Larry Izzo's Hands Off Approach Helps Michael Dickson, Seahawks' Special Teams Thrive
RENTON, WA - With their regular season opener against the Falcons only a few days away, the Seahawks' coaching staff took a significant hit last September when long-time special teams coordinator Brian Schneider took a leave of absence for undisclosed personal reasons.
At the time, it remained unclear how long Schneider would be away from the team. Coach Pete Carroll wasn't able to offer any clarity on the situation when speaking with reporters, dropping the unexpected bombshell before exiting the podium after wrapping up his weekly Friday press conference.
One of his most trusted assistants, Schneider had been on Carroll's staff since his final season at USC in 2009 before joining him in Seattle. He had served as the team's special teams coordinator for a decade, overseeing several top-ranked units during his tenure. His absence created big shoes to fill, but thankfully, the franchise had a viable in-house option waiting in the wings.
With Schneider out indefinitely, the Seahawks tabbed long-time assistant Larry Izzo as his replacement, giving him the interim special teams coordinator tag. Stepping into the role without a hitch, the former Pro Bowl specialist elevated the team's performance across the board in the third phase of the game, guiding one of the most improved units in the entire NFL.
In 2019, per Football Outsiders, Seattle ranked 19th in special teams DVOA, which estimates how many points, compared to NFL average, each team receives from the five elements of special teams: field goals and extra points, kickoffs, kick returns, punts, and punt returns. Under Izzo's watch, the team improved 17 spots in 2020, finishing third overall in special teams DVOA behind only New England and Baltimore.
What's the secret behind the rapid turnaround? From punter Michael Dickson's perspective, players hold Izzo in high regard because of his own personal success as an NFL special teams ace. But most importantly, he has earned the trust of his players and doesn't try to over-coach them, instead deploying a more hands-off approach to bring out the best in everyone.
"His coaching style is one - you know his history, you know what he did as a player - he has a way of communicating that to the rest of the guys," Dickson said on Tuesday following Seattle's eighth OTA practice. "He kinda steps back and lets his specialists do their own thing, which every specialist dreams of. Just being able to do your own work and feeding off each other, which he really lets that happen. If there's an issue, he'll point it out and correct a couple things. But he's really good at just doing what works with us."
Two of the Seahawks' best special teams players - long snapper Tyler Ott and kick coverage marvel Nick Bellore - earned their first career Pro Bowl selections. Bellore racked up 14 tackles on punt and kick coverage, ranking among league leaders in that category. Meanwhile, Ott's consistency and excellence snapping the football played a key role in strong seasons by kicker Jason Myers and Dickson, who each had sensational seasons and may have been All-Pro snubs.
Coming off a turbulent first season in Seattle, Myers didn't miss a single field goal in 2020 and broke Olindo Mare's franchise mark for consecutive field goals made. He also nailed a franchise-best 61-yard field goal in Week 10 against the Rams, helping the Seahawks finish first overall in DVOA on field goals and extra points.
As for Dickson, he bounced back from a pedestrian 2019 season by his standards and returned to the upper echelon of NFL punters, breaking his own team record averaging 49.6 yards per punt. He also led the NFL with 32 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line, continuing to help the Seahawks win the field position battle. Due to his immense success, the team finished third in DVOA for punting last season.
"Last year, I made sure I was super objective about everything and took all of the emotion out of it and that really allowed me to improve and stay consistent," Dickson stated.
After spearheading Seattle's rise to a top-five special teams unit, Izzo's interim tag became a permanent position in January, as Schneider departed for Jacksonville and has since taken another leave of absence. Entering his first full season as special teams coordinator, the vast majority of Seattle's core players from a year ago will remain on the team, including Bellore, Myers, Dickson, linebacker Cody Barton, and cornerback D.J. Reed, who added some punch to the team's return game in the second half.
Given this continuity on the coaching staff as well as the roster, expectations remain sky-high for Dickson and the Seahawks on special teams. With several young players such as Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven leading the way and Izzo back at the controls, the recently-extended punter believes the team will prove last year's performance wasn't a fluke and take their game to another stratosphere in 2021.
"This year, I'm just as excited about the group of guys we've got. We've got Bellore, Cody, Ott, Jason. We're stacked, so I'm really pumped."
