Seahawks New Coach Hire? 5 'Young Gun' Replacements for Ousted Pete Carroll
The Seattle Seahawks don't have to "hire young.'' That is, however, the pattern these things usually follow. Fire a "taskmaker''-style coach? Replace him with a "professorial'' type, or an "avuncular'' type.''
Move along from Pete Carroll, 72, as the Seahawks have now done? Replace him with a "young gun.''
Dan Quinn, the former top aide here who was a successful head coach in Atlanta and is now a wildly popular head coach candidate due to his work with the Dallas Cowboys, is 53 - "young'' to some, but not for this exercise.
And we already know, via sources in Dallas, that Quinn has immediately vaulted onto Seattle's "wish list.''
But what about "young guns''? "New blood''? Here are five good names ...
Ben Johnson (Offensive coordinator, Detroit Lions) He's the hot-shot. He's 37. He runs the explosive offensive show in Detroit. If Seattle is about to draft a QB in the first round? Here's the guy to coach him.
Eric Bienemy (Offensive coordinator, Washington Commanders) Bienemy rubbed players the wrong way in Washington, but maybe that's because it's Washington that does things the wrong way. A mentor to Patrick Mahomes and a right-hand to Andy Reid in Kansas City, Bieniemy (age 54, but as he awaits his first chance at this? "Young'' to us!) could tighten up a locker room that didn't seem to always buy what Pete was selling.
Brian Callahan (Offensive coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals) Callahan, 39, has been the offensive coordinator with the Bengals since 2019. He's done it with Joe Burrow, but he's also helped lesser talents survive. He's also the son of long-time NFL offensive line coach Bill Callahan. Wanna bring him in, too?
Bobby Slowik (Offensive coordinator, Houston Texans) The Texans have another coach's son in charge, and what he's done with rookie C.J. Stroud has been a revelation. Slowik, 36, is from the Kyle Shanahan tree, and having coached in San Francisco knows his way around the NFC West. has done a great job with Stroud. It helps that the quarterback is as talented as he is — but Slowik has earned rave reviews from Texans fans.
Mike LaFleur (Offensive coordinator, Los Angeles Rams) Kyle Shanahan is also the "big-brother'' mentor here, and what's enticing about what LaFleur (with Sean McVay) has done with the Rams is about more than the QB. How's they become a power-running team all of the sudden? He knows the NFC West, and yup, he's also just 36.
