, that was perhaps the biggest reason why the defensive-minded Macdonald fired the pass-happy Grubb after just one season.
That likely wouldn’t be much of a question with Fraley, even though he’s never been a coordinator. Offensive linemen generally love to run the ball, and Fraley played center for 11 seasons in the NFL and has been coaching the position since 2012. He’s spent the last seven seasons with the Lions, who have the league’s fifth-highest designed rush rate over the last two years.
Udinski has made a fast rise through the coaching ranks, going from an assistant to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2022 to interviews for Seattle’s OC vacancy at 28 years old. But after the failed experiment with Grubb, would Macdonald want to take a big swing on someone young and inexperienced?
Udinski has never been a full-time position coach, let alone a playcaller, which makes it hard to fathom how a defensive coach like Macdonald would be comfortable handing him the keys to Seattle’s offense — especially considering the pass-heavy scheme in which he’s spent his formative years as a coach. In three seasons under O’Connell, Minnesota ranks 28th in designed rush rate.
If the Seahawks view Udinski as a rising star, it would make more sense to get him on their offensive staff as a high-ranking assistant under a more experienced coordinator like Kubiak or Fraley.
Whenever the Seahawks hire a coordinator, the next big question they’ll have to tackle is the future of quarterback Geno Smith, who enters another offseason of uncertainty as he seeks an extension.
Here’s a guide to the Seahawks’ offseason that includes pending free agents, important dates and cap space concerns.
Free agents
After helping transform Seattle’s defense once he arrived in a midseason trade, linebacker Ernest Jones IV will be the most important of the team’s 10 unrestricted free agents to re-sign. To hear him talk about it, he may also be the most likely to do so.
After the Seahawks’ season finale, Jones said talks were “headed in the right direction, for sure,” despite a report that the two sides had put them on hold.
“We’re going to get it done,” he said. “I’m going to be a Seahawk — I firmly believe that … My agents and the front office, we’re going to get it figured out.”
Jones said he “definitely” thinks a deal will get done before free agency, which begins with the opening of the negotiating window on March 10. The franchise tag shouldn’t come into play here. Because inside linebackers and pass-rushing outside linebackers are all lumped together for franchise-tag purposes, the cost to use it on Jones would be prohibitively expensive — more than $27 million, per OverTheCap.com (OTC).
None of the Seahawks’ other UFAs are tag candidates.
Jarran Reed is the biggest name among them. The veteran defensive tackle volunteered late in the season that he wants to re-sign with the Seahawks. That makes sense given that Reed returned to Seattle two years ago despite an acrimonious departure in 2021, citing his appreciation for the organization. The last remaining link to the “Legion of Boom” era defenses had a strong season, recording 4.5 sacks while averaging 40 snaps a game and playing in all 17.
Seattle’s other UFAs: defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, safety K’Von Wallace, cornerback Artie Burns, cornerback Tre Brown, outside linebacker Trevis Gipson, tight end Pharaoh Brown, guard Laken Tomlinson and tackle Stone Forsythe.
Early offseason dates to know
March 16: Smith due $16 million roster bonus
That figure includes $6 million in contract escalators that the quarterback hit this past season. If Smith is on Seattle’s roster through March 16 — the fifth day of free agency — he’ll get that $16 million bonus.
This wouldn’t necessarily be a hard deadline to determine whether he’ll remain with the Seahawks in 2025, but March roster bonuses exist for a reason. Agents push for teams to include them in contracts because if their player’s status with the team may be in limbo, they want clarity as early in the offseason as possible.
If the Seahawks are going to move on from Smith this offseason — whether it’s because they can’t agree to an extension and/or another quarterback-needy team makes them a strong trade offer — they have a $16 million incentive to do it before March 16.
April 21: Likely start of Seahawks’ offseason workout program
Teams with new head coaches get a two-week head start, which was the case with Macdonald and the Seahawks last offseason. But teams with returning head coaches can’t start until April 21 — three days before the start of the NFL draft.
May 1: Deadline to exercise Charles Cross‘ fifth-year option
Because Seattle’s left tackle hit certain playing-time thresholds over his first three seasons but did not make a Pro Bowl, OTC.com projects his option to cost $18.427 million for 2026. Exercising these options essentially establishes that fifth-year cost as the floor in terms of per-year average when negotiating a long-term deal, which is likely one reason the Seahawks have largely steered clear of doing so under Schneider.
Cross has been a solid player since the Seahawks drafted him ninth overall in 2022, and for as bad as Seattle’s offensive line was as a whole last year, Cross had his best season. He ranked 16th among all tackles in pass block win rate while playing virtually every snap.
Cap space
Per OTC, the Seahawks are around $27 million over the projected spending limit for 2025, with only two teams deeper in the red than Seattle. Extensions for Smith ($44.5 million cap number) and/or receiver DK Metcalf ($31.9 million) could create space by lowering their cap numbers for 2025, but Macdonald, general manager John Schneider and cap guru Joey Laine will also have to slash some big salaries.
Tyler Lockett, the second-most prolific receiver in franchise history, is an obvious cut candidate with the $30.9 million he’s set to count against the cap. If the two sides are unable to agree to another pay cut like they did last year, cutting Lockett would free up the $17 million he’s set to make.
Defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones ($25.6 million cap charge, $11.6 million savings), safety Rayshawn Jenkins ($7.8 million, $5.3 million) and swing tackle George Fant ($5.7 million, $3.8 million) are three other players who are almost certain to not be back on their current contracts.
The Seahawks don’t just need to free up cap space for free agency, draft picks and their in-season fund. They also have several key players who are eligible for extensions to their rookie contracts like Cross, outside linebacker Boye Mafe, running back Kenneth Walker III and cornerback Riq Woolen. Extensions for those players would significantly increase their cap numbers and/or cash earnings in 2025.
Draft capital
The Seahawks will have the 18th pick in the draft after finishing 10-7 and missing the playoffs. OTC projects them to have three compensatory picks — a fourth, a fifth and a sixth. That would give them eight selections in all — one in each round plus an extra sixth.
