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Will new Seattle Seahawks OC Shane Waldron's offense keep Russell Wilson happy?

By Ben Arthur, Seattle P-I

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The former Rams passing game coordinator spoke of the “philosophical alignment” he shares with head coach Pete Carroll (check), but also his vision of an aggressive and attacking mindset for his offense, which falls in line with the wishes of quarterback Russell Wilson (check). Amid an offseason where Wilson’s unhappiness with his pass protection has ballooned into trade speculation in a matter of days, whoever was hired by Seattle to replace Brian Schottenheimer needed to be someone who could find middle ground between head coach and franchise quarterback; to marry their desires. Waldron passed the first test in his presser.

But we won’t really know how it will all work out until later this year, when players return to the field and the Seahawks begin to install their offense ahead of the 2021 season. Waldron, who spent the last four years in LA working under Sean McVay, has never been an offensive coordinator at the NFL or college level. So we just don’t know what he’ll be like as a play caller yet.

Any frustrations he may have aside, Wilson on Tuesday did tell reporters that he thinks Waldron is going to be a “great offensive coordinator.” Wilson was involved in the hiring process, like he said he wanted to be. He wants to have more say in the moves that the team makes.

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"I think Shane is going to be a great coach,” Wilson told reporters. “I think he's got great knowledge of the game. He's a good person. You can tell he just has that 'it' factor and wants to be great.

“We can't talk ball; we can't do all that really (right now),” Wilson continued. “That's the one thing we're not really able to do as much because of the rules and all that stuff. But I think he's going to be a great offensive coordinator. He's got everything you would want in terms of his knowledge of the game and his experience, especially being with Sean McVay and Sean having so much experience in that tree in everything else. (Waldron) has got some good stuff to him.”

That “good stuff” about Waldron in Wilson’s eyes could be largely the McVay influence.

ATLANTA GA. - JANUARY 30: Rams assistant coach Shane Waldron answers questions during Los Angeles Rams media availability on January 30, 2019 in Atlanta, GA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

ATLANTA GA. - JANUARY 30: Rams assistant coach Shane Waldron answers questions during Los Angeles Rams media availability on January 30, 2019 in Atlanta, GA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

MediaNews Group/Boston Herald vi/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

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Since McVay has been the Rams, a quick and short passing game — with actions to get the quarterback out of the pocket and on the move in space — has been a heavy part of LA’s offense. The Seahawks see it twice a year.

It’s unclear how much of McVay’s concepts will show up in Waldron’s play calling; how much Carroll’s vision will be forced on the offense, even with Waldron saying it will be crafted in “my direction.”  But of the characteristics of the McVay-led Rams’ offense, a strong intermediate passing game seems like a natural thing for Waldron to focus on in Seattle because the Seahawks didn’t have a consistent one in 2020. It’s partly why the offense struggled to adapt in the second half of the season; teams took away Seattle's prolific deep ball with two-deep safety looks and the Seahawks couldn’t adequately punish teams underneath.

A quicker, short passing game is also one solution to the Seahawks’ issue of pass protection, which Wilson has been publicly critical of this week and the spark behind the trade rumors. If the ball is out of Wilson’s hand quicker, the offensive linemen don’t need to sustain blocks as long, making their jobs a bit easier.

It would help a group up front for Seattle that, to its credit, did play well in the first half of 2020, especially compared to previous years in the Wilson era. Left tackle Duane Brown at 35 is still a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Ethan Pocic  — who’s an unrestricted free agent this offseason  — played well moving to center, the position he was drafted to play initially out of LSU. Right guard Damien Lewis has the makings of a star at right guard, and right tackle Brandon Shell turned out to be a strong free agency signing too.

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Since McVay took over in 2017, the Rams have been in the top 10 in the NFL for fewest sacks allowed for four consecutive seasons.

Wilson's ears should perk up to that.

“In terms of the next offensive coordinator and us deciding on Shane, I was very adamant that we needed to have a mixture of all the different things that we can do to run our offense and continue to progress, continue to grow, to continue to challenge and everything else,” Wilson said of the Waldron hire to Colin Cowherd earlier this month. “I definitely think Shane brings that to the table. Hopefully, he can really help us with that.”

Waldron’s success, or his failure, could ultimately be the big domino that gives us clarity on Wilson’s long-term future in Seattle.

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Ben Arthur covers the Seattle Seahawks, the Mariners, and other Seattle-area sports for the SeattlePI