Seahawks fire coordinator after missing the playoffs
Seahawks offensive coordinator Darell Bevell is the latest NFL coach to get the ax, according to multiple reports.
The Seattle Times, NFL.com and ESPN, among others, reported Wednesday morning that the team is parting ways with Bevell after a disappointing 9-7 season. The Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Bevell was informed of his firing Tuesday night, according to the reports, but the team has not yet announced it.
He has been the Seahawks offensive coordinator for seven seasons.
This past season, Seattle ranked 15th in total offense and 11th in scoring, but the offense fell apart in the final few weeks of the season as the Hawks were pushing to make the playoffs.
They had only 149 yards of offense in a 42-7 thrashing by the Rams in Week 15 and just 136 yards in a 21-12 Week 16 win over the Cowboys.
The running game was virtually nonexistent. Seattle ranked 23rd in the league in rushing offense, and about one-third of that came from quarterback Russell Wilson, who had 586 of the team’s 1,629 rushing yards.
The Seahawks ranked 14th in passing offense.
The team’s leading receiver, Doug Baldwin, said after the season that Bevell is not the problem.
“It’s not play calling. It’s not play calling,” Baldwin said. “We go into a game knowing what the defense is going to give us, the situations that we’re going to be in. We don’t execute as a team. Offensively, that’s what we’ve seen time and time again is that we do not execute the way that we should. And that’s on us as players. You guys can blame Bev all you want to, but the truth of the matter is that Bev’s not the problem.”
Reports this morning that @Seahawks offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, is OUT. Here's what @DougBaldwinJr said at end of season. See @KIRO7Seattle LIVE report from @RobKIRO7 at 6AM. And as always, #GoHawks 💚💙 pic.twitter.com/8qgwmPfKtX
— Michelle Millman (@MichellMillman) January 10, 2018
The Seahawks have enjoyed great success since Bevell has been OC, winning Super Bowl XLVIII over the Broncos and coming within a second of repeating. Seattle lost Super Bowl XLIX to the Patriots when New England’s Malcolm Butler intercepted Wilson on the 1-yard line to seal the 28-24 win for the Pats.
It’s been labeled as one of the worst calls in Super Bowl history, considering Seattle had one of the most powerful running backs in the league in Marshawn Lynch, who led the NFL that year with 13 rushing touchdowns.
“Yes, I made the call,” Bevell said of the decision to pass on that play. “The guy made a great play.” Coach Pete Carroll and Wilson also took the blame for that call.
Darrell Bevell is still the best OC in Patriots history
— SFRESHH ☔️ (@SFRESHH17) January 10, 2018
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is considered a possible replacement, reports ESPN. Sarkisian was quarterbacks coach at USC under Carroll.
The Falcons take on the Eagles this Saturday in the NFC divisional playoffs.
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