The Seahawks are back on top of the football world, a rise that at once was long overdue and remarkably quick.
Seattle came within 1 yard of a second straight title 11 years ago. At that point, it looked like the Pete Carroll era was limitless: two Super Bowl appearances in three years, a young quarterback, a dominant defense.
Looks can be deceiving. The NFL can be unforgiving. The Seahawks never made another conference championship — much less a Super Bowl — under Carroll, and after a 7-10 season in 2021, Russell Wilson was traded away. The Geno Smith era had fun moments but no real sustained success. By the time Carroll left after the 2023 season, Seattle hadn’t won a playoff game in four seasons.
In came Mike Macdonald, half of Carroll’s age, a first-time head coach with a completely different approach and demeanor from Carroll. Macdonald constructed a monstrous defense, just as he had done with the Ravens, and, in 2025, his desired offensive approach. Seattle went from the dreaded middle class to Super Bowl champions in just two years under their new coach. And they’re not just Super Bowl champions; they’re one of the most dominant teams in recent memory.
- Seattle’s +246 point differential (including playoffs) is the best by any Super Bowl champion since the 1999 Rams.
- Seattle had the NFL’s No. 3 scoring offense and its No. 1 scoring defense.
- Seattle’s +18.3 postseason point differential per game is the best by any team since the 2002 Buccaneers.
Seattle should (and will) revel in its victory, in its revenge for Super Bowl XLIX’s heartbreak and for many other reasons. But it will, eventually, get back to football and the 2026 offseason ahead. Here are five keys for Macdonald’s club.
Find a new offensive coordinator to replace Klint Kubiak
Macdonald has his third offensive coordinator hiring process in as many seasons coming up. When he arrived him Seattle, he hired Ryan Grubb to be his offensive coordinator, stealing him away from the college ranks; Grubb had accepted an offer to follow Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama before choosing the Seahawks instead.
Grubb’s attack, like it had been at Washington, was extremely pass-heavy. Seattle finished with the fifth-highest passing rate in the league, and at season’s end, Macdonald fired Grubb.
“It’s really as simple as just I felt like the direction our offense was gong was different than the vision that I had for our team, and it felt like it was just a necessary decision at this point,” Macdonald said.
So Macdonald set out for a replacement and landed on Klint Kubiak, who, unlike Grubb, had prior NFL experience. He also had a quarterback-friendly system with heavy under-center and play-action elements. That was a key as the Seahawks moved on from Smith and onto Sam Darnold, who had thrived in a similar system in Minnesota.
Darnold had the NFL’s second-highest under-center rate and its seventh-highest play-action dropback rate. He was one of the NFL’s best in those scenarios, too.
With Kubiak off to become the Raiders’ coach, Macdonald could look to internal candidates, including quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, who was with Kubiak in New Orleans and Minnesota. Run game coordinator/senior offensive advisor Rick Dennison has been an offensive coordinator before, including under Gary Kubiak (Klint’s father) and Mike Shanahan.
As far as external candidates, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase is an easy first candidate to identify. The Rams use under-center and play-action concepts heavily. Scheelhaase was a hot name on the coaching carousel before ultimately not landing a job, but in Seattle, he’d be the full-time play caller, something he can’t be in Los Angeles given Sean McVay’s presence.
Figure out Sam Darnold’s contract
Darnold didn’t have the best Super Bowl performance, but he didn’t turn the ball over and, in fact, had zero postseason turnovers after an NFL-high 20 in the regular season. He’s now a Super Bowl champion after an absolute roller coaster of a career so far.
Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle last offseason. Really, though, the deal could have been terminated after a year; Darnold has a guaranteed $15 million roster bonus coming up. If things had gone south this season, Seattle could have gotten out of the contract with less damage than the initial terms suggested.
Obviously things didn’t go south. Now, Darnold is in line for an extension, in fact. His $33.5 million per year is 18th among quarterbacks, per Spotrac. Despite having finished eight NFL seasons, he is only 28. He now has two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl to his name in the last two years. He is an integral part to a win-now team. Expect a new contract soon.
Make decisions on Kenneth Walker III, other key free agents
Walker was one of the biggest winners of the Super Bowl and of the Seahawks’ playoff run as a whole. With Zach Charbonnet sidelined with a torn ACL, Walker averaged 139 yards from scrimmage per game in the postseason, and he scored four touchdowns; he only had five all regular season.
Walker is a tackle-breaking machine. Only Bijan Robinson had a higher tackle-avoidance rate this season. He’s also a patient runner with burst to get to the outside and power to go inside. Though he can be a bit inconsistent down-to-down, his talent is through the roof. He’s 25 years old, and he’s going to get paid.
He has said he’d like to stay in Seattle, but money talks. If he’s not in Seattle, the Seahawks have a big hole to fill, especially considering Charbonnet’s injury.
Because he was the Super Bowl MVP — the first running back to win the award in the 21st century — Walker is the biggest name hitting free agency for Seattle, but there are several more key contributors, including …
All of those players are currently between 25 and 27. The Seahawks are in great shape financially — sixth in effective cap space, per Over The Cap — because many of their best players are on rookie contracts or are free agent finds who have far outperformed their contracts. Seattle may keep many of its key players, but it won’t keep them all.
Begin extension talks with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon
John Schneider has now built two Super Bowl winners, and his latest is the product of tremendous drafting. Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon, the revolutionary first-round duo from 2023, are both in line for an extension. Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards, and Witherspoon might be the best cornerback in the game.
Seattle gave left tackle Charles Cross the largest extension in team history just before the playoffs began, and they extended right tackle Abraham Lucas just before the season began. Both were part of the 2022 draft class. Now, it’s time for the 2023 class.
Crush it in the draft … again
The Seahawks have a variety of options in the draft. They could look to beef up the interior of the offensive line, as they successfully with Grey Zabel in 2025. Depending on whom they lose in free agency, they could look to add to the secondary or, potentially, the edge rusher group. While the Seahawks’ defense was one of the best pressuring opposing quarterbacks this season, it didn’t have a true ace. Maybe Schneider and Macdonald look to change that. Maybe they want another weapon for Darnold.
Schneider has found contributors early and late in each of the last four drafts. He’ll aim to keep his hot streak going.
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