New Offensive Coordinator: Jeremy Bates (USC Assist. HC / QB Coach: 2009; DEN QB Coach: 2008; DEN WR / QB Coach: 2007; DEN Off. Assist: 2006; NY Jets QB Coach: 2005; TB Assist. QB Coach: 2004; TB Off. Quality Control Coach: 2002-2003)

Carroll's created a crowded backfield leaving fantasy owners to ponder which RB will hit or miss...

Overview
Pete Carroll’s previous tenure as a head coach in the NFL came with the New England Patriots from 1997-1999. During that span he led New England to two playoff appearances, winning the AFC East with a 10-6 record during his first season with the franchise and going 9-7 the following year while earning another postseason berth. The Patriots never managed to flourish under Carroll however, winning just one of their three postseason games during his stay before falling to an 8-8 mark and a last place finish within the AFC East during his final season with the club. Team owner Robert Kraft made the difficult decision to fire Carroll following the 1999 campaign stating, “A lot of things were going on that made it difficult for him (Carroll) to stay, some of which were out of his control. And it began with following a legend (referring to Bill Parcells’ resignation as head coach of the Patriots before Carroll was hired).”

After his dismissal by the Pats, Carroll was offered the defensive coordinator position by a number of NFL teams but instead decided to spend the following year as a consultant at both the pro and college levels while doing charitable work for the NFL and writing a pro football column for CNNSI.com. In late 2000, on December 15th, he accepted a 5-year deal to become the next head football coach at the University of Southern California.

During Carroll’s eventual nine-year term as head coach at USC he would lead the Trojans to two National Championships (2003-2004) and seven consecutive Pac-10 titles (2002-2008). Overall, he compiled a 97-19 record at USC while appearing in a bowl game during each of his nine seasons and winning seven of them. The Trojans also became the first school to boast three Heisman Trophy winners within a 4-year span (Carson Palmer in 2002, Matt Leinart in 2004, and Reggie Bush in 2005) during Carroll’s tenure. Carroll also produced 34 All-American first teamers and coached 53 players who eventually went on to be selected in the NFL draft – 14 of which were taken in the first round.

Prior to his head coaching experience at USC and with New England, Carroll first held that title in 1994 with the New York Jets. It was a short lived experience however that lasted only one season. Carroll guided the Jets to a 6-5 start that year, but lost the remaining five games on the schedule to finish 6-10 and was fired shortly thereafter. He then spent the next two years as George Seifert’s defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers before being named head coach of the New England Patriots. Carroll first entered the NFL coaching ranks as a defensive backs coach with the Buffalo Bills in 1984. He spent the next five years under that same title with the Minnesota Vikings before then serving as the Jets defensive coordinator from 1990-1993.

Joining Pete Carroll’s staff as offensive coordinator in Seattle is Jeremy Bates. Bates was also a member of Carroll’s staff last season at USC where he served as both the team’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. Prior to the year he spent at USC Bates was a member of Mike Shanahan’s staff with the Denver Broncos for three seasons. He spent 2006 as an offensive assistant helping offensive coordinator Rick Dennison coach the offensive line. In 2007 Bates would go on to coach the Broncos wide receivers and quarterbacks before focusing solely on the quarterback position in 2008. He worked closely with Jay Cutler during both of those seasons as Cutler went onto make the Pro Bowl following a productive 2008 campaign. Mike Shanahan also credited Bates with calling the plays for the Broncos offense in 2008, a unit that went onto to rank second in the NFL in terms of yardage. Bates’ NFL coaching career has also included stints with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a quarterbacks coach and offensive quality control coach.

Quarterbacks: Matt Hasselbeck; Charlie Whitehurst; Mike Teel

Instead of using one of their two first round selections on a quarterback in this year’s NFL draft the Seahawks decided to go another direction by acquiring Charlie Whitehurst from the San Diego Chargers in exchange for a swap of 2010 second round picks (the Seahawks gave up their 40th pick and received San Diego’s 60th selection) and an additional third round pick in 2011. Now with that said, new head coach Pete Carroll has identified Matt Hasselbeck as his starter at the position, but he has also stated Whitehurst will be “going after him (Hasselbeck)” and that “he (Whitehurst) gives us what we want at every position on the field – competition.”

While Whitehurst still has a long way to go before one can legitimately debate whether or not he has a realistic chance of unseating Hasselbeck as the starter before the regular season kicks off, pressure will clearly be on the veteran signal caller throughout the year to retain his position atop the depth chart. For those in dynasty leagues, this also makes Whitehurst a worthwhile addition as it’s likely he will soon get the chance to start in Seattle either this year or next.

