After all, while it had not become official, any Seahawks fan with a hint of a pulse knew Alexander would eventually be released by the team, which he was on April 23.

And Jones was the player earmarked to replace him after signing a four-year, $12 million contract in early March, which meant they were together for a month.

“We really didn’t talk about anything but where I am living, and he invited me to his church and things like that,” Jones said on Thursday, meeting with the Puget Sound media for the first time since he joined the team. “It wasn’t awkward at all.

“It was part of it. I know Shaun a little bit. Shaun has done some really great things here. He has made a name for himself here and done a lot for the community. He has been a stand-up guy. I have nothing bad to say about Shaun at all. He is a great guy as far as I am concerned.”

With Alexander released, Jones is the player who will begin a new backfield era, which starts today with the Seahawks’ first post-draft minicamp that will last three days.

Of course, Jones is not likely to be featured in the same way that Alexander was during his time in Seattle, where he became the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. Coach Mike Holmgren said on Wednesday that he is probably going to use a committee approach, with no back getting 25 carries in a game the way Alexander regularly did.

In fact, it is unclear exactly how the team will use all the components of its backfield, which includes T.J. Duckett, Maurice Morris, Leonard Weaver, Owen Schmitt and Justin Forsett.

“This is a whole different thing here,” Jones said. “I am coming into a situation where we have two new backs and one back that has been here for a while. We are going to have to get some things sorted out and see where it lands.”

Jones was a second-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 and quickly became their primary runner. After two years, though, they handed Jones’ starting job to Marion Barber and made Jones, who attended Notre Dame, more of a role player.

It prompted Jones’ exit.

“During one point in my second year I was leading the league in yards per game and then I don’t know (what happened),” Jones said. “Things turned and they wanted to go in a different direction, and I dealt with it the last two years and I moved on. I had enough. We had some success there and it is time to do it here in Seattle.”

During the March free agency period, Jones visited Detroit, which allowed Duckett to leave and released Kevin Jones, and Tennessee. His third trip was to Seattle, after which he told his agents to get a deal done.

“I knew Seattle was definitely a place that I would fit in well,” Jones said. “It was just a matter of if there was an opportunity for me. Once that presented itself, I had to take it.”

Part of his reasoning is that he has played well at Qwest Field. During his rookie season, Jones had 198 yards and three touchdowns, including the come-from-behind, game-winning score with 32 seconds left.

It was the third-best performance by any back in the NFL that season.

When the teams met in the playoffs after the 2006 season, Jones gained 112 yards and might have been a hero had Tony Romo not fumbled away the snap on a potential game-winning field goal, which Jones referenced with a smile as the “slick ballgame.”

Nevertheless, those two performances went into Jones’ decision-making as a free agent.

“That was a big factor,” he said. “Being in the whole atmosphere and I love it here. I love playing here. The atmosphere, it is 10 times better than Dallas.”

Pearson promoted to VP

Posted online by Frank Hughes

at 5:10 p.m. Thursday

Tacoma native Dave Pearson has been promoted to vice president/communications and broadcasting, the Seahawks announced Thursday.

Pearson is entering his 11th season with the club, spending his first six years as the director of public relations before assuming the role of director of communications and broadcasting in 2004. In 2007, Pearson and his staff were awarded the Pete Rozelle Award, given to the top media relations staff in the NFL, as voted by the Professional Football Writers of America.

A graduate of Bellarmine Prep and Pacific Lutheran University, Pearson is responsible for shaping the team’s public image and serves as the liaison between the local and national media and the Seahawks’ front office, coaches and players. He also oversees all team publications, Web site content and the Seahawks broadcasting department.

Pearson started his career as an intern with the Seahawks in 1989 before being hired by the Houston Oilers the next year.

He worked in Houston for two seasons, then headed west to become the assistant director of public relations for the Los Angeles Rams in 1992. He returned to Houston before the 1994 season as the director of public relations before moving back to Seattle in 1998.

Pearson graduated from PLU with a media relations and interpersonal communications degree. He and his wife, Beth, have two children, Allie and Chase.

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