SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The stories of speeches from coaches the night before the Super Bowl routinely grow into legend for the winners. And yet, Mike Macdonald felt the need for none of that as he stood before his players on Saturday night at the San Jose Marriott.
He told them to stick to “our process.” He told them that the next day was what the players earned. He told them to play, as always, loose and focused. He told them to stack plays.
Macdonald was intentionally routine with them.
Because he knew he was going into Super Bowl LX carrying a stacked deck.
“I felt like our best gave us a great chance to win the game—and let’s just focus on being that,” he said, recalling the speech 24 hours later, in a quiet moment, leaning against the side of the tunnel at Levi’s Stadium after Super Bowl LX. “Told the team I loved them, which, I tell them that every week. I told them I’ll go crazy in my office thinking of stupid stuff to run, and then when I see them, I just feel way better. Because that’s how awesome they are.”
And it turns out what he gave them Saturday night was more than enough. One more affirmation of what they already knew, which was that what got them here would be plenty.
The Seahawks are world champs, and their 29–13 blunt-force bludgeoning of the Patriots showed why Macdonald, and his players, felt this way all week. It’s the roster that GM John Schneider put together after a realization that he needed to go back to drafting the best players rather than just filling positions. It’s the hire he made of Macdonald, and the scheme edge that Macdonald and his staff bring. It’s how connected they all are.
In short, it’s really a whole bunch of everything that overwhelmed New England on Sunday.
Before a fourth quarter that was filled with empty calories, the Seahawks more than tripled up the Patriots in yards (271 to 78), tripled them up in first downs (15 to 5) and outscored them 12 to 0. The only thing keeping the game remotely close at that point was a proud Patriots defense stiffening in the red zone. Then, on the fourth play of the fourth quarter, Sam Darnold hit AJ Barner for the game’s first touchdown, to make it 19–0. At which point Drake Maye had nearly as many sacks taken (5) as completions (8).
Most weeks, the Seahawks went in with an edge in talent, scheme and toughness, and it took a lot of building over a short amount of time to get there. But they’re here now.
Schneider had never run a coaching search before 2024, so he was learning as he went. He was listening, too, in going through the process, and trying to be patient as one of eight teams jockeying for position to hire a new head coach.
Because the Seahawks didn’t fire Pete Carroll until later in the first week after the season, they missed the first window to interview the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, who’d become a hot name on the coaching circuit. Still, as Schneider went through the process, he kept hearing the same thing, over and over again.
“Like everybody that I talked to—[then Falcons president] Rich McKay, [Panthers GM] Dan Morgan, [Titans exec] Chad Brinker, the guys that had a chance to interview him before we did, they were all like, Bro, your personalities would be amazing together,” Schneider said, gripping a Coors Light in the locker room. “A lot of them were like, We’re going offense, so we’re not gonna hire him. But that was one of the best interviews I’ve ever been in.”
So Schneider waited. The Ravens lost to the Chiefs in the AFC title game that Jan. 28. Two days later, and nearly three weeks after the Seahawks fired Carroll, Seattle brass was in Baltimore to interview Macdonald. The next day, they flew Macdonald to Seattle for a second interview and hired him on the spot.
Immediately, Schneider figured out that what everyone had told him was the truth.
“He was just so clear with his thoughts,” Schneider said.
And that clairvoyant vision for a program quickly weaponized Schneider’s staff.
The longtime GM had already gone through a process of reevaluation (one we detailed before this season’s NFC title game) through which he found he’d too often reached to plug holes, and needed to just focus on getting the thoroughbreds he needed to win the NFL derby. That, added to the haul coming back from the Russell Wilson trade, laid a foundation of talent with guys such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon and Charles Cross already aboard.
Macdonald’s arrival allowed Schneider to hone in on specifics. That goes for both the veteran market, with acquisitions of DeMarcus Lawrence, Ernest Jones IV, and Cooper Kupp, and in the draft, with high picks like Byron Murphy, Nick Emmanwori and Grey Zabel.
