More than half of the Seahawks’ 2018 opponents will have revamped coaching staffs

No matter what happens to the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff this offseason, we do know that several of their 2018 opponents will have new head coaches and/or several new assistants. Just take a look at what’s already happened!

Arizona Cardinals (playing Seattle 2x) - Need a new head coach (and presumably a new staff) after Bruce Arians retired.

Kansas City Chiefs - Promoted Eric Bieniemy to offensive coordinator after Matt Nagy took the Chicago Bears head coaching gig, possibly need a new defensive coordinator if Bob Sutton is fired. The Chiefs were 30th in defensive DVOA, so Sutton might be a goner.

Dallas Cowboys - Fired QB coach Wade Wilson and secondary coach Joe Baker. Wide Receivers coach Derek Dooley was also let go, and he’s now back in college football with Missouri. Special Teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was let out of his contract and is expect to join the Raiders staff. Tight ends coach Steve Loney is retiring, and passing game coordinator/linebackers coach Matt Eberflus is not expected to return.

Green Bay Packers - Fired offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett, defensive coordinator Dom Capers, QBs coach Alex Van Pelt, defensive line coach Mike Trgovac, and assistant linebackers coach Scott McCurley. Mike McCarthy stays on as head coach.

Denver Broncos - Fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy midseason, and after Week 17 they axed offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, Special Teams coach Brock Olivo, Wide Receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs coach Eric Studesville, and outside linebackers coach Fred Pagac. Curtis Modkins is the new RB coach, while Mike Sullivan has been brought on as Quarterbacks coach.

Oakland Raiders - Fired Jack Del Rio and his coaching staff, replaced by Jon Gruden as head coach, Paul Guenther as defensive coordinator, and Greg Olson as offensive coordinator.

Chicago Bears - Fired head coach John Fox, replaced by Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. Vic Fangio is expected to remain the Bears’ defensive coordinator.

Detroit Lions - Fired head coach Jim Caldwell, and still don’t have a replacement. Teryl Austin will be the new defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Carolina Panthers - Fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula and QB coach Ken Dorsey following their playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints.

—-

That’s ten of sixteen games against teams who’ve produced major staff shakeups. Seattle will play four opponents with new head coaches, another four with new offensive coordinators, and then the Cowboys have seen plenty of turnover even if it’s mostly at a mid-tier level.

As a little fun fact to close this piece out, the last time Seattle played against a Jon Gruden-coached team, the Seahawks lost 20-10 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football in 2008. The starting quarterbacks were Seneca Wallace and Jeff Garcia, and Seattle’s leading receiver was Koren Robinson (2 catches for 23 yards).