Heath Farwell can’t ignore the strangeness of it all.
“Just putting on the tape and seeing the Seahawks this week is different,” the Buffalo Bills’ special teams coordinator said while getting ready for Sunday’s game at Bills Stadium.
That’s because, for the first time since 2017, Farwell is preparing to face the team with which he spent four seasons as a player and two as an assistant special teams coach. Though the first six years of his NFL career as a linebacker and special-teams player were with the Minnesota Vikings, Farwell will always view his time with Seattle as the most formative for him as a man, a player and, ultimately, as a coach.
When he signed with the Seahawks after the Vikings released him in 2011, Farwell felt his enthusiasm for football wane. He needed something to give him a psychological boost.
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He needed exactly what Pete Carroll, the Seahawks’ coach, has long provided those around him – a heavy dose of positivity and youthful exuberance. Farwell continued to be what he had been after joining the Vikings in 2005 as an undrafted free agent from San Diego State, a key contributor on special teams and the captain of the unit. He just was more excited about doing it.
“When I got to Seattle, it kind of rejuvenated my career,” Farwell said. “I started to get more into it, the X's and O's aspect of it, and just the teaching. The energy we had out there, being around Coach Carroll and that staff, Brian Schneider was and still is the special teams coordinator and does a fantastic job, kind of rejuvenated me.
“The Seahawks had just made the playoffs, at 7-9, the year before I got there. But when I got there, it was all rookies and younger players. This was Richard Sherman's second year, Earl Thomas, all those guys that are household names now, superstars, were young players. So, I was kind of brought in as an older veteran to kind of help out the special teams, hopefully provide some leadership and to show the importance of special teams, show how it is to prepare every week to play special teams. I understood that role.
“I was a big brother to a lot of those guys, those young players. Malcolm Smith, who went on to be a Super Bowl MVP, was a young linebacker. Bobby Wagner was playing on punt team with us. K.J. Wright was on punt team. I was that kind of the voice of reason. At least, I like to think that.”
Realizing he was near the end as a player, Farwell began giving serious thought to what he would do next. He knew he wanted to remain close to the game, and with Carroll bringing out Farwell’s inner coach by often peppering him with questions framed around “how a coach would handle it,” the next step seemed obvious.
After retiring in 2014, Farwell took some time away from football. Two years later, the Seahawks hired him as their assistant special teams coach.
“It was a natural transition, a natural fit, knowing the program and what the program was about,” said Farwell, who spent 2018 as assistant special teams coach of the Carolina Panthers before joining the Bills before last season. “I'm super grateful, not only for my time as a player – that organization was unbelievable to my family and I – but Coach Carroll was unbelievable. He's still a mentor.
“But it's another opponent, I guess, is what you'd say. It's another week, another opportunity. It's going to be great to see them pregame. I'm going to love to see all those guys, but once we tee it up for the opening kickoff, it'll all change and I'm sure they're going to want to destroy me as much as I do them.”
In the latest edition of One-on-One Coverage, The Buffalo News spoke with Farwell on a video call about his time with the Seahawks, the performance of kicker Tyler Bass, punter Corey Bojorquez, kick returner Andre Roberts and the Bills’ kick coverage.
Buffalo News: In what ways did Pete Carroll influence you in terms of your coaching?
Heath Farwell: His positive approach. Coach Carroll never has a bad day and it shows. The team feels that, the coaches feel that. His energy ... he's like a kid out there, playing in the park. What you see on the field of him throwing the ball in pregame, that's how he is in meetings. I remember as a player, him dribbling the basketball down the halls. I don't know his exact age (69), but he's half that. That's his personality.
And I think it's a direct reflection of the team. The team sees that and enjoys that. That's how they play and that's how that organization goes. He makes football fun for players and he has their back. Guys love playing for him, they love coaching with him.
BN: What did you observe as far as how he walked that line between being so popular with his players but also being an authority figure?
HF: I think it's a respect thing. I think everybody appreciates that he has the players' backs. And when you have that, the guys will go to battle for you. You don't ever hear him yell at players. That's the same thing I do here, and I got it from Coach Carroll and that staff. These guys know I'm never going to yell at them. I'm going to pull them aside, put my arm around them and let them know, "Hey, this is not how we do it, but, hey, we did a lot of good stuff."
There's something about that where guys gravitate to it. These are grown men. To yell at them, to scream at them, it doesn't seem to be as effective as letting them know you have their back and their best interest in mind and you're trying to help them. It just seems like it gets the most out of players.
BN: What are some of your best Seattle memories?
HF: Well, the obvious would be running out that tunnel in the Super Bowl (XLVIII, which the Seahawks won against Denver) and going out for the coin toss as one of the captains, just to honor the team. And holding that 12th Man flag that I did for a handful of years out there. It means so much to the city and that area. The 12th Man is so big out there and to run out the tunnel with that flag every week, and then to do it in the Super Bowl, were two of my biggest memories.
