Seahawks hire Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator

Lead

The Seattle Seahawks have hired Brian Fleury, the San Francisco 49ers’ run-game coordinator and tight ends coach, as their next offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports confirmed Sunday. Head coach Mike Macdonald had emphasized a desire for continuity when replacing Klint Kubiak but ultimately chose an external candidate with deep ties to the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. Fleury spent seven seasons working under Shanahan in San Francisco and overlaps with several current Seahawks staff and players, offering familiar schematic ground. The hire preserves much of the run-focused offense that helped Seattle score 483 points this season while prompting questions about play‑calling experience.

Key Takeaways

• Seattle is hiring Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator, first reported by ESPN and NFL Network and later confirmed by The Seattle Times.
• Fleury worked for the 49ers from 2019 through the 2025 season as tight ends coach and was added as run game coordinator in 2025.
• Macdonald sought continuity but selected an external coach who ran under Kyle Shanahan for seven seasons, preserving the Shanahan-style offense.
• The Seahawks scored a franchise-record 483 points this season, ranking third in the NFL at 28.3 points per game.
• Seattle’s rushing attack averaged 123.3 yards per game for the season, improved to about 171 yards in the final three regular-season games, and averaged just over 130 per game in three playoff contests.
• Fleury has no prior play-calling experience at the college or NFL level in a coaching career that began in 2003, though he has three years of analytic work and diverse positional coaching experience.
• Some internal candidates—quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, passing game coordinator Jake Peetz, assistant OL/run-game specialist Justin Outten and tight ends coach Mack Brown—were considered; Janocko has since accepted an OC role in Las Vegas.
• Fleury’s past overlaps include time with Sam Darnold (2023 backup in San Francisco) and with Seahawks offensive line coach John Benton (2019–20 in SF), which may help staff continuity.

Background

Seattle’s offensive coordinator opening followed Klint Kubiak’s departure after a season in which the offense posted franchise highs and a deep playoff run. Macdonald publicly emphasized continuity as a priority during the coaching search, reflecting a desire to retain the offensive identity that produced strong scoring and yardage rankings in 2025. That identity traces to the Kyle Shanahan system Kubiak had previously employed; Shanahan’s outside-zone grounded rushing philosophy has been a hallmark of recent success for teams running that scheme.

Brian Fleury’s résumé is diverse: a college quarterback at Maryland and Towson, multiple positional coaching stops in college, quality-control and assistant roles in the NFL, analytic and research posts in Miami, and defensive-to-offensive quality-control work with the 49ers before becoming tight ends coach in 2022. His path illustrates a mix of on-field positional coaching and off-field schematic analysis that Shanahan values. The Seahawks pursued several internal candidates during the search, reflecting competing priorities between continuity and new leadership.

Main Event

Reports that Fleury would be Seattle’s next offensive coordinator surfaced Sunday, with initial accounts by ESPN and the NFL Network and subsequent confirmation by The Seattle Times. The hire represents a choice to keep the Seahawks aligned with a Shanahan-influenced offense, given Fleury’s seven years in San Francisco under Shanahan’s staff. Macdonald’s earlier radio remarks signaling a preference for continuity made the outside hire notable; Fleury’s background provides schematic overlap while coming from outside Seattle’s immediate coaching pool.

Fleury’s connections to current Seahawks staff appear to have factored into the decision. His time on the 49ers staff overlapped with Sam Darnold’s lone 2023 season as a 49ers backup, and he coached alongside John Benton in 2019–20—Benton being a linchpin the Seahawks reportedly wanted to retain. As of Sunday night reporting, Benton was expected to remain with Seattle, which could help preserve offensive-line coaching continuity.

The Seahawks conducted interviews with several internal candidates—Andrew Janocko, Jake Peetz, Justin Outten and Mack Brown—but reports indicate Seattle’s meeting with Fleury led to the hire. Shortly after Seattle’s announcement, Janocko accepted an offensive coordinator role in Las Vegas with Klint Kubiak, officially announced Sunday night. It remains unclear whether other Seahawks assistants will follow Janocko or Kubiak to the Raiders.

