With Klint Kubiak gone, the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach is now facing speculation about his next move. More than that, he’s facing questions as to why he is so eager to give the keys to a rookie offensive coordinator when there were more options out there. Mike Macdonald has heard the criticism, and now he’s finally speaking out about it.

“I do think it’s a bit overrated.” Mike Macdonald said on hiring an OC with no previous play-calling experience. “All play-callers have to be first-time play-callers at some point.”

Macdonald recently hired new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury, who spent the last seven seasons working with the San Francisco 49ers. The move raised questions, especially considering Fleury has never called plays at the NFL level.

Mike Macdonald, who himself was a first-time play-caller at Michigan in 2021 and eventually won a Super Bowl as a head coach just five years later, believes Fleury will adapt quickly. He addressed the backlash following Kubiak’s departure.

“Going into it, I do think it’s a bit overrated,” Macdonald said, via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. “At some point, all play-callers have to be first-time play-callers. You could tell how Brian thinks about the game. Look, you’re going to have to grow into any new role, but we have a lot of great people around here and a lot of great opportunities for him to get ready to go. I’m really confident he’s going to be off and running sooner than later.”

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The concerns are not entirely baseless. Kubiak was fired despite leading an offense that scored a franchise-record 483 points and won a Super Bowl. Talking about Fleury’s background, he has experience in calling plays on the defensive side as the defensive coordinator at Sacred Heart University from 2006 to 2008.

However, he moved to the offensive side of football in 2020 for the 49ers. He was the tight ends coach in 2022 and had the additional role of run game coordinator in the final season with Kyle Shanahan.

Still, his 14 previous years in the NFL were largely spent coaching specific positions or working in quality control roles before taking on run-game coordinator responsibilities. Play-calling on Sundays will be new territory.

Fleury, however, says he’s been preparing for this moment all along.

Brian Fleury is ready to take charge of the Seahawks Offense’s charge

Brian Fleury will be stepping into an offense that just won the Super Bowl, ranked eighth in yards per game and passing yards per game, and finished third in points per contest at 28.4. The responsibility now falls on Fleury to maintain that level and meet high expectations.

“The thing about offensive play-calling to me is the preparation is done ahead of time,” Fleury said. “You’re thinking through the situations and putting plays in a list format of when you get to second-and-one inside the 30-yard line, what are you going to call? So, the preparation aspect of it I’ve already done. Now it’s just a matter of analyzing the information in real time and getting to the right play call on the sheet.”

“It looks very similar to the one that just won the Super Bowl,” Fleury said when asked how his offense will operate.

Talking about the offense, Darnold, who is the key piece of the Seahawks’ offense, and Fleury have some history. Fleury, who was with Darnold in San Francisco in 2023, only had positive things to say about what is already in place.

“There’s a lot of talent,” Fleury said. “Honestly, there’s not much to fix. You can see the way they play just by watching the silent tape. The culture shows up on film. I’m excited to step in, work with that, and keep building.”

Fleury also mentioned that he would love the opportunity to work with Rashid Shaheed and Kenneth Walker III, who are expected to enter unrestricted free agency in March. Despite beginning his career as a quarterback in high school, Fleury’s NFL coaching development arc is quite interesting.

He started his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills in 2013. He later worked with the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins in various roles, including offensive quality control coach, assistant linebackers coach, and outside linebackers coach.

In 2019, Fleury joined the San Francisco 49ers as a defensive quality control coach under Kyle Shanahan. He later moved to the offense in 2020 and was part of the team that made it to Super Bowl LIV. By 2022, he was the tight ends coach, guiding George Kittle’s 60 receptions for 765 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns season. Having coached since 2003 and worked in the NFL for over 10 years, Fleury came across as a coach finally ready for his shot.

“The opportunity means a lot,” Fleury said. “I mean, I think there are only 13 of these non-head coach play-calling jobs on the planet. So, to be considered for one was an honor, and now to be sitting here next to Mike, I can’t really express it any better than that.”

There’s no doubt Kubiak’s offense was outstanding. Now, with a first-year play-caller at the helm, it will be interesting to see if the Seahawks can make history again while following the vision of their head coach.