Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Monday that assistant offensive line coach Pat Ruel was returning to Seattle after an overnight stay at a San Diego hospital due to an irregular heartbeat.
Ruel was taken to the hospital following Seattle’s 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday afternoon. Temperatures at Qualcomm Stadium were approaches 120 degrees on the field during the game. Though Ruel coaches from the press box during games, the ambient temperature was well into the 90s as well.
Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell all had to leave the game due to cramps at various stages of the game. The heat could also have contributed to Ruel’s condition.
After an overnight evaluation, Ruel was released and boarded a return flight to Seattle Monday afternoon.
“Everything went well this morning so he’s in good shape,” Carroll said. “Easy for me to say but that’s the report he sent me.”
After coaching with Carroll at USC, Ruel joined the Seahawks as an offensive line coach after Alex Gibbs quit on the team following training camp in 2010. He had previous NFL coaching stints with the Giants, Bills, Packers and Lions.