Special Teams Coordinator Jay Harbaugh: Seahawks ‘Having A Blast’ Preparing For New NFL Kickoff

Another result of the new kickoff rule could be the type of players on the field for kickoffs, as well as the number of starters who might be used for what is now a less-violent play.

With speed being less important, Harbaugh said there could be room for a player “who didn’t have ideal top-end speed before, but has the arm length and the physicality and the decision making as a defensive player, I think that guy could become more relevant now… In that sense it’s a great thing because you can have more flexibility within the roster for guys to be able to get involved.”

But for all that will be different this year on the new kickoff, plenty of other fundamentals about the play and about special teams play in general will remain the same, so as the Seahawks and other teams try to sort out what will be different, they’re also focused on what they know will remain constant.

“One of the things we’ve talked about in this building is, instead of focusing on what’s different, let’s focus on what’s stayed the same,” Harbaugh said. “The block destruction, the awareness of how far am I from the ball, what decisions should I make as a coverage guy? The same fundamentals in the return game of great feet, great hand placement, great eyes, leverage, all those things are still true. So it’s easy to get carried away with what’s different, but we think you’ll be able to make a lot of hay just understanding and banking on the things that have stayed the same.”