Seattle Seahawks News & Rumors

Seahawks Schedule Second OC Interview With Hank Fraley

The Lions have already lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Bears, while defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn looks to be on track to land the Jets’ head coaching gig. Detroit’s staff could even more shorthanded in the near future.

Offensive line coach Hank Fraley is scheduled to take part in a second interview for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator position, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports. This in-person meeting will take place today. Fraley is now the third candidate who has advanced to the finalist stage.

Seattle replaced Pete Carroll with Mike Macdonald as head coach last offseason, and Ryan Grubb was brought in as offensive coordinator. That setup did not go as planned, though, and Grubb was among the coordinators fired at the end of the regular season. Seattle has met with five replacement candidates so far, and with a trio of finalists in place it would come as a surprise if that list were to expand any further.

Fraley’s virtual interview with the Seahawks was his first for an offensive coordinator position. O-line coaches do not generally tend to receive coordinator opportunities, but the 47-year-old is held in high regard. He quickly transitioned to coaching after a decade-long NFL playing career, working with offensive lines at both the college and NFL levels. Fraley has been in the Motor City since 2018, and he was promoted to O-line coach in 2020.

The success of his unit has been a driving force for the Lions’ overall play on offense in recent years. As a result, losing Fraley would deal a blow to Detroit on that side of the ball. Head coach Dan Campbell said yesterday he is prepared to look at internal and external candidates to replace Johnson, and Fraley could receive consideration if he were to remain with the Lions. A departure could take place depending on the outcome of his Seattle interview, however.

Via PFR’s coordinator search tracker, this is how things are shaping up for the Seahawks:

Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order

Two weekends of playoff football have come and gone, providing us with 10 more draft slots cemented into position as NFL teams continue to be eliminated from the playoffs. The top 18 picks were already divvied up at the conclusion of the regular season to the teams who failed to make the playoffs, while picks 19-28 have been determined over the past two weeks.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order has been determined by the inverted 2024 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. The playoff squads are being slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular-season record.

The league’s Super Wild Card weekend resulted in the elimination of Chargers, Steelers, Broncos, Packers, Buccaneers, and Vikings after their respective losses. Tampa Bay benefitted from the three-way tie in record with Denver and Pittsburgh, just as the Chargers did over the Packers.

The divisional round of the playoffs resulted in the elimination of the Texans, Rams, Ravens, and Lions. This time, Houston held the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, gifting it higher draft priority.

We are still at a place that, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there is a chance that every team drafts in the first round, as no first-round picks have yet been traded. It’s extremely unlikely that this will remain the case, as draft-day trades are a very common occurrence, but it’s still an interesting concept to note this close to the draft.

Here is how the draft order looks following two weeks of playoff football:

  1. Tennessee Titans (3-14)
  2. Cleveland Browns (3-14)
  3. New York Giants (3-14)
  4. New England Patriots (4-13)
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
  6. Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
  7. New York Jets (5-12)
  8. Carolina Panthers (5-12)
  9. New Orleans Saints (5-12)
  10. Chicago Bears (5-12)
  11. San Francisco (6-11)
  12. Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
  13. Miami Dolphins (8-9)
  14. Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
  15. Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
  16. Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
  17. Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
  18. Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
  20. Denver Broncos (10-7)
  21. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
  22. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
  23. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
  24. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
  25. Houston Texans (10-7)
  26. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
  27. Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
  28. Detroit Lions (15-2)
  29. Washington Commanders (12-5)
  30. Buffalo Bills (13-4)
  31. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
  32. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)

2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

Last year, half the league changed up at offensive and defensive coordinator. As most HC-needy teams have now filled their open positions, the coordinator carousel will accelerate. Here is how the market looks now. When other teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 1-25-25 (9:15pm CT)

Offensive coordinators

Chicago Bears (Out: Chris Beatty)

Cleveland Browns (Out: Ken Dorsey)

Detroit Lions (Out: Ben Johnson)

Houston Texans (Out: Bobby Slowik)

New England Patriots (Out: Alex Van Pelt)

New York Jets (Out: Nathaniel Hackett)

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Ryan Grubb)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Liam Coen)

Defensive coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Jimmy Lake)

Chicago Bears (Out: Eric Washington)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Lou Anarumo)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Mike Zimmer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Aaron Glenn)

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Gus Bradley)

New England Patriots (Out: DeMarcus Covington)

  • Ryan Crow, outside linebackers coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/21
  • Terrell Williams, defensive line coach (Lions): Hired

New York Jets (Out: Jeff Ulbrich)

San Francisco 49ers (Out: Nick Sorensen)

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 11/17/25

Friday’s reserve/futures contracts around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Seahawks Meet With Byron Leftwich For OC Position; Second Interview With Vikings’ Grant Udinski Scheduled

The Seahawks continue to move forward in their search for an offensive coordinator. A new name has emerged as one of the team’s targets while the list of finalists grows.

