Last year, Seattle tried to evolve into a more complex offense. It backfired. They got the ship righted when they reverted to a simple offense in the second half.
This year, they are again trying to evolve into a more complex offense yet again. It's not working so far. But this time, we probably don't have the running game we need to simply revert to basics and be okay.
What's worse is that even these attempts at complexity are still less nuanced in terms of route trees than pretty much any other NFL team. Bevell isn't just vanilla, he's simple. At this point I think it's fair to say that no other OC in the league is more challenged by complexity. Seattle has the ingredients to be a scary good multi-dimensional offense.
There's a reason why our offense looks so much better in the 2 minute drill or when Wilson is running the offense. The more simple the offense becomes, the more success it has. This is partly a credit to Wilson's magic, but also a testament to Bevell's inability to effectively install complexity into the offense.
I think part of the problem too is that there has long been an issue with the offense being less than the sum of its parts, while the defense has been the opposite. Seattle spends most of their high picks on offense, and has brought in several big names on the offensive side of the ball. But with the lone exception of Lynch, none of those big names have fit our offense the way we had hoped.
There's also a now well documented issue with Bevell making bad situational playcalls and play designs because he thinks defensive coordinators won't see it coming. The element of surprise is Bevell at his core, and that's not a way to build a proper offense, IMO.
I think Bevell still has a job here mainly because Pete takes a 'buck stops here' mentality to accountability. He does not believe in scapegoating, even when merited. I think Pete views his players and fellow coaches as family. I think to Pete, firing Bevell would be like firing a close relative.