Just as important, as all those people told Schneider, he and Macdonald were a match and, as such, a lot of the infrastructure that Schneider and Carroll had cultivated over a decade and a half together would remain—with key department heads like player development chief Maurice Kelly and public relations head Dave Pearson staying in place. Which only accelerated how quickly everything coalesced.
“I mean, he took over for an iconic coach, and that’s hard, man,” Schneider said. “It’s a hard thing to do. In my opinion, Pete’s a Hall of Fame coach. It’s a hard situation to come into. So it took us time to figure out who’s in, who’s not, and that doesn’t happen overnight. But he’s just very authentic. And so that’s kind of what we were looking for. I’m looking for authentic people. And I think Mike is that, the most out of anybody.”
Which was the other big piece that absolutely, positively fell into place.
Sam Darnold got a good offer to go back to Minnesota last year—the Vikings gave him a comfortable home, where he’d had a breakout year in 2024. But after all he’d been through, playing for four teams in as many years, he wanted a place to put down roots.
After the Geno Smith contract negotiation blew up, Seattle could give Darnold that chance. And Darnold knew that after three years in New York, two in Carolina, one in San Francisco and the big one in Minnesota, he’d be more equipped than ever to be the bellwether for a team like Seattle, that seemed to be inching closer to real championship contention.
Interestingly enough, he may have first proved it in his worst game of the year, against a team that had ripped him apart in his final game as a Viking.
In the first of Seattle’s three games against the Rams, Darnold threw four picks and went into the final six minutes down 21–12 with the ball at his own 16. He responded by driving Seattle 84 yards in 11 plays to get the score to 21–19. Then he drove the team from its own 1 to the Rams’ 43, in the final 1:41 to set up a 61-yard game-winning try by Jason Myers. The kick missed, but a point was proved—this version of Darnold wouldn’t crumble.
“I think I’ve really just grown because I’ve made those mistakes,” Darnold told me, as he traversed the stadium postgame. “There were a few years in New York where I’d like to have a lot of plays back. But I always woke up the next morning. And you just move on, life kind of goes on. And having a great family, a great fiancé Katie, knowing that she’s always going to be at home waiting for me, those are the special things when you’re going through a hard time. Whether it’s in-game or after a game, those are the things you think about.
“You know, this game is amazing and it’s brought me a lot, but there’s more. It kind of reminds me, I don’t know if you saw what Scottie Scheffler said last year, but there’s more to life than just football. And I think having that kind of understanding helps me get through tough times and it also allows me to stay grounded when things are going well.”
It certainly helped Sunday when he needed it most.
A red-hot Patriots defense found a way, in the first half, to almost completely eliminate Smith-Njigba (1 catch, 4 yards), and constantly change the picture on Darnold. So before Bad Bunny took the Super Bowl stage, Darnold was 9-of-22 for 88, and a 52.8 passer rating, looking like a shell of the player he had been two weeks earlier against the Rams.
But this version of Darnold didn’t waver, as Macdonald and Schneider’s bet that he’d be better for all the experiences he’d had—and they saw for themselves how all the talent was still there, a year earlier in a Minnesota win at Lumen Field—paid off one final time.
A hot start to the third quarter for Darnold fueled a 10-play, 69-yard drive to make the score 12–0, with 16-yard throws to Rashid Shaheed and Smith-Njigba, and a 20-yard screen to Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III setting the tone for the second half. Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, a third-and-9 dart to Kupp moved the sticks and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Barner (more on that in a second) essentially ended any hope New England had.
Again, Darnold had fought through and emerged on the other side. And, refreshingly, this wasn’t about personal redemption for him. It was about answering the bell for his teammates, constantly getting better and knowing who he was. It wasn’t his best night, but it was enough.
