It is always somewhat of a deep search to find meaning during a head coach’s or assistant coach’s introductory press conference. The event is a show-and-tell, and the challenge is to find a deeper message. That was not the case during the Seahawks introductory offensive coordinator press conference on Thursday afternoon at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Head coach Mike Macdonald was clear about why he hired Brian Fleury as the team’s Offensive Coordinator.
“ I know you’ll be curious on how everything came about, but the mentality going into the whole process was, ‘Hey let’s stick to our process.’ We had some really great, talented coaches in house that we talked to and all those guys did a phenomenal job. Brian Fleury is someone that I’ve known about for a while, and we have some common relationships that we share throughout the coaching ranks. So, I knew about Brian, I knew he was a great coach. Then we had an opportunity to talk to him, and he did a phenomenal job.
I think his vision and what he believes in offensively with a football team, was aligned with how we want it to,’ said Macdoanald. “ He hit the principles and philosophy, and how he goes about his business, how he coaches, and what he wants from our offense he took it straight out of our culture graphic. So, a lot of alignment, and it gave us an opportunity to have some great continuity, keep some great coaches as well, and let us take our offense to the next level. So, we’re really excited about it. We’re off and running right now, trying to finalize our staff, and excited to start our process.”
DEFENSIVE ALIGNMENT
Part of the alignment between Macdonald and Fleury was about an attack mentality and Fleury’s defensive background. Fleury’s first professional assignment after three years at Towson (009-2012) as special teams coordinator and defensive back coach. The Buffalos Bills hired Fleury as their quality control coach in 2013.
His next stop was with the Cleveland Browns (2014-2015), where he was a linebackers assistant coach. From 2016 to 2018, Fleury was with the Miami Dolphins. In 2016, he was the team’s analyst, then moved to director of football research from 2017 to 2018.
Fleury was hired by the San Francisco 49ers in 2019 as a defensive quality control coach under Kyle Shanahan. In 2020, he went to the offensive side of the ball and was named offensive quality control coach. Fleury was promoted to tight end coach in 2022 and a game coordinator after the 2024 season.
While Fleury’s transition to a highly sought-after offensive mind was non-traditional, each step helped him see a different side of the game.
“I’ve been fortunate to share a staff room and game plan with a lot of people that I’m going to be facing off against. I know on this schedule, Daronte Jones for sure. But Lou Anarumo, I shared a staff room with Terrell Williams, Matt Burke, Vance Joseph, DeMeco Ryans, Robert Saleh, Aaron Glenn, Jeff Hafley, Anthony Weaver, and Brian Duker. So, I have a lot of insight into some of what the opponent is going to be doing in those cases,’ said Fleury while he was naming some of the top defensive coaches in the NFL.
LEADERSHIP AND CONNECTION
Macdonald is steeped in the military culture of a coach being a leader among men. The ability to relate to players, deliver clear messaging, and put them in a position to succeed is one of the pillars of McDonald’s coaching philosophy. Once he saw the same trait in Fleury, the decision to hire him as the Seahawks’ next offensive coordinator was easy.
“I feel like he has great command. He has great communication skills. There’s clarity in how he sees the game and what he expects. I think our players will really appreciate that. We talk about clarity a lot and being decisive, so I’m very confident that what we’re going to be asking our players to do is going to be very clear to them,” said Macdonald.
“Based on his relationships with his players in the past, we have a great resource here in Eric Saubert about how he treats his players and how he goes about his business every day. He felt like he was one of us, so I’m really excited for him to lead our offense.”
- Mariners: 8 thoughts and predictions ahead of Cactus League play
- Alignment was the common denominator in Brian Fleury’s hiring as the
- Mariners bring Mitch Gaver back to boost catching depth
- Sounders FC traded Reed Baker-Whiting to Nashville
- Seahawks are officialy on the market
