Six new Seahawks coaches announced, including a former backup QB who’s now an offensive assistant
Two years after he was Russell Wilson’s backup quarterback, Austin Davis is going to be one of his coaches.
The Seahawks announced their coaching-staff changes for 2019 on Friday. It includes Davis ending his NFL career to start one in coaching. The 29-year-old Davis is a new offensive assistant for Seattle.
Davis was Wilson’s backup in the Seahawks’ 2017 season. He appeared in three games that year: late in Seattle’s blowout win at the New York Giants in October; for one play in the win at Arizona in November when Wilson exited then returned too quickly for the NFL’s concussion protocol; and late in Seattle’s blowout loss at home to the Rams in December 2017.
Davis was with the Seahawks through the 2018 preseason, until their final cuts before last regular season. He spent the end of last year with Tennessee, though he did not appear in a game for the Titans.
Yes, Pete Carroll’s staff is changing again, but not nearly as much as this time last year. Then, nine new coaches, including both the offensive and defensive coordinators Brian Schottenheimer and Ken Norton Jr., arrived in the biggest overhaul of Carroll’s nine years as the Seahawks’ coach.
Most of the six changes on the staff in 2019 are in Seattle’s strength and conditioning and training areas.
Ivan Lewis is the Seahawks’ new strength and conditioning coach, after the team fired Chris Carlisle last month. Lewis was USC’s assistant strength and conditioning coach at USC under Carlisle in 2006-08, when Carroll was coaching the Trojans. Lewis became Steve Sarkisian’s head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Washington from 2009-13. From 2014 through this past football season Lewis was USC’s head strength and conditioning coach.
Jamie Yanchar returns as assistant strength and conditioning coach. His fellow new assistants are Thomas Garcia, Mark Philipp and Grant Steen. Garcia has been the Seahawks’ sports science specialist for the last six years. Mondray Gee is no longer a Seahawks strength and conditioning assistant.
Brad Idzik, son of former Seahawks vice president for football administration (2007-12) and Jets general manager John Idzik, is Seattle’s new assistant wide receivers coach. He had been an offensive graduate assistant at Stanford.
Steve Shimko is the new assistant quarterbacks coach.
Former assistant athletic trainer David Stricklin is the team’s new head athletic trainer. He replaces Donald Rich.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 2:03 PM.
