In January , Patera was hired as the head coach for the expansion Shortly after arriving, he began the difficult task of building a competitive team from the ground up. Along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks selected 39 players through the expansion draft on 26 teams each protected 29 players on their rosters; Seattle and Tampa Bay alternated selections from the remaining pool of unprotected players. Acquiring quality veteran players via free agency was not an aspect of the league at that time. However, the Seahawks were awarded the second overall pick in the 1976 NFL Draft, a pick they used on defensive tackle Steve Niehaus, an All-America defensive tackle at Notre Dame, who went on to be a bust in the NFL, unlike fellow Fighting Irish defensive linemen Ross Browner and Mike Fanning, each of whom went on to start in a Super Bowl and enjoyed lengthy professional careers.