It's Time to Fire John Marshall

by: Mike Parker

After suffering through two quarters of this painful and miserable excuse for a football game on the part of the Seahawks, I've come to a conclusion that might seem as obvious as how awful the team itself is right now:

Something needs to change.

This team needs to seriously examine why the failures are mounting and why the fans here in Seattle have nothing to cheer about. (I'm not even including the Sonics and Mariners here.) The secondary is atrocious and very rarely plays their man--even Trufant. Earlier tonight, the defense got its first deflected pass of the year. Yes, you read that right: The first DEFLECTED pass of the year. It's inexcusable, especially with a team as supposedly talented as this.

The offense isn't doing itself any favors, either. Granted, it hurts not to have Hasselbeck under center enough in the first place, but the heart isn't there. There's no passion, no desire to win.

Earlier today, I made a post about how coaching changes have given an added spark to teams in the NFC West this year. I think it's time for the Seahawks to take a step back and honestly look at why their performance so far this year is downright shameful compared to years past. Individual players as talented as Lofa Tatupu, Patrick Kerney and Marcus Trufant do not suddenly regress because of large contracts or minor injuries. The unit as a whole looks completely clueless, and I truly believe it is John Marshall's idiotic coverage schemes from 1992 that are at fault for the bulk of the defensive failures suffered this year.

Naturally, it's not all on the shoulders of the coaches--the players have to do their jobs and make plays. It's as simple as that. But this year has shown that bad coaching can make even Pro Bowl-caliber players look like they're in high school. Mike Holmgren's conservative style is simply not working with this team this year, and I don't know whether it's the new players we've signed or the possibility that his final year as head coach has made him apathetic, but this showing so far has made a once-proud franchise into a walking joke.

We need change in the Seattle Seahawks' coaching staff. It's time to fire John Marshall NOW as opposed to later. This cannot wait until next year. It's sad to say, but this season has come down to a matter of simply avoiding further embarrassment and saving what face we have left. This team doesn't deserve this, and this city has already suffered enough horrible sports catastrophes this year to deal with this any longer. -END-