It makes sense why so many Super Bowl-winning teams struggle to pull off a consecutive championship the next year. The strain of all those extra high-pressure games mounts, free agents cash in on major deals elsewhere, and other teams pluck assistants from the coaching staff.
The Seattle Seahawks found this out the hard way, losing their offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, to the Las Vegas Raiders' head-coaching vacancy immediately after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy last February.
Replacing Kubiak is a name familiar to San Francisco 49ers fans: former tight ends coach Brian Fleury.
Fleury, a new face to play-calling duties after jumping ship in the NFC West, will have tough shoes to fill after Kubiak continued the resurrection of quarterback Sam Darnold's career and turned wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba into last year's Offensive Player of the Year.
In fact, the Niners could've hoped Fleury's inexperience in that department would tip the balance of power within the division back in San Francisco's favor.
Except things don't appear to be going that way.
Brian Fleury's 1st reviews are good for Seahawks (and bad for 49ers)
Despite never having called offensive plays before his new gig, Fleury unquestionably has talents. If he didn't, the Hawks wouldn't have signed him away from the 49ers so quickly once Kubiak left.
Yet the initial reactions to Fleury's imprints on Seattle's offense have been entirely positive, and leave it to Darnold to shout out his new coordinator (remember, they crossed paths in the Bay Area back in 2023) amid organized team activities and mandatory minicamp:
Fleury has been great. His command, his presence, the way that he installs it with the run game, pass game, his command over the entire system has been incredible. … His standard’s really high for our group, not only for us but himself as well. … He’s going to hold us to a high standard and not let us stoop down to a certain level knowing that we can continue to rise and continue to get better, especially during this time. He’s been great.
Head coach Mike Macdonald doubled down on Darnold's sentiments, too, acknowledging how Fleury is picking up right where Kubiak left off:
He’s very detail-oriented. I love how we coach the whole offense, much like Klint did, but it’s gotta all be connected. All the details matter, the fundamentals matter, the drills matter on how we build out our offense. And he’s very aware of that. It matters to him. He’s very detailed. He’s doing a great job with the staff.
Granted, it'd be odd for either Darnold or Macdonald to say anything different at this point. And the true test will come when games actually matter.
Still, it's becoming apparent Fleury will help keep the Seahawks offense closer to the No. 3 scoring unit it was a year ago rather than aiding in its downfall. Closer to a Niners perspective, it won't be an offensive equivalent of going to a Nick Sorensen defense after successful years of Robert Saleh, Demeco Ryans and even Steve Wilks.
And that's potentially troubling for San Francisco.
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