The Seattle Seahawks let offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb go a day after the season ended. He was likely doomed from the start. He did not help his cause by not designing many plays that work in short-yardage situations, and not adjusting from trying to game-plan against players to game-planning against schemes. Maybe Grubb simply could not do that.
The blame can be passed around a bit when it comes to what happened to the offense in the last three-fourths of the season. After starting fairly well, including putting up 516 total yards and 38 first downs against a very good Detroit Lions team in Week 4, the offense became more bogged down in the red zone, and less efficient everywhere else on the field.
Sure, quarterback Geno Smith threw too many red zone interceptions (four, which led the NFL). He could have had another pick or two had the defender who had just been hit in the chest with a pass caught the ball. Smith's 15 interceptions overall were third-worst in the league. Maybe around six of them are not his fault (the ball bounced off a receiver's hands and so on), but a pick is a pick.
Former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb might still have a job except for John Schneider
Ultimately, what might have hurt Grubb the most, despite his limited ability to be original in his play-calling once the ball got near the opponent's goal line, is general manager John Schneider's decision-making when it comes to building an offensive line. Schneider has been around long enough and successful enough for his job to be safe (for now), but that doesn't help Grubb.
Schneider said last offseason that he feels guards are over-drafted and overpaid. That simply cannot be true. The general manager could not have watched how porous his offensive line was this season and thought nearly anything else could be the biggest issue with the offense other than the right side of the O-line specifically. If does think something else, his job should definitely be in jeopardy.
No matter what Grubb would have tried to run, it would have been hampered by the lack of quality from the players who were paid to block. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Seahawks had the second-worst offensive line in the NFL. The team gave up 233 pressures on 670 pass attempts. Seattle also gave up 50 sacks, which was the second-worst in the league.
Were those numbers a bit higher because Geno Smith held on to the ball too long at times? Maybe. Maybe the numbers were augmented by Grubb's scheme which needs time to have plays develop down the field. If the offensive line is bad, though, those plays do not have time.
Schneider chose to sign center Connor Williams in free agency when Williams had recently been cleared to play from an ACL injury. The issue was Williams did not seem mentally ready to play. He decided to retire in Week 11.
Schneider and his scouting department also decided to draft right guard Christian Haynes in the third round and promised he would be the bullish guard the team needed. Instead, Haynes seemingly had problems knowing the right way to approach being a professional football player. He was eventually passed by sixth-round pick Sataoa Laumea as the starter late in the season. At the time, Laumea had not played a single down in the NFL.
Right tackle likely was not anyone's issue. Starter Abraham Lucas was still recovering from knee surgery until late in the season. Veteran free agent acquisition George Fant got hurt in Week 1. Seattle had to play third-and-fourth string players for a chunk of the year.
Left guard Laken Tomlinson wasn't awful in pass protection, but he was terrible at run-blocking. This further limited the Seahawks' potential to rush. For far too much of the season, the offense was one-dimensional. This made it easier for opposing defenses to guess what Seattle would do on each down and in each situation.
Still, if John Schneider was better at addressing the issues on the offensive line, a unit that has been a problem for a decade, then maybe Grubb still has a job. If Schneider continues to not be able to fix the O-line, a replacement for him may need to be found.
