Seahawks assistant getting interviewed for a promotion to DC in Washington

When your team goes 14-3, the rest of the league is going to be hot to trot on your coaching staff. Such is the circle of life in the NFL. The Seahawks are likely to go through some brain drain this offseason, with Klint Kubiak and Aden Durde both earning head coaching interviews already, and Jake Peetz potentially in line to get an offensive coordinator role.

And now, there’s another assistant who is getting some attention as a potential coordinator. According to Brady Henderson and John Keim, the Washington Commanders are considering hiring Karl Scott to be their new defensive coordinator under Dan Quinn. The Commanders fired their former DC, Joe Whitt Jr, who lost playcalling duties to Quinn midseason after a bad start.

Karl Scott has served as defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator in Seattle since 2022, the lone holdover from the Pete Carroll era. Hired by Carroll in 2022 when the team switched from Ken Norton Jr to Clint Hurtt at defensive coordinator, Scott kept his job and responsibilities under Macdonald.

He’s overseen a secondary that has transformed dramatically since his hiring, drafting players like Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant, Devon Witherspoon, and Nick Emmanwori, as well as signing Julian Love. It’s a defensive back room that bears no real resemblance to the one from before Scott arrived, Seattle having quickly cycled through players to get to the current roster.

Washington has interviewed multiple candidates for the open position already, and Scott stands out in that he’s the only one who doesn’t have prior NFL defensive coordinator experience. Washington would presumably want their DC to act as playcaller for the defense, as Whitt called plays for them last year until underperformance saw Quinn take the reins.

Scott’s interview occurred during Seattle’s bye week, as that was the only window where an interview with a coach still in the postseason would have been permitted. Scott can not be interviewed again, nor officially hired, until Seattle is either eliminated or the week immediately following the conference championship games.

As Scott was initially hired by Carroll after one year with the Vikings, he technically falls under the Pete Carroll coaching tree, which might explain some of the interest Dan Quinn has in him. Quinn’s staff in Washington includes former Seahawks like Larry Izzo, Ken Norton Jr, and Brian Schneider.

We’ll see if Scott ends up the pick here, or if he gets other interviews in future weeks, but it’s becoming clear that the Seattle coaching staff is very desirable to other teams trying to fill out their coaching ranks, and there will be significant losses this offseason no matter what happens next. Another reason to make sure you win now while the opportunity is there.

He might be flying to another team soon. — Seattle Seahawks defensive backs coach Karl Scott. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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