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Brady HendersonESPN
SEATTLE – At his news conference Tuesday, the new Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron, sounded a lot like the head coach who just hired him.
He said his offensive approach began with the belief that it was “all about the ball,” an introductory phrase by Pete Carroll that underscores the importance of winning the fight for turnover. He made several mentions about his desire for offensive balance and one about the complementary football game, two more favorites of Carroll.
No wonder the Seahawks replaced Waldron with Brian Schottenheimer, whose conflict with Carroll led the team to announce last month that he would not return after three seasons due to “philosophical differences.”
“In my opinion, what was so natural about the interview process was that there was so much philosophical alignment between him and me,” Waldron said. “I mentioned this to him: it wasn’t like an interview where you try to sell yourself to win a job in any kind of sales pitch. It was a conversation and it was a discussion about football that had so much many things in alignment, which felt like a natural progression, as we got to know each other and talk through things, so so many things were naturally aligned, and there I think I felt very good about the process. “
As much as Carroll and Waldron woke up on the same page where they talked on the phone, FaceTime and Zoom over several days, Carroll did not come to his decision alone. Defender Russell Wilson has made it clear that he wants to be involved in the hiring process – and he has been. A source told ESPN that Waldron was among the candidates Wilson liked the most during the two-week search and that the defender was delighted with the job.
Jake Heaps, Wilson’s quarterback’s personal trainer and co-host of 710 ESPN Seattle, called Waldron the “perfect network” of what Carroll and Wilson want in their new OC.
“I had a great chance to meet him as a person,” Waldron said of his conversations with Wilson both during and after the interview process. “[We] we talked a lot about our families and we know each other more as people, because I think the football part will be an important part of it when the time is right, but our conversations focused on who we are as people because you are in a room with some boys for many hours every day, when that season starts to run. … He seems to have this relentless desire to be better, to be the best he can have, so I think when we started talking about those things, there were some really fun conversations. . “
Waldron’s coaching career included college internships at Notre Dame and UMass, a year in UFL and NFL jobs with the New England Patriots and the Washington Football Team before his four-year run with the Los Angeles Rams. He said he took things from every stop to build an offensive philosophy centered around three things: protecting the ball, the basics and balance.
“I think the most important part of Russell Wilson in this system is that he has the ability to do a lot of different things and just because I say it’s a balanced attack doesn’t mean it’s a conservative attack,” he said. said. “I never want to get so confused.”
What was not clear from Waldron’s first comments on the Seattle reports was how much of the Seahawks offense will be what it brings compared to what they were already doing.
“I have a set of core beliefs that I will uphold, but we will build this together,” he said. “I think the only thing with Russell and the rest of the players on this team is they have a great base and they’ve won a lot of football games together, so will there be parts of things to take over?” Absolutely, because there have been some great things they’ve done in the past. “
Waldron called Sean McVay a friend and mentor while saying the Rams head coach was key to helping him get where he was. Waldron has spent the past three seasons as game coordinator in Los Angeles and said he wears various hats in that role, including being responsible for certain situational aspects of the games, helping with game planning and being in headphones with McVay. Waldron also held the title of QB coach in 2019.
One thing he didn’t do: call the tracks. McVay handled these tasks with the Rams. Waldron didn’t do that in college or in the NFL, at least not in a game itself.
“It’s a great challenge and I’ve been preparing it for the rest of my life,” he said. “So, I think it’s one of those things that I’m ready to start with and excited to attack this opportunity. I learned a ton from Sean along the way. With that gaming experience, it allowed me to do it in different settings, whether it’s pre-season or scrimmage or practice. So I had a helping hand in this way knowing that obviously this is not the real deal and that opportunity will arise.
“I’m a guy who likes to train. I want to be organized, I want to have that really consistent approach, and in my mind, training started a long time ago and I can’t wait for this chance to continue. o. “
Waldron brings with him an assistant from Los Angeles to Andy Dickerson, who will be the game coordinator in Seattle. This position was vacant, with Brennan Carroll leaving Seattle staff to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Arizona. Waldron said that when Carroll asked him if he wanted to bring someone with him who could help with the transition, his first thought was Dickerson, who spent nine seasons as assistant coach of Rams’ offensive line. He and Waldron were teammates at Tufts University.