Seahawks Add Run Game Coordinator to Klint Kubiak’s Offensive Staff

The Seattle Seahawks announced the hire of former Tennessee Titans running backs coach Justin Outten on Thursday.

Continuing to place an emphasis on improving their ground attack in 2025, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and the Seattle Seahawks turned to a familiar face to take the reins as the team’s new run game guru.

Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Seahawks intend to hire Titans running back coach Justin Outten as their new run game coordinator, creating a position that was not on former coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offensive staff. The move has yet to be officially announced by the team, but coach Mike Macdonald did indicate on Tuesday that more moves with the coaching staff likely would be announced in coming days.

Formerly a center for Syracuse, Outten transitioned from playing to coaching with the Orange as a graduate assistant in 2007 and then spent eight seasons on the staff at Westfield High School in Texas before jumping to the NFL in 2016. Following a one-year internship with the organization, the Falcons hired him as an offensive assistant in 2017 and he held that role two seasons before joining the Packers on coach Matt Lafleur’s staff as a tight end coach in 2019.

Quickly climbing up the coaching ladder, Outten followed then-Green Bay offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to Denver as the new offensive coordinator, though he didn’t call plays until late in the season after Hackett had been fired for poor performance. Interestingly, Kubiak served on that same staff as the quarterback coach and replaced Hackett as the play caller initially for two games before Outten finished up the season in that role.

With the Broncos bringing in a brand new coaching staff in 2023, Outten joined the Titans as a running backs coach, overseeing another strong season from perennial All-Pro ball carrier Derrick Henry as he rushed for over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns. He remained on Tennessee’s staff after coach Mike Vrabel was replaced by Brian Callahan and lead back Tony Pollard eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with five touchdowns as one of the few bright spots for a 27th-ranked scoring offense.

Seahawks coach Klint Kubiak speaks with the media during his introductory press conference.

Like Kubiak, Outten’s past experiences have exposed him to the system originally heralding from legendary coach Mike Shanahan, including his three seasons with LaFleur, a former Shanahan assistant in Washington, as well as his lone year with Hackett in Denver. He will become the latest assistant to join Seattle’s staff with prior ties to Kubiak, who brought offensive line coach John Benton and quarterback coach Andrew Janocko from New Orleans with him and also previously spent three years with running back coach Kennedy Polamalu in Minnesota.

Teaming up with Kubiak, Benton, and Polamalu, Outten will be charged with igniting a dormant Seahawks run game that floundered last season under former coordinator Ryan Grubb, finishing 28th in rushing yards and 29th in attempts. Last season, the team leaned heavily on gap concepts, particularly in the second half, but Kubiak and Benton have an extensive history of orchestrating dynamic zone-centric schemes, including the vaunted wide zone made famous in Shahanan’s system.

Questions remain about Seattle’s offensive line moving forward, but Outten will inherit a talented stable of running backs headlined by Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, two former second-round picks capable of doing damage both as runners and receivers. Third-year runner Kenny McIntosh will return after a strong finish to the 2024 season and could emerge as a viable third down option in Kubiak’s offense, while former Boise State standout George Holani will battle for a roster spot after spending most of last season on the practice squad.