One Thing Makes Seahawks' Brian Fleury Stand Out

Only a handful of offensive coordinators in the NFL share a common trait with Brian Fleury of the Seattle Seahawks.

Fleury has spent most of his coaching career on the defensive side of the ball, which has shaped how he has coached the offense in his past few seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. He thinks that will give him a big advantage in his role as the Seahawks offensive coordinator.

"I was fortunate enough to work in a bunch of different styles of defense," Fleury said via ESPN insider Brady Henderson.

"So it makes it easier for me, I think, to diagnose how the defense is operating, how they're built, where the coverage structure is and how it works with the fronts. What that allows me to do is -- probably quicker than maybe some other people -- get to ways to unlock that both formationally and then structurally and put pressure on them to create conflicts."

San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury against the Arizona Cardinals. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Fleury's Defensive Experience Should Help Seahawks Offense

While Fleury isn't the only offensive coordinator in the league that has been an assistant coach on defense, he is the only one that has been a defensive coordinator in his past. Fleury served as the defensive coordinator for Sacred Heart University from 2006 to 2008 and has spent most of his 20-plus years in coaching on the defensive side of the ball.

He moved over to the offense in 2020 with the Niners as a quality control coach, but that should give the Seahawks a unique perspective in building the offense. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald feels he is ready for what Fleury is going to bring to the team.

"You're going to have to grow into any new role, but we have a lot of great people around here and a lot of great opportunities for him to get ready to go and I'm really confident that he's going to be off and running sooner than later," Macdonald said via Henderson. "So I'm excited about it. It's going to be a fun process to build this thing."

Fleury will have the course of the offseason to figure out quarterback Sam Darnold and the rest of the offense in hopes of getting the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl to hoist the Lombardi Trophy once again.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold reacts during the Super Bowl LX parade. | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

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