Hank Fraley coaches one of the NFL’s premier offensive lines in Detroit.
The offensive coordinator search has begun for the Seattle Seahawks.
NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported on Thursday that Seattle plans to interview Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley. The league rules indicate that assistants on teams on a bye (such as the Lions) can conduct interviews for vacant jobs three days after the Week 18 finale up until the end of Wild Card weekend. Those interviews must be a maximum of three hours in length and virtual only.
Fraley has never been an offensive coordinator in either college or the NFL. He’s exclusively been an assistant or main offensive line coach at the University of San Diego, San Jose State, the Minnesota Vikings, UCLA, and the Detroit Lions. The former Philadelphia Eagles center has been strongly praised for the success of the Lions offensive line, which is led by the dominant right tackle Penei Sewell and All-Pro center Frank Ragnow.
Detroit boasts the highest scoring offense in the NFL in 2024 and have one of the top rushing attacks in the league between David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. With offensive coordinator Ben Johnson likely to become a head coach after Detroit’s season is over, it’s no surprise that other teams are looking at Detroit’s coaching staff to see if they can have what they’re having. Last year Seattle interviewed Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand, who’s considered an in-house candidate to replace Ben Johnson as OC should he depart.
Of course, Fraley is one candidate and he’s never been an OC or called plays. Expect a wide net to be cast for the OC job much like we saw for the Seahawks’ head coach search before they eventually hired Mike Macdonald.