When Blair Walsh missed a potential game-winning field goal against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17 of the 2017 season, it brought with it a sea of change. The coaching staffs on both sides of the ball were overhauled, with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and offensive line coach Tom Cable relieved of their duties after seven seasons together.
Hired to replace them were Mike Solari and Brian Schottenheimer, and almost quietly and without much fanfare, long time Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Carl Smith was move out of his role as quarterbacks coach. Smith had been the quarterbacks coach for Russell Wilson for the entirety of his Seahawks career, and Smith’s relationship with Pete Carroll can be traced all the way back to NC State in the early 1980s, when Carroll was the Wolf Pack defensive coordinator and Smith the offensive coordinator.