Sources: Northern Illinois’ Hammock to Seahawks as RB coach

Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock is set to join the Seattle Seahawks staff, ending his seven-year run at the helm of his alma mater, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday.

Hammock has accepted a job to become the Seahawks’ running backs coach/senior offensive assistant, sources said. He is expected to become the NFL’s highest-paid running backs coach and chose Seattle amid multiple NFL opportunities. Hammock interviewed for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator position; Seattle chose San Francisco tight ends coach and run game coordinator Brian Fleury for that job.

Hammock agreed to a contract extension with Northern Illinois in 2025 that ran through the 2029 season.

Northern Illinois set an 8 a.m. team meeting to inform players of Hammock’s departure, according to a source.

Hammock, a former Northern Illinois running back, went 35-47 with the Huskies and won a Mid-American Conference title in 2021. He guided Northern Illinois to bowl wins in 2023 and 2024 and a signature win in 2024 at Notre Dame, which ended up being the only regular-season loss for the Fighting Irish.

Northern Illinois went 3-9 last season and is joining the Mountain West for football for the 2026 season.

Before returning to Northern Illinois, Hammock spent five seasons as Baltimore Ravens running backs coach, where he worked alongside Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. Hammock also has coached running backs at Wisconsin and Minnesota, where he was co-offensive coordinator in 2010.