NFL rankings season continues, but we’ve now reached the portion of the year where we’re ranking uniforms, helmets and coordinators. On that point, the Seahawks apparently have one of the best offensive coordinators in the league in Shane Waldron, at least according to Pro Fotoball Focus.
PFF ranked has Waldron No. 4 on their list of the league’s top 10 OCs.
“When Shane Waldron was initially hired, the focus was on how he was going to help unlock the best play from Russell Wilson. As it turns out, he was to preside over a breakout season from Geno Smith instead. It’s very difficult to parse where the credit for that unexpected season belongs, or even how real it was, but transforming a journeyman quarterback into a top-10 starter is a seriously impressive thing to put on a resume. Waldron’s offense last season ranked 13th in expected points added per play and 12th in successful play percentage.”
It’s a little surprising to see Waldron ranked this high, especially ahead of names like Eric Bieniemy and Matt Nagy. That said, he ran an efficient if not an elite offense last season and the screen attack is the only part of the scheme that’s truly putrid. If he can get that issue fixed this coming season, we won’t have any complaints.
Of course this is all kind of a moot point – just because someone’s job description says offensive coordinator it doesn’t mean they’re calling the plays – or are truly responsible for their team’s success on this side of the ball. Neither Kyle Shanahan nor Andy Reid are on the list.
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