One thing Seattle Seahawks fans can count on over the last stretch of years is that the team is never stiff, and definitely never boring.
Neither John Schneider nor Mike Macdonald is afraid of taking big swings. From all the trades, signings and draft picks that we’ve lauded Schneider for over the years to the unprecedented moves that Macdonald has been willing to make to the roster. Examples of the latter?
Switching the position of and subsequently releasing leading tackler (at the time) Tyrel Dodson,
starting a 4th-Round rookie at ILB in Tyrice Knight, benching that promising young player a year later to make way for a vastly underrated UDFA in Drake Thomas, featuring that 228-pound linebacker in an occasional EDGE role… and that’s just a quick snapshot of the off-ball linebacker position!
Mike Macdonald will tinker until he has what he wants. Ask Ryan Grubb about that.
John Schneider and Macdonald work in tandem, likely making decisions about personnel in as much alignment as possible. This is a dynamic where Schneider holds more power in the current setup but still reflects the partnership that he and Pete Carroll were famous for. Loose and focused seems like something that could describe a lot of those Legion of Boom era teams that were intimidated by nobody. Not Tom Brady, not Peyton Manning’s record-setting offense, and not Megatron (excuse the language below).
John Schneider is the connective tissue for this organization. He bridges the gap of great teams across different eras and deserves many Seattle accolades. His part in acting as a bold standard-bearer of the culture of Seahawks football is still burning a path in NFL history.
Leonard Williams was asked about Schneider after the win in the Divisional Round over the San Francisco 49ers: “Utmost respect to John Schneider. I feel like he has done a great job of bringing in the right personnel, not just talent-wise, but personality-wise. Which has helped create that family identity. I think that’s the type of vibe he gives off as well, he and his wife”.
Williams goes on to explain that “it helps everyone feel comfortable. It helps us lean into that loose and focused vibe where it’s fun to go to work, you know what I mean? I’ve been in places where you kind of have to drag yourself out of bed to go to work”. Same, Leo.
Schneider made a fateful decision, in hiring Mike Macdonald, the coordinator behind the defensive turnaround in Baltimore. A coach who J.S. told us right from the beginning fit as a partner in crime and fit the ethos of Seattle Seahawks football.
Head coach Macdonald has proven to be intelligent, thoughtful in talking to the media, straightforward (more so than the warm and vague Coach Carroll), scheme creative and comfortable in his messaging and in his own skin. Since, apparently, the country doesn’t know what Macdonald looks like, you should look up pictures of the man. You’ll see that in almost every picture you can see his beady eyes laser-focused on whatever is at hand.
Coach Mike brought the saying “M.O.B.” (dovetailing nicely with the LOB history of Seattle) to life. Mission over Bullsh-t. He brings a more military-style approach to football proceedings but has shown his personality a bit too. Macdonald memorably stepped to the mic after defeating the Rams in the NFC Championship and uttered the matter-of-fact phrase that has morphed into a rallying cry in Seattle: “We did not care!”
In his media availability on Day 2 of Super Bowl Week, Macdonald said: “So my message to the team is, look, “we’re going to be loose and focused, and that’s how we roll.’ So, the loose part is we’re going to enjoy it. We’re going to enjoy these moments. We’re going to love being with our friends and family and enjoying our teammates. We’re also going to be focused. That we have an accountability to our process and the things that we need to do to go play our best. So that’s going to be our process.”
The process seems to be really working!
John Schneider is a people person, scouting savant and cap navigator, among many other things. He’s also a loose and focused Chief Alignment Officer.
Mike Macdonald is a leader of men, x’s and o’s nerd and a dynamic problem-solver. He’s also a loose and focused Chief Reminding Officer.
Both of these key figures in the Seattle Seahawks organization have set the standard and served as catalysts for the proliferation of “loose and focused” as qualities across the team at large. Here’s to hoping it propels them to a title on Super Bowl Sunday.
