Breaking down Seahawks’ offensive, defensive schemes

Breaking down the offensive and defensive schemes of the Seattle Seahawks, who the Detroit Lions will square off against in Week 4.

In 2010, the Seattle Seahawks hired Pete Carroll as their head coach and vice president of football operations. He was part of the hiring process for Seattle’s general manager John Schneider, and has had a hand in everything the Seahawks have done for nearly a decade and a half—including bringing home a Super Bowl championship in 2013. But in 2024, following a 9-8 playoff-less season, Schneider and Carroll mutually agreed that the coach would step away from his current roles and into an advisory position.

After losing to a Carroll-led Seahawks team in each of the past three seasons, the Detroit Lions are surely happy to see Seattle making a change. But now, with a completely new coaching staff and scheme, the Lions have to figure out who the Seahawks are in 2024.

Seahawks head coach: Mike Macdonald

After moving on from Carroll, the Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald to be their next head coach. Macdonald is currently the youngest head coach in the NFL (age 36), but he has plenty of experience with big-name college programs and an established NFL organization.

Macdonald got his coaching start at the University of Georgia in 2010 as a graduate assistant. He moved to a defensive quality control coach in 2011-13, before making the jump to the NFL in 2014 as an intern for the Baltimore Ravens. Under John Harbaugh, Macdonald held multiple roles, including defensive assistant, defensive backs coach, and linebacker coach.

In 2021, Macdonald was hired by Jim Harbaugh for the University of Michigan’s defensive coordinator role. There he dramatically improved their defense, molding the scheme around current Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Macdonald is largely credited for unlocking Hutchinson’s game and helping him vault himself into becoming the second-overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

In 2022, Macdonald jumped back into the NFL, once again joining the Ravens, this time as their defensive coordinator. Over the last two seasons, the Ravens defense has been near the top of the NFL and helped him secure his position with the Seahawks.

Offensive coordinator: Ryan Grubb

Grubb didn’t have a relationship with Macdonald prior to joining his staff, but he has a long history of coaching successful offenses in college. Grubb connected with Kalen DeBoer back in 2007 and followed him on several coaching stops over the next 17 years, including stops at Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, and the University of Washington. Grubb was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at the University of Washington in 2022 and 2023, where he helped Washington develop a dynamic offense that made it to the 2024 National Championship team. Ironically, they lost to the University of Michigan, who boasted an elite defense that was built and molded in Macdonald’s image.

When DeBoer accepted the head coaching job at the University of Alabama, Grubb struck out on his own, landing his first position in the NFL as Seattle’s offensive coordinator.

Grubb’s modern pro-style offensive scheme

Grubb’s offense stems from the one he ran with DeBoer at the college level and is considered a modern pro-style.. They typically use two personnel groups, spending roughly 75% of their time in 11 personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end) because they have three outstanding wide receivers, leaving the remaining 25 % for 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends).

The goal is to be flexible in their playcalling, adjusting to their opponent, and aggressive in getting their skill players in preferred matchups. For example, against the Broncos, the Seahawks ran the ball 33 times and dropped back to pass 27. The following week, against the Patriots, they ran just 19 times and dropped back 47.

“Nothing that necessarily is too quirky,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of Grubb’s scheme. “There’s a few things they do and some of it comes in no-huddle to where, if they feel like they can get a beat on you to figure out what you’re doing coverage wise, it’s a little unique, but yet it’s not. […] It’s a very efficient offense. They’re playing to the strength of their players, what they’re able to do, and putting a lot of it in Geno (Smith)’s hands and he’s playing well, really.”

In the passing game, in addition to no-huddles, they’ll use delayed releases, crossing routes, and pick plays to get their players into advantageous positions. They tend to focus more on targeting the middle of the field, leaning on their slot weapon to create yards after the catch (YAC). When defenses shift their focus inside, Seattle will call up deep shots—typically a few each game—to try and exploit more vulnerabilities.

In the run game, Seattle tends to lean more on their RB1 for the majority of carries 65-85%, but with their top running back Kenneth Walker possibly returning from injury, it could be closer to a 50/50 split this week between him and Zach Charbonnet. If Walker can’t go, look for the Seahawks to lean heavily on Charbonnet. Quarterback Geno Smith is also capable of running, but it’s typically not a called play—he ran for 30 yards in Week 1, but just 8 in Week 2, and -2 yards in Week 3.

Defensive coordinator: Adon Durde

Durde was born in London, England, and played linebacker in NFL Europe as well as a few stints in the NFL—with the Panthers in 2005 and Chiefs in 2008—as part of the NFL’s International Development Practice Squad program. He never found a role as a player and turned to coaching in Europe in 2011.

In 2014, Durde accepted a job with the Cowboys as an intern, then moved on to a defensive quality control position with the Falcons in 2016, and worked his way up to linebackers coach in then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s defense. When Quinn took a defensive coordinator job with the Cowboys, Durde joined him as their defensive line coach from 2021 through 2023. He was hired as Seattle’s defensive coordinator in 2024.

Macdonald/Durde’s 34/24 defensive scheme

One of the appealing traits Durde brought to the table was his experience working with Quinn, who was Seattle’s defensive coordinator in 2013-14 during peak Legion of Boom years. The hope was, that Durde would be able to help Macdonald transition Seattle’s previous defensive structure into the new system Macdonald wanted to introduce. To further assist in this, Macdonald also hired former Michigan linebacker’s coach Chris Partridge for the same role in Seattle, as well as former defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier—whom Macdonald has known since 2016 from their time with the Ravens—as an advisor.

Macdonald calls the defensive plays on game day and has brought several of his defensive concepts with him. The Seahawks run a 34 base with zone coverage concepts in the secondary, but because they spend a lot of time in subpackages they typically reduce to a 24 look, eliminating a down defensive lineman in favor of adding a fifth defensive back, which can be a third corner or third safety depending on set.

Like the Ravens, the Seahawks don’t blitz much, only 19.2% in 2024 (25th most in the NFL), and instead add layers of deception so it’s difficult for offenses to pick up where pressure may be coming from. The pass rush is designed to bring pressure from a variety of sources and they will rotate their edge player frequently. Seven of the Seahawks’ 11 team sacks have come from edge players, with Boye Mafe and De’Mont Jones each leading the team with three. The defensive line has three sacks, while the one sack is credited to the off-the-ball linebacker group.

The OTB linebackers are typically used in coverage, and MIKE LB Tyrel Dodson is one of the best in the NFL. Amongst linebackers with at least 20 coverage snaps through three weeks, Dodson ranks third in PFF’s grading system (84.8).

In the secondary, cornerback Riq Woolen fits this system like a glove, and 2023 top-five pick Devon Witherspoon will lineup opposite him. When the Seahawks shift into nickel and prefer an extra corner on the field, Witherspoon will push inside and Tre Brown will play outside. If they prefer a heavier look in the secondary, Witherspoon will stay outside and Julian Love will drop into the slot, with K’Von Wallace taking one of their two deep safety roles.

At its core, the Seahawks’ coverage scheme is designed to clog the middle of the field with high-level coverage talent and force quarterbacks to make outside throws.

Where the Seahawks tend to be more vulnerable is stopping the run. Because they spend a lot of time in subpackages and lean on a lighter front, their six-man boxes can be physically overmatched by offensive lines who want to establish a power run game—which should play into the Lions’ strength. If the Seahawks commit more players to the box to stop the run, their zone coverage leaves them susceptible to quicker passes to skill players with YAC skills or deep shots to speedsters on the outside.