Byron Leftwich recently interviewed with Seattle for the OC spot, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. Leftwich made it clear earlier this season he intended to return to an NFL sideline in some capacity during the 2025 hiring cycle. He met with the Patriots for their head coaching position last week, but a deal allowing him to lead a staff would come as a surprise.

Another coordinator gig would be more realistic, especially considering his success in that capacity with the Buccaneers. Leftwich helped guide the team to a top-three finish in scoring each season from 2019-21. The 2022 campaign witnessed a notable regression with Todd Bowles taking over from Bruce Arians as head coach, but Leftwich could rebuild his stock with another opportunity this year.

While Leftwich has met with the team once, the Seahawks are into the finalist phase by taking part in second interviews. Saints OC Klint Kubiak will speak with Seattle today, having already done so last week. The Browns showed interest in Kubiak as well before promoting Tommy Rees to fill their offensive coordinator spot. Kubiak remains on New Orleans’ staff for now, but since the Saints are among the teams in need of a head coach he has been allowed to seek out other opportunities.

Kubiak is joined by Grant Udinski as a finalist for the Seahawks’ gig. The latter has a second, in-person interview lined up for today, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Udinski is an assistant OC with the Vikings while also holding the title of QBs coach. The 28-year-old first joined an NFL staff when he followed Matt Rhule from Temple to Carolina in 2020. He took a role under Kevin O’Connell in his first year as Vikings head coach (2022), earning a promotion to his current role one year later.

After one season in place, Ryan Grubb was dismissed as Seattle’s offensive coordinator. Mike Macdonald will look to generate a rebound on that side of the ball for his second year at the helm, although before that can take place a decision on quarterback Geno Smith‘s future will need to be made. Whether it is Smith in place or another passer for 2025, the Seahawks’ next OC will be tasked with overseeing a step forward in the run game in particular.

Seattle has also interviewed Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown and Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley for the OC vacancy. It will be interesting to see if either of them wind up joining Kubiak, Udinski (and potentially Leftwich) as finalists.

Seahawks Schedule Second OC Interview With Klint Kubiak

With the Saints in transition, Klint Kubiak is taking meetings. While the Browns went in another direction by promoting Tommy Rees, Kubiak has impressed the Seahawks and is moving closer to that job.

The New Orleans OC met about the gig already and is set for a second interview for the Seattle OC post Friday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report. Kubiak is the first candidate to receive a second interview for this post.

Kubiak, 37, is once again in transition after one season as a team’s play-caller. The Vikings’ Mike Zimmer-for-Kevin O’Connell HC swap ended Kubiak’s Minnesota play-calling stint one year in (after the 2021 season), and the Saints’ Dennis Allen ouster has long threatened to cap the second-generation NFL coach’s New Orleans tenure at one season.

Considering the personnel the Saints trotted out by season’s end, Kubiak drawing this much interest for an OC job is impressive. New Orleans finished the season without Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Taysom Hill and Rashid Shaheed. Olave and Shaheed missed more than half the season, with Carr only playing 10 games. New Orleans ranked 24th in scoring offense and 21st in yardage nonetheless.

This was by no means an upper-crust offense, despite the Saints’ dominance over the first two weeks, but Kubiak would represent an experience upgrade on Ryan Grubb, who had only coached in college prior to his Seahawks one-and-done. Kubiak is only being tied to the Seattle OC post right now, but with six teams still needing to hire HCs and the Patriots not naming a play-caller yet, it would stand to reason the Seahawks might not be his only option. It is, however, possible the NFC West team will attempt to keep Kubiak from meeting for future OC positions during the parties’ second interview.

The Seahawks have also met with Vikings assistant QBs coach Grant Udinski, Lions O-line coach Hank Fraley and Bears interim HC Thomas Brown about the job. Thus far, Kubiak appears a clear frontrunner.

2025 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

With the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy splitting up, seven teams have made coaching changes so far during this year’s cycle. Here are the candidates connected to each of the now-HC-needy franchises. If more teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 1-25-25 (4:06pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Cowboys Request Interview With Leslie Frazier

Veteran coach Leslie Frazier‘s road back to a head coaching position continues this offseason. The former Vikings head coach has been requested to interview for the open head coach job in Dallas today, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.

