Seahawks GM John Schneider Explains When He Knew Geno Smith Was for Real

Seattle knew what it had in its quarterback before much of the public did.

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John Schneider likes to look at the success of Geno Smith, and the Seahawks, in their first year post–Russell Wilson as a triumph of the culture that’s been built in the Pacific Northwest over the past 13 years. And there’s perhaps no better example of that than the reason Schneider stuck with Smith through four one-year deals, each of which helped lead to the deal he signed last week.

Quite simply, the GM listened to Pete Carroll and his coaches.

“The coaching staff was so strong on him in terms of, he can handle this, he can operate at a high level,” Schneider said from his office Thursday night. “Everyone thought he played well when he played in those three games [in 2021], too. The first game he played, unfortunately Tyler [Lockett] gets tripped and falls down, and he throws a pick and the game’s over. But he was humming right before that and had a chance to go down and win the game. Played well against the Saints, played well against Pittsburgh and Jacksonville.

“He had a real nice stretch.”

Few paid much attention. Fewer thought it was foreshadowing what ended up happening in 2022.

The Seahawks knew what they had in Smith before most of the public did :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

But there the Seahawks were last week, affirming what became obvious in the fall—Smith, the same Smith who had to keep earning his job back, year after year, is the Seahawks’ guy now. Seattle declared as much with the three-year, $75 million deal (escalators can take it all the way to $105 million between now and 2025) that came to life in large part because of the impression Smith made on the coaches around him over his seven years as a backup.

And interestingly enough, it wasn’t just the guys inside Schneider’s own workplace who were telling him these stories. The GM worked with Ben McAdoo at the end of his time with the Packers and with Frank Cignetti Jr. early in his career with the Chiefs. Both were with Smith with the Giants in 2017.

“They were always hitting me up about him, like, Man, keep an eye on Geno, he’s a real dude,” Schneider says. “Remember, they played him ahead of Eli [Manning].”

So the flashes that most people ignored in 2021, Schneider, again, was paying close attention to—and it’s why, when everyone wondered why Smith kept taking the first snap of every practice through the spring and summer, even with Seattle’s stated desire to pit him against Drew Lock (acquired in the Wilson trade). Lock did get struck with bad luck at the time, with a really poorly timed case of COVID-19 hitting him in the home stretch of the quarterback derby, but by then Smith wasn’t giving an inch.

That flowed right into a highly charged season opener against Wilson and the Broncos—one which is where Schneider first got the feeling that Smith might be a little more than a one-year solution.

“The Denver game was so hyped up, ever since the schedule came out. He was the backup, he wants to prove himself, everyone’s been talking about the game all year—The Seahawks don’t know what the f--- they’re doing. Geno’s just a guy. He’s been hearing that all summer. And he goes out there and plays well and we win the game. And just a couple weeks later, the Detroit game, he was just totally on fire.”

Three months after that, Smith was leading Seattle to an overtime win over the Rams to put the Seahawks back in the playoffs, right after the worst year of the Carroll-Schneider era dropped the curtain on Wilson’s time as their quarterback, which led into the negotiation that unfolded over the last six weeks or so. And just the same as the experience Carroll had going from quarterback to quarterback, and adjusting as such, at USC, and the culture he and Schneider have built made that happen, it also set the stage for the tone of contract talks.

Were there bumps? Sure. But because of what the Seahawks and Smith had been through together, and both what the culture in Seattle did for Smith and how Smith fit that culture like a glove, everyone was motivated to get something fair done. That started with Smith’s exit meetings after the playoff loss to the 49ers, and continued as his agent, Chafie Fields, got involved.

“His representation, they were so calm and easy to work with—challenging, great questions but not in a condescending manner,” Schneider says. “It really was like we were working together. We were working together. It’s not like someone was trying to get over, like Team A was trying to get over on Team B. It was very collaborative. It was not in the media. We didn’t have to worry about Chafie going to the media to get his point across.

“We were able to just talk through our differences in a really professional manner.”

The deal is relatively straightforward. Smith gets $26.1 million to sign and $27.5 million in his first year. Seattle will have a decision to make next March, when a $9.6 million roster bonus is due, and his $12.7 million base for 2024 becomes guaranteed. But there’s upside to the deal, too (up to $30 million in incentives, based on hitting 4,282 yards passing, 30 TD passes, 69.755% completions, a 100.84 passer rating and 10 wins or a playoff berth), over the next two years, plus the belief that Smith and his team have turned the corner.

And because the deal is done now, the Seahawks will get the chance to build around Smith, with free agency coming this week and the draft (the Seahawks have the fifth pick, and four of the first 52 picks) seven weeks away.

Which is something very few people thought anyone would be saying a year ago.

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