Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is earning players’ respect early in his tenure

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Seattle Seahawks tight end Eric Saubert appreciates a dry sense of humor, so it didn’t take long for him to take a liking to Brian Fleury.

Saubert played for San Francisco in 2024, when Fleury was the 49ers’ tight ends coach. The two were reunited in February, when the Seahawks hired Fleury as their offensive coordinator.

“I love dry humor, sarcasm. I love that stuff,” Saubert said this week at Seahawks training camp. “But, overall, he’s a pro in what he does. And I think he’s very innovative in his approach. Overall, I just love working with him.”

Described by players and coaches as even-keeled and stoic, Fleury has shown an ability to command a room early in his first stint as an NFL coordinator.

“He’s obviously very studied, and you would assume that an offensive coordinator would know everyone’s roles,” Saubert said. “But to be able to articulate it in the moment like he does, like, I’m telling you: I’ve been on a lot of teams, and not everyone does that, which is pretty cool. Excited for him.”

The Seahawks are eager to execute Fleury’s scheme, which is similar to that of his predecessor, Klink Kubiak, who’s now the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach.

“I’ve thought as a play caller for a long time,” Fleury said Tuesday. “Obviously, doing it for the first time at this level is going to present some challenges.”

Much of Seattle’s offensive coaching staff from last year’s Super Bowl-winning squad remains intact. Coach Mike Macdonald praised Fleury for acclimating himself to the Seahawks’ holdovers.

“They’re used to doing it a certain way,” Macdonald said of his team. “How do you make your vision come to life within the framework of all the things that have been here is easier said than done. We want to encourage him to keep bringing his vision to life and being himself.”

Macdonald has also been quick to challenge his new coordinator.

“Mike is doing a great job of putting me through the ringer in terms of challenging situations. We go through different ones every day. For some reason, we’re always down by a touchdown with 50 seconds left and no timeouts. I don’t know who’s burning through the timeouts, but it definitely helps me adjust to those situations,” Fleury said.

As they did under Kubiak, the Seahawks expect to use outside zone principles in the run game and feature plenty of play-action passing from Sam Darnold.

Fleury hopes to bring more innovation to the rushing attack and mix up the ways the Seahawks get into their formations.

“Everyone’s got their own little flares in how they like to set things up,” Saubert said. “Brian, he explores a lot of different options in that realm, which is pretty cool.”

Fleury will have plenty of talent to work with, especially at wide receiver. The Seahawks bring back AP Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, veteran Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed, who signed a $51 million, three-year contract in March.

Darnold has some familiarity with Fleury. He was San Francisco’s backup in 2023.

“Whether it’s a good play or bad play, his mentality never changes out there on the field, which I already knew about, being in San Francisco with him,” Darnold said. “But he was always very even-keel. Now, getting to spend a lot more time with him as the offensive coordinator, it’s fun to be able to watch him work every single day and see his mentality out there.”

During his first few months, Fleury has earned his players’ respect. But he’ll have to do more than show his acumen behind the scenes to be considered a success in Seattle.

“He runs his meetings the right way,” tight end AJ Barner said. “He expects great things out of his players. He comes to work each day with the same kind of attitude, that’s just straight business. I think as a player, you can really respect a guy that has those values, so it’s a great fit here.”

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