As Pete Carroll looks for Russell Wilson’s third offensive coordinator in 10 years, DK Metcalf has given his two cents about what happened to Seattle’s offense and Mike Holmgren has told us what the new coordinator needs to do to help Wilson.

Metcalf confirmed what we all saw: “Teams just started to figure us out. We’ve been running deep pass ever since Pete got there. Play-action. Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, go deep. Teams just said, ‘We’re just not gonna let you all go deep.’”

Of course, a good OC would have worked around the Cover 2 schemes that oddly stymied Wilson and Brian Schottenheimer for the final two months of 2020. Holmgren, a first-generation West Coast offense disciple, said it is on the OC to adjust.

“It’s up to you to develop things in your offense to take advantage of that,” he told KJR recently. “There are plays that take advantage of that.

“You typically deal with a seven-man box (against Cover 2). … You watch teams automatically audible to a run,” he said. “There are ways to go after that. I don’t think that’s the quarterback’s adjustment. That has to be an adjustment in the meeting room.”

Holmgren basically put the blame on Schottenheimer, saying he was not concerned about Wilson: “What kind of position did they put him in? What was (the) structure during games? You’ve got to look at that, too. It wasn’t just Russell. There was a whole bunch of stuff going on at the end of the season.”

As for how the new OC needs to fix it, Holmgren agrees with what we have always said about the Hawks needing to use more movement and misdirection. 

“It’s very, very important to change the aiming point (for the defense) and to get the quarterback moving and delivering the ball from different spots,” Holmgren told KJR in another segment. “That includes play-action passes, half rolls, some dropback, some quick throws. You mix that up so the defensive line can’t just close their eyes and tee off. When you get a guy like Aaron Donald or those good pass rushers, you must do that. And Russell is certainly capable – he’s proven it – of doing those types of things.”

Holmgren also agreed with the proponents of pace: “I’d like to see more tempo. … Tempo and getting the ball off quickly is huge. … Russell has shown the ability over and over again to run a hurry-up offense. … And they’re really good at that.”

Like us, Holmgren is not among those who think you have to choose between throwing and running. “Stick with what’s moving the football,” he advised. “One game you might run more. The next game you might throw more.”

He also said he would involve Wilson in the running game a little more. But, the coach said, “He’s a little bit later in his career, so you wouldn’t do it as much.”

As for whom the Hawks might hire as OC, Holmgren thinks Carroll will add a guy he knows and trusts to stay true to his desire to run it and hit the deep balls — just like Metcalf described it. The key is to get a guy who will do all of the stuff Holmgren said needs to be done to help Wilson play his best and lead the Hawks back to the Super Bowl.