The biggest threat to the Seattle Seahawks’ chances of repeating as Super Bowl champions isn’t the star-studded Los Angeles Rams, nor the lack of a marquee edge-rusher or the loss of key players like big-game MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency. Instead, it’s a change at the coaching level involving a “whiz kid” and the “inescapable decline” his absence is predicted to create for some of the Seahawks’ most-productive players.
That’s the sobering verdict offered by ESPN’s Benjamin Solak about the Seahawks hiring Brian Fleury to replace former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The latter got the job as new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders largely based on how his “offense was a revelation” for Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and quarterback Sam Darnold in 2025.
Solak noted how JSN “produced a stunning 44% of the team’s receiving yards (the highest number for a wideout since Brandon Marshall with the 2012 Bears).”
The Kubiak system also helped Darnold show off “his arm talent and springy movement skills while hiding his shaky decision-making and play under pressure.”
Maintaining the high bar Kubiak set will be tough for Fleury because, as Solak puts it, “it’s tough to be the guy who follows the whiz kid.” This difficult entry point is why Solak believes “inescapable decline is awaiting Seattle under Fleury.”
Fortunately, first-year play-caller Fleury is already making a big change to help the Seahawks’ bluechip skill-players stay on track. He can also defy expectations by replicating two things he learned from Kyle Shanahan with NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers.
Brian Fleury Can Alter Klint Kubiak Plan in Key Way
Getting the same level of individual production from Smith-Njigba and Darnold as Kubiak did, will be tough for Fleury. The good news he doesn’t have to try, not when he can alter the Kubiak plan in a key way.
Change would first involve Fleury reducing the focus on the connection between Darnold and Smith-Njigba. Solak advises Fleury to remember how Shanahan did things in San Francisco, specifically by cycling “through a cast of viable leading target getters week over week. One day it’s the George Kittle game. Then it’s Deebo Samuel week. Here comes a 10-target Christian McCaffrey performance. Insert a random Kendrick Bourne spike here.”
GettyThe Seahawks’ new offensive coordinator can defy negative predictions by taking a lesson from his old boss, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Fleury spent four seasons as seven-time Pro Bowler Kittle’s position coach, so he knows the value of keeping important receivers fresh by spreading targets around. That’s good news not only for Smith-Njigba on Fleury’s watch, but also for fellow wideouts like Rashid Shaheed, a natural speedster with breakout potential in 2026.
The Shanahan-esque approach can even help Fleury get more from veteran Cooper Kupp. He still knows how to get open, but Kupp was often lost in the JSN-centric passing game last season.
Fleury still won’t take too many targets away from Smith-Njigba, whose command of a sticky stat should keep him dominant even after the change of play-caller. Yet, it’s a different story in another area of the offense, where Fleury actually has an advantage over Kubiak.
One Change Better for Seahawks Offense
Keeping the running game strong without big-play threat Walker will be difficult. Particularly when Walker’s power-back complement from last season, Zach Charbonnet, remains on the shelf recovering from a torn ACL and subsequent surgery.
Ironically, those things have set up a committee approach perfect for what Fleury saw work with the 49ers. As Solak pointed out, “Fleury might have a big edge on Kubiak” thanks to how “Shanahan’s running games were long prone to running back rotations before McCaffrey came to town, and Fleury saw first hand how a simple blocking system with tons of window dressing could autoprint effective rushing numbers.”
It’s a strong argument in favor of the Seahawks splitting carries and still being productive on the ground. Particularly when the team signed Emanuel Wilson in free agency, then selected Jadarian Price in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.
Fleury has enough intriguing runners to cobble together a positive rotation already endorsed by a Seahawks great. Even after fans were warned to slow the hype about one offseason standout.
The Seahawks still being a potent offense without Kubiak will depend less on personnel, and more on how Fleury shifts from relying on one or two star names, to a more collective approach in both phases of the attack.
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