The Seahawks may be feeling a little void in the most overlooked spot on their offensive staff.
Seattle’s 2026 offense has stumbled early, and while plenty of the attention has landed on Brian Fleury as the first-time play-caller, there’s another layer to this story: the Seahawks no longer have Andrew Janocko in the building. That matters more than it might seem.
Janocko spent 2025 with Klint Kubiak in New Orleans before following him to Las Vegas, where he became the Raiders’ offensive coordinator. Seattle replaced him from outside the organization with Fleury, but Janocko’s track record suggests he brought something real to the quarterbacks he worked with.
With the Saints, he helped 33-year-old Derek Carr post the second-highest rating and third-highest QBR of his 11-year career. Before that, in his first season as an NFL QB coach, he helped Justin Fields turn in his highest QBR, ahead of players like Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, and Trevor Lawrence.
That doesn’t mean Janocko gets all the credit. Quarterback coaching is never that simple, and a quarterback’s results depend on a lot more than one voice in his ear. But the pattern is hard to ignore: the quarterbacks he’s worked with have often played their best football.
And right now, Sam Darnold is nowhere near that level.
The current setup in Seattle is unusual, too. Jake Peetz, who has been the team’s pass game coordinator since 2024, is also serving as QB coach this year.
Tyson Prince, who worked as Janocko’s assistant last season, has been elevated to co-QB coach. That is not a pairing you see every day.
Plenty of teams split the role between a lead coach and an assistant, but true co-QB coaches are something else entirely.
The uncertainty around the arrangement only adds to the question of who is actually steering Darnold through this rough stretch. Quarterback coaching is about mechanics, sure, but it’s also about getting inside a player’s head. The source of the job is as much support and direction as it is footwork and reads.
Babe Parilli is still the classic example. Chuck Noll brought him to Pittsburgh to help a young Terry Bradshaw, and Parilli is widely viewed as the first dedicated QB coach in league history.
Bradshaw’s results obviously speak for themselves, but when he talks about Parilli, he doesn’t dwell on technique. He remembers the encouragement, the steadiness, the way Parilli helped him through the hard parts.
That’s the kind of help Seattle may be missing now.
With Darnold struggling and the offense searching for answers, the Seahawks don’t just need scheme fixes. They need someone who can help reset the quarterback. Right now, it’s fair to wonder whether that voice was Andrew Janocko - and whether Seattle has already lost the piece it didn’t realize it would miss.
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Sam Darnold Is Becoming Seattles Biggest Problem
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The problems started with protection and never really stopped there. Darnold was sacked, the running game never got going, and a fumble only added to the frustration before his two interceptions became the defining plays of the afternoon, including the one that set up Denvers winning field goal. For a team trying to build momentum early, the bigger concern now is how quickly Seattle can clean up an offense that keeps putting too much weight on its quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Trade Deadline Buzz Centers On One Huge Offensive Need
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For Seattle, the discussion starts with the offense and the kind of addition that could change how the unit looks down the stretch. The speculation around possible trade targets is still just that, but the Seahawks spot in the playoff race makes the need hard to ignore, and it puts the front office in position to decide whether a notable upgrade is worth the cost. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Let A Painful Running Back Mistake Get Worse
Kenneth Walker IIIs departure already looked like a difficult roster choice for the Seahawks, and it has only become more pointed as the season has worn on. Seattle moved on without re-signing the former back, while Walker settled in with the Chiefs on a three-year contract and quickly showed he could still be a difference-maker after a strong postseason run.
The contrast has sharpened because Walker has piled up significant rushing production in fewer games than Seattles current group of backs has managed this season. The teams are set to meet on October 25, which only adds another layer to a decision that now reads less like a reset and more like a miss the Seahawks may have to keep explaining. [Read more 🡒]