In terms of what one can expect from Seattle’s quarterback position this year however, it’s a bit of a toss up. The team is clearly going through a transition period at spots all across their roster. Not only have they brought in a new coach, but they’ve made attempts to upgrade themselves across the offensive line, as well as at running back and wide receiver – and then of course, there’s the addition of Whitehurst at the QB position itself as we’ve already mentioned. It makes for a bit of a messy situation when it comes to selecting Seahawks players within a redraft league because there is too much uncertainty. In dynasty leagues however, it makes a good handful of Seahawks worthwhile additions in hopes they will blossom into fantasy relevance over the next 1-3 years.

In the short term, Hasselbeck’s a wild card and you should consider yourself fortunate if you draft him and he hits. He should do better than he did last season if he can remain healthy thanks to Jeremy Bates running the offense, but even if he’s playing at an acceptable level the Seahawks may want to get Whitehurst on the field later in the year should Seattle’s losses mount and they come to an early realization that they aren’t headed to the postseason.

Running Backs: LenDale White; Justin Forsett; Leon Washington; Julius Jones; Owen Schmitt (FB); Quinton Ganther; Ryan Powdrell (FB)

The Seahawks have a bit of a crowded backfield with the draft day trade acquisitions of LenDale White and Leon Washington to a group that already includes Julius Jones and Justin Forsett. Further complicating matters is knowing Jeremy Bates will be calling the plays, a man who has spent the majority of his coaching career working an offense with Mike Shanahan and his myriad of running backs in Denver. That’s not to say Bates’ offense won’t be productive (it likely will be within a year or two), it’s just that when it comes to the running back position he is likely to mix and match as he sees fit, which will make it difficult for fantasy owners to determine who is the most valuable amongst the Seattle backfield.

At the moment it would seem LenDale White is in line to handle the majority of carries while Forsett and Washington battle amongst themselves to be the primary change of pace back. Both of them are more explosive and better receivers out of the backfield than White however, which could make them a better all around fit within Bates’ offense and lead to them handling more of the snaps.

Julius Jones would seem to be on the outside looking in. If the Seahawks new coaching staff were excited about his prospects within the offense it’s doubtful they would have made the moves to acquire both White and Washington. It wouldn’t be a shock if he were released before the start of the season.

Wide Receivers: T.J. Houshmandzadeh; Deion Branch; Deon Butler; Golden Tate (R); Ben Obomanu; Mike Williams; Reggie Williams; Ruvell Martin; Jameson Konz (R); Sean Morey

T.J. Houshmanzadeh is the Seahawks primary receiver. That much we know. As to who will line up opposite him is yet to be determined. Deion Branch simply hasn’t been the player Seattle expected him to be when they sent a first round pick to the Patriots before the start of the 2006 season to acquire him. Injuries have hampered him since he joined the Seahawks and there’s some speculation he may not even make the 2010 roster.

Reclamation projects Mike Williams and Reggie Williams are long shots to make the squad after neither one was in the league last year (Mike Williams’ last season in the NFL was 2007), and Ben Obomanu and Ruvell Martin are nothing more than depth at the position. Sean Morey is around due to his special teams contributions. That leaves second year player Deon Butler and rookie Golden Tate as the only remaining receivers on Seattle that may be worth any type of significant interest from fantasy owners. Jameson Konz was taken with the Seahawks last selection in the draft and is considered a hybrid between a tight end and wide receiver that may be best suited as an H-back within the league.

When it comes to fantasy relevance draft Houshmanzadeh as a solid number two receiver, but don’t expect him to be the player he once was. As for the others, keep an eye on Butler and Tate should either one be named the starter opposite T.J. In all likelihood everyone other than those three will be nothing more than a waiver wire fill-in due to injuries or bye weeks at the position.

Tight Ends: John Carlson; Chris Baker; Cameron Morrah; Anthony McCoy (R)

Despite catching 51 passes for 574 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, John Carlson was still considered somewhat of a disappointment last year as he went for a long stretch without accumulating much in the way of meaningful stats. Two of his touchdowns came the first week of the season, and then he only scored one more from Week 2 thru Week 13 before closing out the year with a touchdown in four straight games. It’s nice he delivered in the fantasy playoffs, but by that point most of his owners had moved him to their bench.

This year, owners should expect more consistent results from the third-year tight end as offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates has made it very clear he plans to line Carlson up at many different spots on the field – tight end, full back, wide receiver, in the slot, and possibly even out wide. The reason is because he plans on running the offense from a two tight end set fairly often with Chris Baker taking on the more traditional tight end duties leaving Carlson free to line-up at numerous spots within the offense.

Carlson was also asked to block more than anticipated last season due to injuries along the Seahawks offensive line. This season he should be freer to work as a receiving tight end and should be a nice pick-up if he slips farther in drafts than some of the better known names likely to be taken ahead of him.

Questions or comments are always welcome.