Russell Wilson had a modest season in the eyes of every fan and analyst not named Ryan Clark in 2021. Wilson ousted 3,113 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions last year. For the second off-season in a row, trade rumors have circulated Wilson (and Aaron Rodgers).

The Seahawks future Hall of Fame QB wants to explore his options this offseason, but I don’t expect the Seahawks to be very open to Wilson looking around the candy shop. I actually don’t foresee Wilson to shipped out of the rainy city. Here is why Wilson will be a part of the 12th man in 2022.

• The Seahawks are firm about not trading Wilson

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins may call John Schneider, but I don’t expect the Hawks to participate in a deep conversation with a team about Wilson. The Denver Broncos dialed the Packers management to ask about a trade about Aaron Rodgers and nobody answered. I expect a similar outlook to play out in Seattle.

There may be moments where Wilson feels inspired to play with the Buccaneers and replace Tom Brady in the “dream team”. Although, I expect the Seahawks to not budge on dealing Wilson late in the offseason, just as the Packers kept firm on keeping Aaron Rodgers in the 2021 offseason. I expect it to be Pete Caroll’s way or the highway for the Seahawks great QB. In other words, I don’t believe Wilson would risk missing training camp to join any other team, too.

• DK Metcalf

The Seahawks have an incredible hulk and potential All-Pro talent in DK Metcalf. He has to be the reason why Wilson doesn’t feel an urge to leave Seattle. Metcalf is a prolific player and that’s clear with his 22 touchdown receptions in the past two seasons combined. Metcalf is also 24 years old, which is noticeably younger than Mike Evans (28 years old) and Michael Thomas (28 years old). The QB-WR duo can still grow together in the next couple of seasons.

The Packers make A-Rod feel warm and fuzzy with Davante Adams and the Seahawks keep Wilson comfortable with Metcalf. Metcalf, who is also training for the 2024 Olympics, can ensure Wilson that they can chase championships together for many years.

• Eighth most cap space in NFL

The Seahawks have the ammunition to bring in a few new faces in free agency that can impress Wilson and pay huge dividends moving forward. They could bring in a running back like Chase Edmonds or RB/WR like Cordarrelle Patterson.

They could also look at free-agent targets on the offensive line and in the secondary. Terron Armstead has been a Pro Bowl OT for the Saints in recent memory and cornerbacks like Patrick Peterson or Stephon Gilmore could be sought out. If Quandre Diggs leaves, they could ink the young and phenomenal Marcus Williams to pair with Jamaal Adams. I don’t expect the Seahawks to sit back and relax with their large-cap space, especially with Wilson looking for his second elusive Super Bowl ring.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Seattle Seahawks have lost yet again in heartbreaking fashion against the Chicago Bears in Week 16. It’s becoming very clear that Pete Carroll hasn’t maintained a competitive roster after the “Legion of Boom” fell apart. 

At 5-10, the Seahawks hope of reaching the playoffs has been shut down. In a calendar year that Russell Wilson expressed frustration, the Hawks have made matters worse for the once MVP-caliber QB. 

I believe that Wilson’s interest in ditching the Washington state has been confirmed as he’s slowly watching the glass below his feet crumble. Matter, in fact, Bleacher Report has reported that “Little to no chance of contract extension”, trade very real”. 

If Wilson leaves the hipster city by the Pacific ocean, where could he end up? Well, I’m going to outline three real destinations for the disgruntled QB. 

1. New Orleans Saints

I fully understand that the New Orleans Saints have been in cap hell and they truly don’t seem overly desperate at the QB position with Jameis Winston in the building. Still, I believe that Seattle will be a bit more open to dealing the veteran QB this offseason and I also foresee Sean Payton aggressively acquiring the talented QB. If Payton has to slightly reshape his juggernaut defense to get Wilson in the same offense with Kamara and Michael Thomas, Payton won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. 

ESPN has nicely painted the idea of Wilson landing in NOLA. I don’t know if there would be anything more tempting for NO than acquiring Wilson at any cost rather than picking up (or keeping) a QB and keeping more assets. The SEA QB is flat out worth the effort to reel in for Mickey Loomis and company. 

2. Pittsburgh Steelers 

It appears to be an end of an era for Big Ben in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have firepower on defense, talent at the interesting WR position, and a franchise RB in Najee Harris. Still, there will be a massive question mark at the QB spot in the 2022 offseason. 

The Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is the one that laughs off college head coaching questions and makes bold decisions to push his team to another Super Bowl appearance. Tomlin knows that he has a roster that isn’t quite ready to be rebuilt. If they can pick up a talented signal-caller, they will be near or above their 12-4 record in 2020. On another note, the Steelers are not in the NFC conference (where Seattle rests).