“We’re Super Bowl champs and people are still going to find something to say that I didn’t do tonight,” Darnold told me. “And I already know what I didn’t do. I didn’t throw it the way that I wanted to throw it tonight. But our defense had our back, and we made enough plays in the game. I’m very, very hard on myself that way. But at the same time, there is nothing that anyone can say that I don’t already know about myself.
“And people may demote my talent or my ability. I know it’s not true. I’m a heck of a player, and I’ve known that for a long time. And just to be able to put it all together, be on a really great team, great defense, and great coaches, it’s just special. And I think that’s why it’s special, is because of the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff that we have.”
Long story short, for Darnold, this wasn’t about him. It was about his team.
Against the Rams two weeks ago, they needed him to be a superstar, and he was one. On this night, they needed fewer throws, but a couple of really big ones and for Darnold to protect the ball otherwise. He did all of that, too. Which is why those on the inside love him the way they do—Darnold never made any this about himself.
“He just kept being the same guy, kept being a great leader,” Macdonald said. “It’s probably the happiest I’ve ever been for somebody, just because I get so sick and tired of people talking about him. I know it doesn’t bother him, but it drives us crazy.”
Now, they can call him what they want. But they have to call him a champion.
Darnold, and all these guys, had help from the coaches.
The coaches, of course, will tell you that the players did it, first and foremost, and they’re right. But even on Sunday, there were spots where Macdonald and his staff shined.
The first, of course, was within the overall game plan for the Patriots. The Seahawks wanted to be able to stop the New England run game without coming out of their nickel and dime looks, meaning the hobbled rookie Emmanwori would have to be immense. That, they hoped, would create long-yardage situations where Macdonald and DC Aden Durde could dial up pressures, and change the picture on Maye.
Perhaps the biggest key, though, was playing selflessly—not overextending for sacks and leaving seams for Maye to extend plays.
“What we did well is just collapse the pocket, which allowed him not many places to step up,” said All-Pro defensive lineman Leonard Williams. “And when he did try to step up, he stepped into guys. We did a great job of rushing as one. There were no individual rushers out there today. We truly did it together as one.”
Perhaps the biggest play early on, one that set a tone for the night, came on an adjustment Macdonald and Durde made during the week—wanting to test the athleticism of the interior of the Patriots’ line by sending speed into the middle. They’d put a blitz in that would accomplish that, with Witherspoon looping inside the tackle from all the way out in the slot.
Macdonald called it on a third-and-15 from the Seahawks’ 48 on the Patriots’ second position, and Witherspoon ran right by tackle Morgan Moses, burying Maye for a 10-yard loss. From that point, with four minutes left in the first quarter, to the start of the fourth quarter, the Patriots would only have one first down. And it followed the Seahawks’ short-circuiting New England’s first drive with a 10-yard sack on Maye.
“It’s a matter of when, not if,” Lawrence said afterward. “When you have so many dogs in the room, you just know you’re going to be hunted. And you don’t have that long of a time to hold on to the ball.”
Of course, a lot went into that—the Seahawks were able to hold the Patriots to 79 yards on the ground, living in the nickel, with Emmanwori looking very much like himself. By the time Maye got loose, in the fourth quarter, it was too little and far too late.
And just as the defense’s muscle was shown through the plan Durde and Macdonald put together, Raiders coach-to-be Klint Kubiak got the offense what it needed when it mattered.
On the aforementioned two-play sequence that resulted in the game’s first touchdown, there was an interesting play-calling juxtaposition. The first throw, to Kupp, came on a staple play, one the Seahawks’ offense has had success with even against Seattle’s own defense in practice, that the team has run over and over. The second, the touchdown to Barner, was the opposite—put in this week to attack an expected weakness in New England’s coverage.
The Seahawks had noticed how the Patriots would play a Cover 3 match zone—meaning the cover guys would follow players who crossed through their areas. So Kubiak wanted to create a concept off a foundational run call, the old Shanahan outside zone, that would go after that. And with Smith-Njigba in the locker room getting a concussion check, and the ball at the 16 with 13:29 left, he would need it to help Seattle finally get into the end zone.
