Seahawks reportedly interested in Chiefs assistant Joe Cullen for defensive coordinator

The first apparent candidate to become the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator was reported Sunday.

And it’s a name with which new head coach Mike Macdonald is well familiar — Joe Cullen, who served on the defensive staff of the Ravens with Macdonald from 2016-20.

Cullen is the defensive-line coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, who are preparing for Super Bowl LVIII against the 49ers on Sunday.

That would mean that he cannot be hired until after the Super Bowl next Sunday.

CBSSports.com reported Sunday that Cullen is “in the mix” for several defensive coordinator jobs, specifically “with the Seahawks and (Washington) Commanders, as well as at the University of Michigan.”

Cullen was the defensive-line coach with the Ravens under John Harbaugh from 2016-20 when Macdonald was working his way up Baltimore’s staff, going from defensive assistant to defensive backs coach and linebackers coach before leaving to take over as the DC at Michigan in 2021.

Cullen also left that same year to become the DC with the Jacksonville Jaguars — his only season as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

The Jags went 3-14 that year with Urban Meyer fired late in the season and former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell taking over on an interim basis.

Jacksonville’s defense improved markedly under Cullen, going from 31st in yards allowed the previous season to 20th, cutting its yards-per-play allowed from 6.3 to 5.6.

Cullen, 56, would add another experienced voice on the Seahawks’ coaching staff to complement Macdonald, who at 36 is the youngest head coach in the NFL.

A source confirmed on Friday that the Seahawks will hire 64-year-old Leslie Frazier as assistant head coach. Frazier has significant history as a defensive coordinator, including from 2017-22 with the Buffalo Bills. But a source said he would not be the DC with the Seahawks.

Macdonald said he plans to continue to call defensive plays with the Seahawks after serving as the DC with the Ravens the last two seasons. That has left some to wonder how the Seahawks would delegate the responsibilities for a defensive coordinator.

Macdonald said he would be open to eventually giving up the play-calling responsibilities to focus on head-coach duties.

“Yeah, right now the plan is I’ll be calling the plays,’’ Macdonald said Thursday during his introductory news conference. “Now, depending on who the defensive coordinator is and when that becomes — ultimately, I’m the head coach of the football team, so I want to coach the football team. Right now, the best way that we can win in my opinion is for me to call the plays, and then when it becomes obvious that someone else is ready to go and we see it the same way, then we’ll make that change.’’

Cullen rebuilt his career following a trio of alcohol-related arrests in 2005 and 2006 when he was with Ole Miss and the Detroit Lions — most notably, he was arrested for driving naked through a Wendy’s drive-through in 2006 and arrested for DUI a week later while with the Lions.

He went into treatment and has talked extensively since about his recovery.

“The thing at Ole Miss and what happened in Detroit, I said then that alcohol and me could no longer be teammates,” Cullen said in 2023 in a story on Jacksonville.com. “My career and family name were more important than any sip of beer or glass of whiskey. I wasn’t going to let those incidents define me. If you learn from it, then it can be a shining light. Eventually, great things can happen.”

Cullen stayed with the Lions through 2008 and received credit there for convincing the team to draft Cliff Avril out of Purdue in the third round of the draft that year

Avril had five sacks as a rookie in 2008 with Cullen as Detroit’s defensive-line coach. Avril spent five years with the Lions before signing with the Seahawks in 2013.

“He actually has a concept to the pass rush,” Avril said of Cullen in a 2010 Jacksonville.com story. “He’s intense, an in-your-face kind of a guy, but I enjoyed my time with him. He helped me get to the quarterback quite a few times. The drills that we did in practice were very helpful. They made you think about small things [in pass-rush] that you might not think about.

“I felt like he knew a lot about rushing the passer. He knew what particular guys needed to work on to get to the quarterback.”

A source confirmed Macdonald is expected to retain Karl Scott, who was the Seahawks’ defensive passing-game coordinator the past two seasons, though it’s unclear in what capacity.

It’s unclear if Macdonald will retain other members of Pete Carroll’s former staff.

The Seahawks are also still searching for an offensive coordinator.

A league source confirmed that former UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who followed Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, is under consideration. Reports have also stated that Detroit passing-game coordinator Tanner Engstrand is also a candidate.

A report Saturday stated that the Seahawks also hoped to talk with Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka for the OC job after being impressed with him during two interviews for the head-coaching job. But multiple reports confirmed that the Giants then blocked Seattle’s attempt to talk to Kafka for the OC job, which is allowed under NFL rules allowing teams to block coaches to leave for lateral positions.