BN: At times, Tyler Bass has kicked well and at times he has struggled the way you might expect a rookie to struggle. What are you seeing?
HF: Tyler's done a good job. There's definitely room to improve. But that's part of being a rookie and every day is different to him. Every day, something new comes up for him and you say, "OK, OK, let's start back over. Let's go through that." So, we're walking him through every single day. He's loaded with talent, he's getting better every day, but it's still a work in progress.
The good news is he's growing and he's learning. His upside's there and he cares, he wants to do it, so I couldn't be more excited where this kid's going and what he's doing. Are there going to be some bumps in the road along the way? Of course. It's not smooth sailing. It never is with any rookie, especially at a kicker position. But I wouldn't trade him for the world. He's done a heck of a job. He's made some big kicks for us. He's been fantastic.
BN: When your kicker struggles, to what extent can you, having never been a kicker, offer any sort of technical coaching?
HF: Matthew Smiley, my assistant, does a heck of a job with kind of more the technical stuff with the kicker and the punter. He has a lot more knowledge than I do about the kicking game as far as that. But Tyler is a guy that has a good understanding for himself on what he did and he has a good understanding even within the game, saying, "OK, I've got to tweak this, I've got to do this. This is what happened when I missed the kick." And by the time we get a chance to look at it on tape, we can correct and do what we can to fix it. But, again, it's a work in progress, what we're trying to get accomplished with him.
BN: What do you think about him putting eye black only under his left eye?
HF: I didn’t even know that was a thing. I knew he did it in college, but I never even thought twice about it. But then it got some big attention (during the Bills’ Monday night game at Tennessee) and I had a million people calling and texting about it. I go, “What are you even talking about?” I had to ask him after the fact, “What is that?”
BN: What did he say?
HF: He had a big story with it. It was a long, drawn-out story and I’m like, “OK, just kick the ball, just get it through the uprights. OK?” I think the best thing I can do for him is just to help him along and build his confidence. And he knows that I’ve got his back.
I love him to death. He’s like a little brother to me that I can help along and he knows that I’ve got his back. He’s part of the family.
BN: The coverage units have been on point. To what do you attribute that?
HF: Tyler Bass has been a big factor in that. His hang times on those kickoffs have allowed our kickoff coverage guys to get down the field and cover. Tyler Matakevich has been unbelievable. Taiwan Jones, Siran Neal, those guys are covering their butts off. And, really, it's their energy, their speed, their physicality, everything they do, they just play with an intensity. They take pride in it and that's all you can ask for as, especially coaches. Play with great effort and fly around and have fun, and that's what those guys do.
BN: Corey Bojorquez hasn’t had to punt a whole lot, but when he does, he does it well.
HF: Corey’s doing a great job. He’s had a heck of a year. We haven’t had a ton of opportunities. Thanks to Dabes (Brian Daboll) and the offense, we haven’t punted half as much as we did last season. He’s done an exceptional job, he’s improved. He had his best offseason I’ve seen since I’ve been here and it shows this year. He’s so much more consistent. He’s doing a really, really good job.
BN: Andre Roberts continues to live up to his reputation as one of the best returners in the NFL.
HF: Andre Roberts is as good as there is as a returner in this league. He's having an exceptional year, a Pro Bowl-type year, like always. What he does in the classroom makes everybody around him better. He's a leader. His understanding of the blocks and the schemes and all that and helping young players ... he's been unbelievable. And even when things don't look great on the return game, maybe I didn't draw it up as I had hoped, he'll make it look as good as any return.
Some of our best returns are the ones that he just does on his own, so I couldn't be more thankful to have that guy in the building. He's an exceptional player, an exceptional guy, and I'm just I'm lucky to have some talented players around me that make my job a lot easier. And he's one of them.
BN: How much of a surprise was that attempted onside kick by the Patriots last Sunday and what was your take on Tyler Matakevich’s alertness in making the recovery?
HF: We always talk about making sure you see the ball off the tee and Tyler’s as instinctual and as smart a player as there is. He saw it coming. He was right there, ready to field it, good position. It was a huge play in that game. They had just gone down and scored, had the two-point conversion. If they tied it up and get that play, they could potentially go down and score. Now, we’re chasing them. That gave the ball to our offense at the 45-yard line and then we ended up going down and scoring a touchdown and taking a seven-point lead. That was like getting a big, 55-yard return to the plus-45.
That’s what good players do, is make good plays like that. I’m super fortunate to bring Tyler over from Pittsburgh. He was a guy I was so excited to get. Tyler in the coverage game is unbelievable. He’s just a good player who just makes good plays at the right time.
