The Seattle Seahawks have fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and offensive line coach Tom Cable, making a massive shake-up along their coaching staff after a disappointing season.
The team announced the moves Wednesday afternoon. Neither came as a surprise after coach Pete Carroll left the door open for potential coaching changes when he said after the season that Seattle's staff would be evaluated.
"I would like to thank the entire Seahawks organization for seven great seasons," Bevell said in a statement released through the team.
"I can't thank Mr. Allen, Pete Carroll, John Schneider, our coaching staff and players enough for the support and hard work they put in to help build the championship success of this team," Bevell said of owner Paul Allen, Carroll and general manager Schneider.
Bevell and Cable both joined the Seahawks in 2011, the year after Carroll and Schneider arrived. Cable also held the title of assistant head coach.
"We are challenged by change, but excited to attack the future with great purpose," Carroll said in a statement released by the team. "I want to thank both Tom and Darrell for their role in helping take this program to a championship level. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to coach and compete alongside these great men."
"It has been a really cool experience to coach for my hometown team," Cable said in a statement released through the team Thursday, "and I want to thank Mr. Allen, Pete Carroll, John Schneider, coaches, players and staff for their support. Seattle is where I grew up and it will always remain a special place to me."
The dismissals of Bevell and Cable come on the heels of the Seahawks finishing 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Seattle was 15th in total offense and 11th in scoring but had particular trouble moving the ball in December, producing fewer than 150 yards in a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and a Week 16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Seattle's yardage totals in those games marked the team's lowest since 2013. The Seahawks' running game, which Cable coordinated, finished outside of the top 20 for the second straight season.
Receiver Doug Baldwin, as he has done on other occasions, defended Bevell after the season.
"It's not playcalling. It's not playcalling," Baldwin said. "We go into a game knowing what the defense is going to give us, the situations that we're going to be in. We don't execute as a team. Offensively, that's what we've seen time and time again, is that we do not execute the way that we should. And that's on us as players. You guys can blame Bev all you want to, but the truth of the matter is that Bev's not the problem."
Cable, a native of Snohomish, Washington, came to Seattle after going 17-27 over parts of three seasons as the Oakland Raiders' coach. The Seahawks finished no worse than fourth in the NFL in rushing every season from 2012-15, setting a franchise record with 2,762 rushing yards in 2014, the year Seattle advanced to its second straight Super Bowl. But since the departure of Marshawn Lynch after the 2015 season, the running game has struggled. Seattle dropped to 25th in rushing in 2016 and was 23rd in 2017.
One potential candidate to replace Bevell is Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. The former Washington and USC coach worked for Carroll with the Trojans. However, Falcons coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday there was "zero chance" of Sarkisian leaving for Seattle.
A former quarterback at Wisconsin, Bevell came to Seattle after serving as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator for the previous five seasons. He replaced Jeremy Bates, who followed Carroll to Seattle from USC but was fired after one season. Bevell is the first Seahawks coordinator on either side of the ball to be fired since Bates.
Bevell and Cable oversaw Seattle's offense during the most successful run in franchise history, which included five straight playoff appearances and two trips to the Super Bowl. Bevell played a role in the development of quarterback Russell Wilson. But both became exceedingly unpopular figures among Seahawks fans, especially Bevell after Seattle lost Super Bowl XLIX to the New England Patriots on an interception at the goal line, costing the team a second straight world championship.
The Seahawks ranked ninth in total offense during that 2014 season and fourth in 2015, which marked their only seasons in the top 10 during Bevell's run. Seattle was 12th in 2016 and ranked in the bottom half of the league from 2011-13. The 2012-15 seasons, however, all rank among the top eight in franchise history in terms of points scored.
Information from ESPN's Vaughn McClure was used in this report.