A disciple of the Andy Reid-coaching tree, Frazier got his NFL start as a defensive backs coach for the Eagles in 1999. It didn’t take long for Frazier to get his first defensive coordinator gig in 2003 for the Bengals. Despite making major improvements to the unit over two seasons, Frazier was dismissed. After two years as an assistant to Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, Frazier was hired as defensive coordinator in Minnesota in 2007. He added the assistant head coach title in 2008 and eventually had to step up as interim head coach when the team fired Brad Childress.

Frazier became one of the few examples of interim head coaches getting the permanent job the following year. Though he struggled through his first season with the team, going 3-13, his second season saw a 10-6 record take the Vikings to the playoffs, the biggest single-season turnaround in franchise history. The success wouldn’t last long, though. A 5-10-1 season in 2013 led to Frazier’s dismissal.

Frazier spent the next two years as defensive coordinator for Tampa Bay, thought the team did not pick up his option for another year. He worked for a year as the Ravens defensive backs coach before getting hired as the Bills defensive coordinator in 2017. Frazier found a home in Buffalo, staying in one place for over five years for only the second time in his coaching career.

Eventually, though, in 2023, Frazier made the choice to step away from the team in order to pursue another head coaching gig. After sitting out the 2023 NFL season, Frazier participated in head coaching interviews for the Raiders and Chargers and a defensive coordinator interview for the Dolphins. After failing to land another position, Frazier took a position on rookie head coach Mike Macdonald‘s staff in Seattle as assistant head coach.

His pursuit for a second chance as a head coach will continue with this interview to replace Mike McCarthy in Dallas. He becomes just the fourth candidate mentioned for his position. Here’s the full list of candidates mentioned for the Cowboys:

Seahawks Request OC Interview With Vikings Assistant Grant Udinski

The Seahawks requested an interview with Vikings assistant Grant Udinski for their vacant offensive coordinator position, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Udinski is currently the assistant offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Minnesota. He has helped the Vikings navigate major quarterback injuries in each of the last two years, including a 2023 season that saw four different players start under center. In 2024, Udinski coached Sam Darnold to a career-best season with top-five finishes in passing yards (4,319) and touchdowns (35) among all quarterbacks.

Udinski began his career as a coaching assistant under Matt Rhule in Carolina in 2020 and 2021 before joining Kevin O’Connell‘s staff as an assistant to the head coach in 2023. If hired, the 28-year-old would become the youngest coordinator in the NFL and would match the likes of Sean McVay (Washington) and Nick Rallis (Arizona) as being hired as coordinators at this age.

Udinski is the fourth reported Seahawks offensive coordinator candidate. He also joins QBs coach Josh McCown in generating interest from O’Connell’s offensive staff. McCown, who joined Minnesota’s staff last year, is set to interview for the Jets’ head coaching job.

The team has already interviewed Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley, Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown, and Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The Seahawks’ interview process is expected to expand beyond these four candidates, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

Browns Interview Saints’ Klint Kubiak For OC

The Browns are interviewing Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak for the same position on Monday, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Kubiak has a history with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. The two overlapped on the Vikings’ offensive coaching staff in 2013 and 2014. Kubiak was an offensive quality control coach, while Stefanski was the assistant quarterbacks coach one season and tight ends coach the next.

Stefanski has hired a former Vikings colleague before. His first defensive coordinator in Cleveland was Joe Woods, who arrived in Minnesota as the defensive backs coach in 2006, the same year Stefanski was hired as an assistant to then-head coach Brad Childress.

Kubiak is also scheduled to meet with the Seahawks for their OC job on Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He is still under contract with the Saints, but the team granted both interview requests amid their own search for a new head coach. Their list of candidates includes five current offensive coordinators. If one of them gets the job, Kubiak could lose his play-calling duties or be replaced altogether.

The Saints were one of the hottest offenses in the league to start the season with 91 points in their first two games. Injuries to key players hinder the rest of their season; Derek Carr, Chris Olave, Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, Erik McCoy, and Taysom Hill all missed significant time.

Kubiak would face a tough task ahead of him in Cleveland. The Browns offense finished with the fewest points, second-fewest yards per play, and most turnovers in the NFL in 2024 as they cycled through four different quarterbacks and struggled to stay healthy along the offensive line.

Kubiak’s first order of business would be working with Stefanski and Browns general manager Andrew Berry to decide on the team’s next starting quarterback. Deshaun Watson may miss the entire 2025 season after re-tearing his Achilles, Jameis Winston is set to hit free agency this spring, and neither Dorian Thompson-Robinson nor Bailey Zappe have showed they can be a long-term starter in the NFL.

Winston has expressed a desire to return to Cleveland, and the Browns also have the second overall pick in the draft. They could pair the familiar veteran with a top rookie prospect to start rebuilding after the disastrous trade for Watson in 2022.