Play-caller
- Calls plays: Brian Fleury, OC — confirmed, and it is his first play-calling job at any level of the NFL (ESPN, 2026-06-03: Darnold sees little "transition"; Macdonald: "all play callers have to be first-time play callers" — seahawks.com hire announcement + NFL.com, verified 2026-07-07; staff finalized 2026-03-12, seahawks.com).
- Tenure with team: 1st season (7 prior seasons on Kyle Shanahan's 49ers staff — defensive QC 2019, offense from 2020, TE coach from 2022, run game coordinator title added 2025 — seahawks.com/NFL.com hire coverage, verified 2026-07-07) · Prior relationship with QB1: overlapped with Darnold in SF in 2023 (Fleury TE coach, Darnold backup QB — fox13seattle.com, Feb 2026).
Last 3 play-calling stops (skip non-calling years):
| Stop (team, yrs) | PROE | Neutral pass% | Sec/play (neutral) | Motion% | PA% | 11 / 12 / 21% | Condensed% | RB tgt share | WR1 TS | Inside-10 pass% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None — first-time NFL play-caller | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| *System prior: SEA 2025, Kubiak calling* | −6.8% (nfelo team tendencies, 2025, fetched 2026-07-07) | 52.8% — 23rd (nflverse pbp REG, vegas WP 20–80% excl. final 2:00 of halves, computed 2026-07-07) | 30.4 overall, 24th (Sharp Football pace page, fetched 2026-07-07); neutral drive-gap approx ranks SEA 25th of 32 — slow (computed from pbp 2026-07-07) | 45.8% (FTN via nflverse ftn_charting × participation join, 2025 incl. playoffs, computed 2026-07-07) | 25.3% of charted dropbacks (165/651, same computation) | 42.4 / 28.1 / 13.1% (+8.8% 22 pers.) (nflverse participation, 2025 incl. playoffs, computed 2026-07-07) | UNVERIFIED | 13.6% (62/455 team targets — receiving.csv) | 35.8% (JSN, 163 tgt — receiving.csv) | 42.5% — 24th (34/80 plays, nflverse pbp REG, computed 2026-07-07) |
| *Mentor prior: SF 2019–25, Shanahan calling (Fleury TE coach / 2025 run-game coord.)* | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED |
Read: Fleury has never called plays, so per methodology §9 every tendency is a low-confidence system prior, not a Fleury track record — but the continuity claim is unusually strong and explicit: Fleury's stated goal is "to maintain" Kubiak's offense (NFL.com/seahawks.com, 2026), and Darnold sees little "transition" (ESPN, 2026-06-03). Expect the 2025 shape: deeply run-tilted (−6.8% PROE, 52.8% neutral pass rate, bottom-quartile pace), heavy 12/21/22 personnel (~50% multi-TE/FB sets — WR3 death band), high motion and play-action, a starved RB target share (13.6%), below-average inside-10 pass rate (42.5% — RB/goal-line run equity), and a monster funnel to the WR1 — JSN's 35.8% target share led the league. Fleury has flagged "tempo, physicality and aggressiveness" as emphases (fox13seattle.com, Feb 2026), so pace could tick up, but bake in a first-year install drag on any new wrinkles.
Scheme family
- Run scheme: wide/outside zone (Shanahan family) with heavy 21/22-personnel and gap/duo wrinkles — ~22% of snaps came with 2+ backs (21+22+31 pers., nflverse participation 2025) behind FB Robbie Ouzts. RB fits: one-cut/lateral-burst backs — R1 pick Jadarian Price's burst/receiving profile fits; power back Emanuel Wilson fits the duo/short-yardage packages.
- Pass-game family: Shanahan/McVay tree — wide zone married to play-action (25.3%), high motion (45.8%), condensed sets, YAC engine. Implications: mid aDOT, in-breakers and schemed YAC, a WR1 target share that can be enormous (JSN 35.8% in 2025), healthy TE routes from the 12-personnel diet, and a squeezed WR3 (11 personnel only ~42%).