3. Cleveland Browns 

The Cleveland Browns have a big decision to make with Baker Mayfield. If Mayfield continues to play as he did against Green Bay, it will be an easy decision for GM Andrew Berry to send the former first overall pick out the door after OBJ. 

Alike the Steelers, the Browns have greek gods on the defensive side of the ball. Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward are the best or near the top of their respective positions. The team also fields a bowling ball, Top 3 RB in Nick Chubb. Wilson will also have Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper to play with on offense. The Browns surely play out as a solid fit and they have the management that has the nerve to get creative with such a transaction.

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By: Jake Rajala

The dust of the beginning of the 2021 NFL season has settled down and three weeks of NFL action is nearly completed. It’s starting to become clear who the pretenders and contenders are in the NFL. There’s a lot of promise for the clear contenders in the league, while there’s a lot of uncertainty and dim looks for the pretenders in the league. For the pretenders in the league, questions surely loom. 

The biggest question marks will rest with the head coaches, also known as the leaders of the struggling organizations. With that being said, I’m going to outline the coaches that deserve the most scrutiny around the league. 

Robert Saleh

The New York Jets first-year head coach has put on a stingy defense in New York, but he hasn’t been able to have his defense stand out in takeaways or bail out their league’s worst offense. I never liked the popular hire of Robert Saleh, who didn’t forecast a ferocious defense last season and didn’t seem like the best fit for New York. 

Everybody is talking about Sam Darnold going 3-0 without Adam Gase, but nobody is talking about the Jets looking the same this season without Adam Gase. The Jets got absolutely embarrassed by the Denver Broncos in a 26-0 loss today. 

The lop-sided loss that New York encountered today marked the third defeat that New York has consumed this season. In back-to-back weeks, the prized Zach Wilson hasn’t just been awful, but Saleh’s new-look defense has been soft and blatantly unacceptable. If Saleh doesn’t put on a fighting chance for NY this season, he will be yet another former NFL defensive coordinator to run back to his previous prized program (Matt Patricia being the most recent). 

Bill Belichick 

Yes, Patriots HC Bill Belichick has “two hand fulls” of Super Bowl rings. Yet, the Patriots leader has started his team without former longtime Pats QB Tom Brady in the losing category for the second season in a row. 

The Pats, who were led out by the rookie QB Mac Jones, got controlled by the New Orleans Saints in a 28-13 loss, which places them at 1-2 on the season. The worst part of the Pats loss is that they had a very uncharacteristic loss. The Pats allowed a punt to be blocked and they also had numerous special teams penalties. Their big free-agent signing Jonnu Smith also had two terrible drops. The Pats need a strong and quick turnaround if they want to avoid starting 1-3 at the hands of the motivated, 44-year-old Tom Brady next week. 

Pete Carroll 

It’s evident that Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has succeeded in upsetting Russell Wilson in 2021. The Seahawks legendary QB was furious over the lack of support he’s garnered in his tenure as a Seahawk. Well, it’s becoming more obvious why the great Seattle QB was upset with his situation. The timid 1-2 Seahawks don’t have a competitive pass defense, rushing attack, and the pass protection isn’t quite what it should be for a team holding a generational talent at QB. 

Carroll, who is also the oldest NFL head coach, failed to bring Seattle back to the Super Bowl when the Legion of Boom (LOB) was intact and now it’s looking more and more like he will be unable to bring dangeruss back to the promised land with him in the building. The Seahawks now sit at fourth place in the juggernaut NFC West division with a 1-2 record. Pete Carroll’s team has more talent than the two other squads mentioned on this list, but he will need to find some juice and potentially players if he wants to keep Wilson happy and his team alive in this year’s playoff pursuit.

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By: Drew Feinberg

The NFC West has quickly become one of the most intriguing divisions to follow throughout the entire NFL. With high-powered offenses, hard-hitting defenses and some of the biggest stars in the game, there’s a reason you see NFC West teams so often on primetime games. Not only the on-field talent shines bright in this division; the NFC West is home to arguably the best group of head coaches in the entire league: Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Kliff Kingsbury and Pete Carroll.

From the youngest head coach in the league (McVay, 35) to the oldest (Carroll, 69), the NFC West has it all. Most or all of the current NFC West head coaches are known as “football geniuses” and for good reason; they are all among the most innovative play-callers and leaders in the league. However, because this is the internet, one has to be the best, and that, my friends, is what I’m here today to do.

