The Seattle Seahawks are revamping their defensive coaching staff and have recently hired a highly-regarded prospect in Sean Desai as their associate defensive head coach.
Desai had been courted by several teams around the NFL for numerous different positions, according to former Seahawks quarterback Jake Heaps.
“This guy was very much in demand across the NFL. Let me be very clear about that,” Heaps said on 710 ESPN Seattle. “So getting Sean Desai here to Seattle was no easy feat. Not only was he interviewing for other defensive coordinator positions and didn’t get them as time went on, but he was very sought after in terms of being a guy that everyone wanted him to be a part of their staffs, whether it was (to run the) secondary, whether it was passing game coordinator, you name it. And Pete Carroll identified him through that process early on and wanted him badly.”
Seattle ranked dead last in time of possession in 2021, largely because their defense could not get off the field on a consistent basis. They are hoping that new defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt and Desai can assist in mitigating those situations. Desai will have a prominent role in the formulation of the Seahawks’ defensive game plans that will hopefully allow players to thrive and execute in 2022.
“No. 1, the autonomy in which the game plans and the overall coaching structure would work,” Heaps said. “… Sean Desai wanted to not just be a member of the staff but to have a say and to have a clear working relationship in terms of putting together game plans, how all that’s going to come together. He got the assurances he needed on that end. Very big.”
However, coaching is only one part of the equation. Seattle will need to upgrade their defensive unit with all the pieces they can acquire in free agency and the 2022 NFL draft to produce the desired on-field results.
In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Rams winning Super Bowl LVI and the San Francisco 49ers making the NFC Championship, the pressure for Seattle to hit on their acquisitions this offseason is considerably high.
