What the Seattle Seahawks' rise tells the rest of the NFL
A bloodbath like this warrants a deeper dive. Teams across the NFL will be chasing the champ's formula. Now that the dust has settled, here's everything we learned.
A believer requires a non-believer in the NFL. Or two. Or three. Sam Darnold only became a Seattle Seahawk because the sport’s most distinguished quarterback dignitaries wanted nothing to do with him after a 4,319-yard, 35-touchdown season.
Once they woke up from all Matthew Stafford daydreaming, the Las Vegas Raiders debated Sam Darnold and Geno Smith. Raiders coaches, we’re told, preferred Darnold. He was six years younger. Brady — the minority owner and end-all, be-all quarterback chieftain in Vegas — preferred Smith. The GOAT won.
About 1,500 miles to the northeast, Kevin O’Connell caught wind of Smith’s contract desires early last offseason. I can second the Michael Silver report from Super Bowl Sunday that the Vikings head coach helped facilitate Darnold’s relocation west by giving Seahawks GM John Schneider the 411 on this QB’s game. He supplied an honest, glowing review — right down to the quarterback’s strong leadership skills. On one hand, O’Connell did Darnold a solid because he knew his 2024 starter wanted to play on the west coast. On the other hand… well. KOC essentially cut off his other hand for the ‘25 season.
Obviously no head coach does this if he’s interested in retaining that quarterback. Minnesota was ready to usher in the J.J. McCarthy era.
All stars aligned for Seattle. It helped that OC Klint Kubiak had coached Darnold as the San Francisco 49ers’ passing game coordinator. And it also helped that Schneider’s the sort of GM drawn to fearlessness, to football guys not manicured in 7-on-7 camps.
Seattle inked Darnold to a reasonable deal worth $33.5 million per year.
Now, a quarterback stranded in quarterback purgatory is a Super Bowl champion.
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Evidently, the Super Bowl was getting far too exciting for the league’s scriptwriters.
After seven of eight were tightly contested deep into the fourth quarter, the public’s been fed melatonin in back-to-back title fights. A year ago, the Eagles had more points (24) than the Chiefs had yards (24) at halftime. Kansas City had manufactured all of one first down and Mahomes’ passer rating was 10.7. The score was 34-0 before Mahomes even advanced the ball past the 50-yard line. This year, Seattle’s clubbing of the New England Patriots was not nearly as close as the 29-13 score indicates. The Patriots waddled through five straight 3 and outs. At one point, this unit had 73 yards on 34 plays.
Fresh off Philadelphia’s flogging, we examined what the other 31 teams can learn.
Let’s do it again.
Blowouts lack drama, but blowouts sure can be instructive. This Super Bowl, like last year’s Super Bowl, explicitly broadcasts what it takes to get your own hands all over that Lombardi. Several playoff teams have a chance to get over the hump with a tweak here and there.
Inside today’s piece…
Why harmony at the top is a must. Terry Pegula’s reorganization makes more sense when you see why the Seahawks changed their structure.
Sam Darnold is proof that teams do not need to break the bank at the quarterback position. You can win a Super Bowl with a QB on a middle-tier deal. Which playoff team out there could benefit from a similarly bold move at the position? (Hint: Their defense is even better than “The Dark Side.”)
Why Malik Willis could be a contender’s missing piece.
Catastrophic playoff losses should have consequences. The Seahawks are proof. Buffalo and Green Bay have also learned the hard way this past decade.
The defensive tackle domino effect. Mike Macdonald’s entire defense is a juggernaut, but you’ll want to pan that magnifying glass over the monsters in the middle.
Players play. Coaches coach. GMs gm. But, sometimes, it pays to value the locker room at the most important position in sports.
Special teams. The team that should be kicking their own ass all offseason? Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks coverage units sent a loud PSA to all branches of the McVay/Shanahan trees: The boring stuff matters, too.
Re-ALIGN!
Remember that word repeated nonstop when the Buffalo Bills introduced Joe Brady as their head coach? Alignment, alignment, alignment. None of this was corporate jargon, either. The total lack of alignment at One Bills Drive was alarming at the end of Sean McDermott’s tenure. Seattle is proof why a HC → GM → Owner structure works.