It will be up to Fleury to maintain such excellence. The new offensive coordinator pointed to the value of the continuity he expects to be in place in Seattle, where Fleury — a product of the same Kyle Shanahan tree that produced Kubiak — aims to retain much of what Kubiak installed and utilized.
“I think one of the advantages of taking this job is that there will be a lot of continuity,” Fleury said. “I’m already diving into everything Klint [Kubiak] was doing here last year, and the goal would be to maintain as much of that as possible, but there are also areas where we can add to things that we’ve developed and done in San Francisco. … So, that will be the goal, is to keep as much as we can, the same. But I think there are areas where we can grow, different ways to challenge the players, which they should look forward to when they come back here.”
Some parts will inevitably change, of course. No two rosters are ever the same from one year to the next, and with the Seahawks becoming the new kings of the NFL, many other hungry teams will be looking to poach from Seattle’s stock.
Two names immediately come to mind because of their value on the open market and their importance to Seattle’s title run: Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III and offseason acquisition Rashid Shaheed. Both are headed for unrestricted free agency, and if the market dictates it, the Seahawks may have to choose between the two.
Fleury hopes both will choose familiarity over change, even if it might not be quite as lucrative.
“I think they’ll be very happy with the continuity that would be here,” Fleury said. “Obviously, they’re coming off really important years, Rashid, obviously, like him coming here in the middle of the season, but making an impact right away. And then, you know, obviously seeing the Super Bowl MVP. I can’t get into that too much because of the contract situation. But I’d love the opportunity to work with either of them.”
It’s never easy to replace a player who just won a Super Bowl, but that’s the opportunity that landed on Fleury’s desk. He will aim to follow in Kubiak’s footsteps.