Will Wonders Never Cease?

Like mana from heaven the boys at The Daily Gopher posted last night that according to Seattle Seahawks beatwriter Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times, the chances of Gopher "offensive" coordinator Jed Fisch becoming the Seahawks QB Coach has gone from probable to likely. How is this possible? How can it be that the man responsible for Minnesota having an offense ranked 109th in total offense, 100th in scoring offense, and 100th in 3rd Down Conversion Percentage get a job in the NFL? How is it possible that the man responsible for Minnesota's quarterbacks being ranked 99th in passing efficiency, 97th in interceptions thrown, and 75th in passing offense possibly be selected as an NFL team's quarterbacks' coach?!?

I don't know and I don't care: I just hope it happens. I hope Pete Carroll continues to drink whatever Jed Fisch Kool-aid he's been drinking long enough to get him the hell out of Minnesota. It'd be nice if he could find a spot for Tim Brewster on his staff too so we could bring in a head coach who talks less and wins more (Kevin Sumlin anyone? Please? Pretty please?), but I'll settle for a new offensive coordinator. Yes, our third in as many seasons. Yes, the third new offense incumbent starter Adam Weber will have to learn. While this kind of constant change and upheaval usually isn't a recipe for success, it's still better than having Fisch calling plays, and trying to fit our square pegs at quarterback into a round hole.

As much as I wanted Adam Weber yanked last year in favor of MarQueis Gray, I'll concede that Weber was not, and is not, suited for a pro-style offense. He struggles to throw the short and intermediate timing routes (and by struggle I mean he's proven to be pretty much incapable) required in the pro-style drop-back passing offense Fisch brought with him from Denver. What Weber does excel at is throwing long passes, and making throws on roll-outs and play-action fakes, which he got to do a lot of in the previous spread, read option offense Mike Dunbar ran in 2007 and 2008. Obviously as a "dual threat" recruit, Gray's strengths also lie in a spread option offense too.

So while Fisch might have improved by leaps and bounds in his second year calling plays for the Gophers, his best options at quarterback still wouldn't fit his offensive scheme even in the best of times. If/when Fisch takes the Seahawks QB job, Brewster should and hopefully will bring in somebody with an offensive more suited to our talent at quarterback, and while it will be our third offensive coordinator in three years, our players should be more familiar, and hopefully more successful, in a system they ran for two years under Dunbar. Here's hoping.