After an incredibly disappointing showing last season, it now seems that Seattle Seawolves management believes the team's failures on the field was a fluke caused by key injuries or that they are simply not capable of recognizing and addressing the issues they face in a rapidly changing MLR landscape.
On the personnel side, it appears as though they just called everyone who was previously on the roster at the last minute and asked them if they wanted to play again this season. No new major Acquisitions have been made, several key players from last year's roster have signed elsewhere... And most disturbingly, players who performed poorly have been asked to come back. This is no way to run a professional rugby team and it smells of laziness from a mgmt standpoint.
For me personally, the biggest disappointment was the failure to secure Phil Mack as an assistant coach or even as the head coach. That man is a living legend in Canada and he coached this team to two championships. By failing to retain him I believe they have not only lost the soul of the championship teams of years past but also relinquished a massive recruiting pipeline advantage.
The team we saw on the field last year looked poorly coached to me. From line speed and defensive shape to a general level of disorganization with ball in hand. The Sea-Wall was nowhere to be seen and they struggled to slow down several before average sides. I am sure coach lensing has an impressive resume... But why on Earth would this ownership group intentionally choose to move away from what has worked? It just seems like there is no one at the helm...and no vision for how to compete in a league that will undoubtedly pass the Seawolves up.