The more things change, the more the Seattle Seahawks stay the same.

Between the Arizona Cardinals who have undergone minor upheaval with player changeover and a departing defensive coordinator, the St. Louis Rams that continue to treat the offseason like a one-team arms race and a San Francisco 49ers team that is racing to rock bottom, it would’ve flown under the radar if the Seahawks took a step backward in 2015.

In fact, the Seahawks could’ve taken a couple of large steps back and still managed to finish first in the division this upcoming season by a considerable margin.

Even more: It could’ve all fallen apart.

It is notoriously difficult to keep Super Bowl champions together. Yet, a year removed from a championship and only a few months away from losing a defensive coordinator of their own, Dan Quinn, to a head coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons, the Seahawks have moved quickly, shrewdly and wisely to keep the course steady and the proverbial ship upright.

Replacing Dan Quinn Just Like They Replaced Gus Bradley

With all due respect to the head coaches of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Falcons, most would have trouble picking Bradley and Quinn out of lineups apart from one another let alone carry on a nuanced discussion of the difference in their style and schemes.

Both rock the bold, bald and goateed look with an emphasis on eyes and mannerisms that look like they need a boatload of downers just to sit down for a moment’s rest. On a personal level, both are known as friendly, affable men that trend more toward players coach than strict disciplinarian, and both have derived a lot of their coaching styles from former boss Pete Carroll.

In this, too, is much of the similarities between the two.

Now, much of the same will said for defensive coordinator Kris Richard who got the memo and dons the bald head and goatee himself and preaches many of the same chapter and verses of the Carroll message that made Bradley and Quinn beloved and sought-after coaches.

Richard built the Legion of Boom and has the vote of confidence from none less than cornerback Richard Sherman himself, according to Terry Blount of ESPN.

He’ll continue the tradition of fantastic defensive coordinators there, and though there may be slight differences, make no mistake about it: This is the same dynasty.

Investment in the Offensive Side of the Ball

It was wise to pay running back Marshawn Lynch.

Sure, every other team in the league is backing away from paying running backs big money, and yes the offense will continue to phase into more of a passing attack as Russell Wilson takes over the reigns of the franchise more fully. Still, this isn’t Peyton Manning or Tom Brady they’re waltzing out there. Wilson is still a young quarterback on a team that both lacks significant passing weapons and is built around running the ball and solid defense.

Too much change too soon could upset the ol’ apple cart.

Lynch’s decline is inevitable. That says nothing about him specifically and isn’t meant to be a slight, but it’s a statistical certainty that he’ll end up being paid to leave at some point just like any elite running back is in a league where the “30-year wall” for running backs is closer and closer to 26 or 27 every year. Even those, like Lynch, who break the odds are still racing Father Time in a race everyone eventually loses—and running backs sooner than most.

So, the Seahawks much race as well…race to build an offense around Wilson that elevates his ability to win as a pocket passer while downgrades the significance of his option run ability. They’ve started this dash by acquiring tight end Jimmy Graham and should continue in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Doubling Down on Defense

Yet, even with the offense (hopefully) improving over the next few seasons, Carroll and Co. still need to understand where their bread is buttered and they clearly do. In 2015, Richard will be leading a defense that looks an awful lot like the defenses previous coordinators led to successes before him.

Gone are names like Byron Maxwell (CB), Jeron Johnson (S) and Malcolm Smith (LB). In walks Cary Williams (CB), Will Blackmon (CB) and they kept Mike Morgan (LB). While, on the surface, that looks a lot like a net negative for the Seahawks, this is a team that has won with lots of hometown development in recent years.

It is a coaching staff that will eke every bit of talent out of someone like Williams, potentially turn Morgan into twice the player that Smith was and make a seventh-round draft pick someone’s prized free agency signing in every year from 2016 and beyond.

That’s the secret to the Seahawks success. When the Cardinals and Rams are fighting like mad to get better, and the 49ers are shaking up things just to shake them up, the Seahawks stay the course.

It’s been a fantastic way to build a perennial contender, and it should be an even better way to keep the Seahawks relevant long after the buzz of the rest of the NFC West’s 2015 offseasons have died down.

It’s not about striving to stay on top. It’s simply staying themselves while the vast majority of the rest of the NFL is trying to reinvent the wheel just to be more like them.