Analysis & Implications

Choosing Fleury signals the Seahawks want to keep the foundation of their 2025 offense intact. Fleury’s multi-year immersion in Shanahan’s system means play designs, run‑scheme principles (notably outside zone), and RPO timing are familiar to him and to staff members who have worked alongside him. For Seattle, that continuity could minimize transition costs and preserve the offensive identity that produced a top‑10 rushing and passing output in 2025.

At the same time, Fleury’s lack of previous play‑calling experience introduces a clear question about in‑game offensive leadership. Play calling is a distinct skill set from position coaching and run-game coordination; the Seahawks will need to clarify whether Fleury will assume primary play‑calling duties or share them with Macdonald, another assistant, or an external consultant. The organization’s answer will shape how the offense executes in close games and in postseason adjustments.

Staff retention is another immediate implication. Hiring an external OC can either stabilize the group—if assistants buy into consistent schemes—or unsettle it, if coaches seek roles elsewhere. Early indicators suggest the Seahawks are working to keep key pieces in place: Benton is expected to remain, and the front office reportedly blocked an interview request for Justin Outten by Las Vegas. Still, coaching movement is fluid in the offseason and could alter Seattle’s staff construction.

Comparison & Data

The numeric trends show a running game that strengthened late in the regular season and remained productive in the playoffs. That late surge likely reinforced an organizational preference to retain a run-centric scheme. Comparing full-season and short-run averages highlights how situational improvement can influence hiring decisions more than season-long plateaus.

Reactions & Quotes

Macdonald had publicly emphasized continuity during his radio appearance earlier in the week; his remarks were widely interpreted as an intent to preserve the offense’s approach. The hire of Fleury marries that stated priority with an external search result.

“I think a really important part of what we want to do is have continuity.”

Mike Macdonald (head coach, Seattle Seahawks)

Players and colleagues who worked with Fleury in San Francisco praised his attention to detail and his cross‑disciplinary background. Those endorsements underscore why Seattle views him as a steady steward of a complex offense.

“He’s big on all his details on every single play. He knows absolutely everything going on in the offense.”

George Kittle (49ers tight end)

Fleury himself has linked his quarterback playing background and defensive coaching experience to his offensive approach, saying that understanding both sides of the ball helps him teach route concepts and anticipate opponent responsibilities.

“Playing quarterback gave me a lot of familiarity with the offense from the quarterback’s perspective.”

Brian Fleury (on coaching philosophy)

Unconfirmed

• Whether Brian Fleury will carry primary play‑calling responsibilities remains unannounced and has not been independently confirmed.
• The full extent of staff turnover—beyond Andrew Janocko’s move to Las Vegas and early reports about John Benton—has not been finalized and could change through the offseason.
• Reports that Seattle interviewed Fleury and that the interview ‘‘went well’’ are based on media accounts; internal evaluation details have not been publicly released.

Bottom Line

Seattle’s hiring of Brian Fleury blends continuity of scheme with fresh leadership. Fleury’s long association with Kyle Shanahan’s offense and personal connections to members of the Seahawks staff mean Seattle is likely to preserve the outside-zone, run-focused approach that produced top-10 offensive finishes and a franchise-record 483 points.

However, Fleury’s lack of formal play‑calling experience and the ongoing flux of assistant-coach movement make the transition a delicate one. How Seattle allocates in-game play-calling duties and whether it holds its coaching core together will determine whether this hire sustains the offense’s recent success or requires a steeper adjustment period heading into the next season.

Sources

• The Seattle Times — local news report confirming hire and reporting staff context.
• ESPN — national sports media (initial reports cited by multiple outlets).
• NFL Network — national league-affiliated reporting (initial reports cited by multiple outlets).