Which coach will reign supreme? Who will be the head coach standing on top of the mountain? Let’s begin ranking the four coaches from worst to best. 

4. Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury has had an up-and-down start to his tenure as the Arizona Cardinals head coach.  Prior to his promotion to the NFL, Kingsbury served as head coach of Texas Tech University from 2013 to 2018 where he coached future NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. Before that, Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M University where he served as the offensive coordinator for Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel during his historic 2012 season. 

The thing is, while Kingsbury’s track record may be impressive on paper, he has had trouble winning games; a pretty important aspect to keeping your job in the NFL. His record at Texas Tech was 35-40 and he currently boasts a head coaching record of 13-18-1; a somewhat pedestrian record for an “offensive genius”.

Kingsbury has the potential to soar up this list with the roster the Cardinals are building. Arizona’s Kyler Murray-led air raid offense will be in its third year, and Murray will be in his second year with star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

There’s no doubt Kingsbury is a creative football mind who has risen through the ranks to NFL head coaching quickly. Ranked amongst head coaches from other NFL divisions, Kingsbury would surely rank higher than fourth. However, the question of whether or not he is the leader the Arizona Cardinals need is still up in the air.

3. Sean McVay

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay was hailed as the next great offensive mind after he was hired as the youngest head coach in NFL history back in 2017. McVay has had his fair share of highs and lows since his hiring, as he made it to the Super Bowl in his second year as a head coach. Ever since making that Super Bowl, practically every person who coached under McVay has left for their own head coaching gig, leaving McVay to pick up the pieces each season. 

It’s really tough ranking McVay so low on this short list, considering he is easily a top 10 head coach in the entire league. However, I guess that just goes to show how good this division is. McVay’s style is fairly simple. Run the ball and use play-action. While the concept seems so simple to counter, many NFL defensive coordinators have tried and failed.

While seeing his fair share of struggles, McVay has led the Rams to four winning seasons in as many years. With such an impressive resume, why don’t I have him ranked higher, you ask? Well, for starters, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has won a Super Bowl, and McVay hasn’t; and 49er’s head coach Kyle Shanahan has a 5-3 record against McVay since 2017.

Not a knock on McVay’s abilities at all, moreso an illuminate on how good Carroll and Shanahan are.

2. Pete Carroll

Carroll ranks third amongst active coaches in total wins, with 145. In his ten seasons as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Carroll and star quarterback Russell Wilson led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2013, and an NFC Championship in 2014. The man is a walking Hall of Famer.

While he most likely will be seen on the sidelines chewing gum, with a whimsical smile on his face, Carroll has been the poster boy for being a leader in the NFL. He’s a defensive innovator who gets guys to want to play for him; a seemingly difficult task in the league. 

Carroll, however, is not a perfect head coach. He has a knack for being a risky play-caller, which occasionally pays off in his favor. However, when it doesn’t it costs him a Super Bowl title. More recently, Carroll has been criticized for “letting Russ cook” or “not letting Russ cook enough”. Everybody in the NFL is subject for criticism, but overall Carroll exudes consistency. 

Why is he not ranked first on this list, you might ask? Despite an eight year streak of winning seasons, and a Super Bowl ring, time will soon catch up to Carroll. He is the elder statesman in the division, and there is one coach who I believed snatched the crown right from Carroll’s head. There is no doubt in my mind that Carroll is a top 10, even top five head coach in the NFL. However, when ranked strictly within the NFC West, one coach reigns supreme.

1. Kyle Shanahan

Move over McVay, the NFC West has a new offensive guru. Over his four seasons as head coach of the San Francisco 49er’s, Shanahan has been touted as the best play designer in the NFL; and for good reason. 

Before his hiring in San Francisco, Shanahan served as offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, where he helped lead quarterback Matt Ryan to an MVP win and Super Bowl appearance. Since being hired in San Francisco, Shanahan has brought an innovative, unseen style to the NFL, and has changed the way the game is played. 

Boasting a new-age, run first offense, Shanahan led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019, seemingly the only healthy season the Niners have had under Shanahan. There is no denying Shanahan’s level of football genius. It was on display during the 2019 NFC Championship game, where Shanahan correctly predicted a flag that has yet to occur. 

While only 40, and with two Super Bowl appearances under his belt, Shanahan will surely have more success as a head coach in the NFL. The scary thought for other coaches around the NFL, and in the NFC West particularly, is that Shanahan will only get smarter. He will mature as a coach, and it will only make his opponents more confused when he outsmarts them further. Shanahan is a different beast and my top head coach in the NFC West.

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