Seattle quarterbacks coach Austin Davis named offensive coordinator at Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - The Auburn Tigers have named their new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The Tigers announced in a news release that NFL veteran and current Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Austin Davis will be coming to the Plains as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He is a former two-time All Conference USA quarterback at Southern Miss, and he has spent the last three seasons with the Seahawks, working closely with eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson.

The Meridian, Mississippi, native played in the NFL for St. Louis, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle and Tennessee before becoming an offensive assistant for the Seahawks in 2019. In 2020, Davis was promoted to quarterbacks coach.

During Davis’ first season as quarterbacks coach, Wilson threw more than 4,000 yards for the fourth time in his career and set the franchise record for touchdown passes at 40, completions at 384, and completion percentage at 68.8%. Wilson also earned NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September and was voted to his eighth Pro Bowl. Wilson completed the 2020 season with 267 career touchdown passes, second only to Peyton Manning for most touchdown passes through a player’s first nine seasons.

In Davis’ first year with the Seahawks, Wilson earned his first All-Pro honors while passing for 4,110 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 66.1% of his passes. This season, Seattle’s offense is eighth in the league in completion percentage at 67%, fifth in yards per completion at 11.7, and tied for the league in fewest interceptions thrown while Wilson missed three games with an injury.

“From the first conversation I had with Austin, you could just feel his passion for coaching and teaching the game,” head coach Bryan Harsin said in a statement. “He’s spent the past 10 years as a player or coach in the NFL, bringing that experience from the highest level into our offensive and quarterback rooms. He’s learned and been around some of the best in the business and has been on an upward trajectory since joining the coaching ranks. We can’t wait to get him teamed up with the rest of our staff.”

Davis said he is honored to be a part of Harsin’s staff.

“I’m honored and privileged to be the next Offensive Coordinator at Auburn University and to be a part of an elite staff led by Coach Harsin,” Davis said in a statement. “Being born and raised in Mississippi, you know very well what SEC football is all about and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity that is before me. I’ve been very fortunate to work for one of the best organizations in all of sports and would like to extend a special thanks to Pete Carroll and John Schneider for believing in me as a young coach. I can’t wait to get down to the Plains and get to work. War Eagle, y’all.”

An undrafted free agent who had a seven-year career in the NFL, Davis started 10 of 16 career games played, completing 236 of 378 passes for 2,548 yards, with 13 touchdowns. His most successful year as a player was the 2014 season; he started eight games for the St. Louis Rams, where he threw for 12 touchdowns and completed 64.3% of his passes. Davis served as Wilson’s backup in Seattle in 2017.

Davis, who threw for 10,898 yards and 83 touchdowns while accounting for 109 scores in his career at Southern Miss still owns 10 school records.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 2012 MLB Draft in the 31st round. His brother, Bo, played for the San Diego Padres.

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