Sure enough, at the snap, the corner to Seattle’s left, Christian Gonzalez, followed Kupp on an over route, Patriots linebacker Jack Gibbens came up too hard to defend the run, and Barner leaked out the back on a flag route for the walk-in touchdown.
“It was something new that we put in, that we saw against this defense, and especially with how much we had been running that run play,” Darnold said. “So it was just selling that run play, and A.J. doing a great job of getting out and making a great catch.”
So, yes, it was about players.
But on two crucial plays, the Seahawks won with scheme. And that only underscored all that this glorious night for Seattle represented.
The reality is that for some time, the Seahawks’ players had an idea of what was possible.
“The moment hit me during training camp,” Lawrence said. I know I had some comments in the offseason, that we were going to win the Super Bowl here. I blatantly said that. I actually didn’t know what we had as a team, at that moment. But when I was able to line up and go through the training camp process with the team, I definitely knew. Like, Oh, it’s gonna be special.”
And it has been.
“Not that I know truly what people said about us in the preseason, I just know they didn’t pick us to win the Super Bowl,” Darnold said. “But I knew what we had. I was watching our guys, just all the skill players we have, and obviously our defense that’s stellar, and I was just like, Why can’t we win a bunch of games this year?”
The key, though, is that the leader, steady as they come, wasn’t paying attention to any of that.
He just wanted every facet of the team to keep getting better. So by the end, there really weren’t many weaknesses to speak of—just a team that could win any sort of fight.
The Seahawks won in the divisional round in an incredible show of might, blowing the 49ers off the field, getting the score to 17–0 in the blink of an eye and cruising to victory. They won in the NFC title game by outgunning the NFL MVP, Matthew Stafford, in a new-age shootout, with Darnold in a starring role. Then, on Sunday, the Seahawks’ final act came in a rockfight, one that Seattle grinded out and eventually took full control of.
And if you want to look at Sunday specifically, it’s in who the stars were—Walker and Witherspoon and Hall, with guys like the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, Smith-Njigba, playing lesser roles statistically, but still fighting their tails off so others could shine.
“I mean, all year, however we got to do it to get it done, we are going to get it done,” Smith-Njigba said, after most of the locker room cleared out. “You saw K9 [Walker] go crazy today. Super happy for him, super happy for the whole team. We did whatever it took to win today and that’s what you’ve seen today. … I love this team. I love being a part of this team, and whatever they ask for me, I just want to be able to be there for them.
“And maybe it wasn’t my day today, but I’m a world champ. And that’s what matters. That’s what I grind all year for. We have a great team, it’s not about me, it’s about our team. And I’m just so proud of this team and to be a part of it.”
That team, as it turns out, is exactly what Macdonald thought it would be as he prepared that Saturday night speech—one whose best would give them a great chance to win it all.
On Sunday night, they did just that.
And best of all, it wasn’t just one thing that got them there. It was everything, and everyone.
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ALBERT BREER
Albert Breer is a senior writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated, delivering the biggest stories and breaking news from across the league. He has been on the NFL beat since 2005 and joined SI in 2016. Breer began his career covering the New England Patriots for the MetroWest Daily News and the Boston Herald from 2005 to '07, then covered the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News from 2007 to '08. He worked for The Sporting News from 2008 to '09 before returning to Massachusetts as The Boston Globe's national NFL writer in 2009. From 2010 to 2016, Breer served as a national reporter for NFL Network.
In addition to his work at Sports Illustrated, Breer regularly appears on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, FS1 with Colin Cowherd, The Rich Eisen Show and The Dan Patrick Show. A 2002 graduate of Ohio State, Breer lives near Boston with his wife, a cardiac ICU nurse at Boston Children's Hospital, and their three children.
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