The Seattle Seahawks Can’t Win Without Dan Quinn

By Curt Popejoy | Oct 19, 2015

There is a debate that has raged in the NFL about the importance of players compared to coaches. Some argue that average coaches can be successful if they have elite talent, and vice versa, an elite coach can win with average talent. The Seattle Seahawks are proving this season that even with great talent, they cannot be successful without the coaching to match.

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Specifically, we are talking about the Seattle defense. This group has been praised over the past two seasons for being among the very best in the league. This group attacks and dictates what opposing offenses can do. In particular, the secondary for Seattle is absolutely loaded. Their ability to dictate coverage on the back end allows the front seven to just tee off on opposing quarterbacks. Or at least this has been the case prior to this season.

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This season, the vaunted Seattle defense has crumbled in the final quarters of games, allowing teams to make comebacks, and resulting in Seattle losses. And what is the difference between this season’s version of the Seattle defense compared to the past two seasons? It’s all about former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Quinn has moved on to Atlanta and is already turning the Falcons defense around as their new head coach.

In his place is former assistant Kris Richard, and things are not going well. It’s hard to have any sympathy for Richard as he was handed a roster that most defensive coordinators would do anything to coach. There might not be a group that offers more defensive flexibility in the league.

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So then why is it that this group continues to let opposing offenses to come back and beat them late in games? Much of it comes down to struggles with defensive playcalling. This was epitomized with the final play of the 27-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. A miscommunication on the call coming in off the sidelines had half of the secondary in zone coverage, while the other half was in man.

This allowed Panthers tight end Greg Olsen to get behind both cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas for the game-winning touchdown. These are two guys touted as the top players at their respective positions, and all they could do is sit in stunned silence, arms out and mouths open, looking to each other for answers.

It seems fairly clear at this point that the loss of Quinn has hit this group much harder than the franchise anticipated when they simply chose to promote Richard from within, rather than seek out an experienced coordinator for the job.

He hasn’t instilled the closer mentality that Quinn did. In all four of Seattle’s losses, they went into the fourth quarter with a lead, and gave it up. These problems have seeped into the other aspects of the Seattle defense, as the Seahawks are No. 10 in the league with only 13 sacks through six games. This impacts turnovers as well, as Seattle only has three interceptions through those same six games.

The bottom line is that from a playoffs standpoint, this season isn’t over, but definitely on life support. Since 1978 only eight teams have started the season and made the playoffs. With the Arizona Cardinals holding a firm grip on the NFC West lead, Richard needs to channel his inner coach Quinn, and find a way to rally the troops. Richard was handed the keys to the candy store and so far all he seems to be finding is quinoa.

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