After a seven-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks, quarterback Seneca Wallace may be getting his first chance to earn a starting job in the NFL.
And the man who took a flyer on him in the draft and helped groom him into an NFL-caliber quarterback is providing the opportunity.
The Cleveland Browns, with former Seahawks head football coach Mike Holmgren now in charge of their front office, gave up an undisclosed draft pick in 2011 to the Seahawks for Wallace, Seattle announced Monday evening.
Holmgren, with the help of former Seahawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell and Browns head coach Eric Mangini, is transforming Cleveland’s offensive system to the West Coast offense, so having a quarterback familiar with the system – Wallace – could help with the transition.
Further, with Seattle learning yet another offense under new offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, the Seahawks freed up a roster spot to select a quarterback in this year’s draft to begin grooming him to eventually take over for 34-year-old veteran Matt Hasselbeck.
Wallace finished with a 5-9 record as a starter and was an able fill-in for Hasselbeck.
Drafted from Iowa State in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft, Wallace developed into an accurate passer under Holmgren’s tutelage, throwing for 3,530 yards on 332-of-555 accuracy (60 percent), totaling 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions for an 83.2 passer rating. Wallace also caught four passes for 76 yards and rushed 54 times for 214 yards.
Last season Seattle was 0-2 with Wallace at the starter.
However, at the end of his coaching tenure with Seattle, after the 2008 season, Holmgren said that Wallace had the skills to be an everyday starter, but had to commit to the preparation needed to become a starting quarterback in the league.
“He’s convinced he can do this,” Holmgren said about Wallace. “Then, now you gotta work like you’re the starter in your preparation, not like you’re the backup. And you say everyone works the same – everyone doesn’t work the same. If you’re going to start the game you’ve got to be ready to go.
“The backup, he studies the same, but it’s different. … You’ve got to commit. It’s gotta be you’re life during the season. And then along with that great preparation comes very good judgment. It should happen for him. He’s proven himself to me many times.”
Wallace, 29, could get his chance in Cleveland, where team president Holmgren isn’t exactly sold on incumbents Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.
Anderson, an Oregon State product, is expected to be released by the Browns before a $2 million roster bonus comes due on March 19.
Holmgren told reporters at the league’s scouting combine last week that he hadn’t made a decision on which quarterback to keep. Anderson is 16-21 as a starter in five seasons, while Quinn is 3-10 as a starter in three seasons, all in Cleveland.
“You’ve got to pick one, commit and coach him up,” Holmgren said when asked about Cleveland’s quarterback situation last week. “And then build confidence, make him better and go. And then surround him with good people.”
Bringing in Wallace appears to be a way Holmgren is getting some clarity at quarterback for Cleveland. In the process, he has helped clear the way in Seattle for a young quarterback to step in behind his former quarterback in Hasselbeck.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
dric.williams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/
