Seattle Seahawks: Alex Gibbs Is a Coup, Brandon Marshall Would Not Be

Pete Carroll’s Seattle offense looks like it will have a distinctive Denver flavor, but we can only hope that does not include Brandon Marshall.

Carroll’s biggest coup since being hired Monday was luring legendary offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, the zone-blocking guru who made Terrell Davis a 2,000-yard rusher and played a great part in the Broncos’ Super Bowl wins in John Elway’s final two years.

Gibbs’ presence in Seattle is huge in a couple of ways. For one, the Seahawks can continue to learn the zone scheme that was installed by the former staff, but they will learn it from the master. Second, the 68-year-old Gibbs (pictured) will be a major influence on Carroll’s young and extremely inexperienced offensive coordinator, 33-year-old Jeremy Bates.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak sang Gibbs’ praises after the line coach helped the Texans’ offense improve from 14th in 2007 to a top-five unit the past two years. 

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what Alex did for us,” Kubiak told reporters. “He helped a young coordinator (Kyle Shanahan) grow. He brought toughness to our team. And he helped some young coaches, too.”

That’s everything the Seahawks need.

Gibbs’ biggest influence should be on Bates, the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Jim Bates. Jeremy spent seven years climbing the ladder in the NFL before replacing Steve Sarkisian as USC’s offensive coordinator last year. The NFL experience peaked when Bates became Mike Shanahan’s quarterbacks and receivers coach in Denver in 2007.

If there are any legs to the rumor that the Seahawks might try to acquire Marshall, it’s likely because of the arrival of Bates and Jedd Fisch, who replaced Bates as Denver’s receivers coach in 2008 and reportedly will be joining Carroll’s staff as quarterbacks coach after one year as the offensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota.

Fisch received high praise from Shanahan, who brought him to Denver after Fisch was let go from Baltimore when Brian Billick was fired in 2008.

“He’s one of the top coaches I’ve been around,” Shanahan reportedly said before Minnesota hired him last year. “He’s one of the first guys I would hire. He did a great job for me last year. He relates very well to players, and he really knows both the running and passing games.”

Marshall himself reportedly said, “He had us prepared week in and week out. He’s a guy who got the best out of me, no matter what.”

So if the Seahawks think they could get Marshall to behave, it’s because of Bates and Fisch.

That said, the Hawks would be incredibly stupid to invest anything in a chump like Marshall, who is one of the top five thugs in the NFL and is the definition of a clubhouse cancer. The guy is as immature as he is talented, and there’s no place on any football team for punks like him—prima donnas who demand to be traded, act like spoiled brats in practice and fake injuries.

Chump, thug, punk. Too strong, you say? Not for any loser who steals, intimidates women, drives drunk, and gets his teammate murdered .

So what happens if the Seahawks are stupid enough and/or egotistical enough to think they can straighten this chucklehead out? Under the current CBA, the four-year veteran will be a restricted free agent. If the Broncos tender him at the high level, another team would need to surrender a first-round pick and a third-rounder to sign him. And then, of course, pay him a mammoth contract.

Maybe the Broncos would trade him for slightly less, but even if they were asking only for one of those retarded capless beer bottles from Qwest Field, it still wouldn’t be worth it.

The only former Broncos the Seahawks need are Gibbs, Bates, and Fisch.