Emerald City Sports Spotlight ~ with Peter D

A Tale of Two Philosophies: Grubb’s Fallout and Kubiak’s BlueprintBy Peter Duncan, Facts Newspaper Sportswriter

The story of the 2024 Seattle Seahawks can be told in two parts: the unraveling of an offense without an identity, and the hopeful blueprint now being laid to fix it.

In my previous column, “The Seahawks' 2024 Rushing Woes: A Statistical Breakdown and Coaching Fallout,” I laid out plainly how Ryan Grubb’s inability—or unwillingness—to commit to a balanced attack cost Seattle meaningful game and a playoff berth. The numbers were plain: 383 rushing attempts, 1,627 yards, 28th in the league. That is just 95.7 yards per game. Worse still, in six of their seven losses, the Seahawks ran the ball fewer than twenty times.

Contrast that with “The Kubiak Blueprint: A New Identity for the Seahawks Offense,” where we see a vision finally emerging from the fog—a run-first, play-action-heavy offense rooted in fundamentals, precision, and balance. Klint Kubiak, son of the legendary Gary Kubiak, brings a system that has produced league MVPs, efficient quarterbacks, and playoff-caliber offensive units.

The contrast could not be starker.

Grubb: A Cautionary Case of Mismatch

Grubb came into the 2024 season with a reputation for creativity and aggressiveness. But instead of molding his playbook to fit the strengths of his roster, he imposed a system that overexposed Geno Smith and underutilized a quietly talented backfield. Week after week, Seattle found itself out of rhythm, asking too much of its quarterback and failing to control the clock or tempo.

Take Week 4 loss to Detroit. Seattle rushed for 133 yards on just nineteen carries—an average of 7 yards per run—yet Grubb called 56 pass attempts. The rationale? Playing catch-up. The reality? Poor first half game planning left Seattle with no room to recover. Jared Goff threw a perfect 18-for-18 in that first half while the Seahawks abandoned a run game that was working. That’s not creativity; that’s malpractice.

Kubiak: Return to Identity

Enter Klint Kubiak, whose hiring signals a philosophical course correction. Where Grubb reached for fireworks, Kubiak focuses on efficiency. Klint’s offenses are built to protect quarterbacks, establish rhythm through the ground game, and weaponize play-action. They wear defenses down and limit turnovers—two things Seattle sorely lacked last season.

The Kubiak system doesn’t ask the quarterback to be Superman. It asks him to be smart. Sam Darnold, or whomever lines up under center in 2025, won’t need to throw 40-plus times a game. Darnold will be asked to orchestrate. Think boots, misdirections, quick reads. Think of complementary football—the kind that supports a defense rather than leaving it out to dry.

A Culture Shift on Offense

There is also something to be said about humility in coaching. Kubiak inherits talent at receiver, depth at running back, and a veteran quarterback capable of executing. But unlike Grubb, he’s shown in previous stops (Minnesota, Denver, San Francisco) that he’ll let the talent dictate the flow, not the other way around.

The Seahawks don’t need innovation for innovation’s sake. They need identity. Kubiak brings that.

Looking Ahead

The 2024 season was a hard lesson in what happens when offensive coordination becomes disconnected from situational awareness. Ryan Grubb was bold—but reckless. He wanted to fly when the team needed to grind. And in the NFL, style points mean nothing when the scoreboard says “L.”

With Kubiak, the Seahawks appear poised to become what they should have been in 2024: a team that runs with purpose, passes with poise, and plays with a clear offensive identity. Time will tell how it translates in the win column, but if Seattle is going to rejoin the ranks of NFC contenders, this shift in mindset—not just in scheme—is exactly what they needed.

From chaos to clarity. From overreach to rhythm. The blueprint is in place. Now, it’s time to build.