On their way to now two consecutive World Championship appearances, the Seattle Seahawks have become the blueprint for organizational rebuilds in the National Football League.
The Seahawks are set up to be a perennial nuisance to the National Football Conference (NFC) for the foreseeable future. If you’re an NFC organization hoping to build a championship roster, you better do it with the Seattle Seahawks in mind. They’ve become the team to beat. They are the team everyone hates. Yet, they’re a team whose structure will be imitated by many across the league for years to come.
In 2010, the foundation was established. Out went Head Coach Jim L. Mora, who succeeded Mike Holmgren and was fired after one season. In came former USC coach Pete Carroll, who was widely considered a better fit in college after failing to find success as an NFL Head Coach earlier in his career. Carroll opted to retain Defensive Coordinator Gus Bradley, which proved to be a wise decision. The Seahawks went on to name the Packers former football ops guy, John Schneider, as General Manager. Schneider later hired his good friend and former colleague, Scot McCloughan, as Senior Personnel Executive. McCloughan served as the 49ers General Manager but was fired prior to the draft that year. Schneider pulled him into the fold as a guy he respected and considered a top talent evaluator.
Together, Carrol, Schneider and McCloughan implemented a philosophy that would set the Seattle Seahawks up for sustained success. Their goal was to get bigger, younger and more competitive. They did a great job of that year one.
Weeks prior to McCloughan’s arrival, the Seahawks completed a draft that netted them: OT Russell Okung, WR Golden Tate, Safety Earl Thomas, CB Walter Thurmond, Safety Kam Chancellor and TE Anthony McCoy. They had already acquired DE Chris Clemons earlier that summer in a trade that sent Darryl Tapp to the Eagles. When Scot McCloughan arrived in June 2010, the team went on to sign a player he drafted with the 49ers – FB Michael Robinson. Then in October of that year, the team took a risk on a player with a troubled past – Marshawn Lynch. Seattle sent a 2011 fourth round pick and a 2012 conditional fifth round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Lynch.
The Seahawks only won seven games in 2010, but was able to win their division and earned a playoff berth. That, of course, was when “Beast Mode” made his presence known with that 67-yard thunderous run that shook the entire planet and helped Seattle win. They went on to lose in the divisional round, but the foundation was evident with the amount of talent they acquired that year. Not to mention, through trades that off-season, Seattle added draft picks that would be used to obtain CBs Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell and LB K.J. Wright in 2011. It’s safe to say, Seattle’s new regime hit the ground running.
Along with the aforementioned draftees in 2011, the Seahawks picked up a Canadian Football League (CFL) star, Brandon Browner. Unknowingly, the team had just put together the league’s best secondary in the matter of two off-seasons. Unfortunately, Pete Carroll’s Seahawks only won seven game in 2011. This time, they did so without winning a division title.
Seattle did not truly begin to taste the fruit of their labor until 2012 when they drafted a couple key pieces to their linebacking core in Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner. But the biggest acquisition of them all was drafting the undersized Quarterback out of Wisconsin — Russell Wilson — who battled his way to becoming Seattle’s starting QB.
With stability at Quarterback and a completely overhauled defense that went into super saiyan mode — Seattle rebuilt their team in only three years. They did it simply by finding and developing talent in the draft, making prudent free agent signings and taking a few risks along the way.
The Seattle Seahawks proved that quick turnarounds can happen in the NFL. Now, two years later, they’re on their way to possibly hoisting their second Lombardi Trophy in as many seasons. It would be an amazing feat considering that they are a very young team.
Teams across the league that have struggled to find that winning formula should follow the Seahawk-way. Draft, develop, compete and don’t be afraid to take risks. Then, when you take risks that don’t work out, admit the failure. Much like Seattle did one year after trading a major haul to get disgruntled receiver Percy Harvin. When Seattle began to realize that Harvin wasn’t fully buying in to the Seahawk-way earlier this season, the team traded him to the Jets. It’s those type of decisions that just separates their organization from others across the league.
The Seattle Seahawks are the blueprint and I think you’ve already seen teams use them as such. Look no further than their opponent in this year’s Super Bowl. The New England Patriots placed an emphasis on retooling their secondary with Brandon Browner, the former Seahawk, and Darrelle Revis. Now they’re well equipped to match Seattle.
As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Teams can dislike the Seahawks, but they do respect them. In fact, Seattle may be the most respected organization in the league right now. And they became that in only five years.
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