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It’s a been less than two months since the Seattle Seahawks saw their 2020 season come to a close in a Wild Card loss at home to the Los Angeles Rams, but even as free agency remains a couple of weeks away, the Seahawks have already seen significant changes. Specifically, when it comes to the coaching staff, the team has seen a substantial number of changes to the coaches on the offensive side of the ball, and according to a report Sunday from The Athletic, there are also changes on the defensive side.
I can confirm some Seahawks coaching assistant staff changes as first reported by @TheAthletic. Smith will return to a role of helping with clock and game management. DeShawn Shead being added as a replacement for Tom Donatell, who had been a defensive quality control coach. https://t.co/J68Ep35qK7
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) February 28, 2021
So DeShawn Shead will be added to the defensive coaching staff, replacing Tom Donatell, who had left the Seahawks to join the Los Angeles Chargers in late January. In addition, Carl Smith, a former quarterbacks coach and long time colleague of Pete Carroll will return. Smith and Carroll worked together at NC State during the 1982 season, when Carroll was the defensive coordinator and Smith the offensive coordinator under head coach Monte Kiffin.
In any case, the changes on the coaching staff continue a trend of change on a coaching staff that has seen the departures of Steve Shimko, Pat Ruel, Brian Schottenheimer, Brennan Carroll, Sanjay Lal and Tom Donatell since the end of the 2019 season. In addition, both Nate Carroll and Brian Schneider (now with the Jaguars) spent time away from the team during the 2020 season, and there is certainly the possibility for further changes in the coming weeks until the team formally announces its coaching staff for the 2021 season.