The Seattle Seahawks had remarkable success in Mike Macdonald’s second season as the head coach with a 17-3 total record, the best scoring defense in the league, the highest point differential, and a Super Bowl Championship to name just a few accolades. Then again, the Seahawks were also pretty good in Macdonald’s first year, particularly after the Week 10 Bye as they finished the season with a 6-2 record while the defense rounded into form. That’s a 23-5 record since the middle of 2024.
Pretty, pretty
good.
In 2025, there was a noticeable focus on the connectedness and culture of the Seahawks. It makes sense with Macdonald in his second year on the job, and being more comfortable with the expectations of the position. He was one more year removed from the shadow of the former Hall of Fame caliber coach, and able to more succinctly integrate his vision for the team.
Don’t just take my word for it, Macdonald recently addressed what he did better in his second season during his NFL Combine interview.
Macdonald was better able to understand his vision and why he believes it – which in turn made it easier to communicate it to the rest of the team. Seeing Macdonald build the Seahawks in his image is an ongoing case study in the power of strong culture in an organization, which has resulted in a Super Bowl trophy in a remarkably short period of time.
I started writing for Field Gulls in the lead-up to Pete Carroll’s final season, though we didn’t know it at the time. Carroll’s vision and ethos has had a great impact on my life, both personally and professionally. It was bittersweet to see him go, but Mike Macdonald was my first choice in that coaching search. Honestly, there are a lot of similarities I share with Coach Macdonald. He’s only a year older than me, both of us majored in Finance, we’re extremely detailed and routine-oriented…I won’t bore you with the rest.
Macdonald also has a lot in common with Carroll. Both are renowned defensive coaches with similar offensive philosophies of controlling the ball with the run game. Each are elite motivators, and I believe this is where we saw Macdonald really shine this season in his own authentic way. Carroll had “Win Forever,” Macdonald has “Chasing Edges.” Pete was more outwardly exuberant and “hormonal” while Mike seems very analytical and calculated. Make no mistake, though, Macdonald’s got that fire in him.
There were a few rumblings of this tower during the season, but it didn’t really come out until after the Super Bowl. With the number of players on the team, it’s really impressive that it was kept a secret. This was for the players, who are embodying Mike Macdonald’s vision. Other teams can howl into the wind, but the Seahawks are in the dark stacking bodies and preparing for the next victim.
That’s Mike Macdonald’s style. Seeing him succeed and build a new version of the Seahawks with old-school principles and new-school methods has been a joy to cover. It’s exactly the type of team I want to root for – suffocate you on defense and punish you on offense. What’s the verbiage Macdonald uses? “A style that nobody wants to play against”? He’s aced that test so far, backed up by John Schneider and the personnel staff’s shrewd moves.
As someone who coaches and has both an educational and professional background in management, I’m fascinated by the different methods that Carroll and Macdonald use to achieve strikingly similar results. I think it all boils down to the fact that each of them know “who they are,” and everything they implement stems from authenticity. Players can smell BS from a mile away. Carroll, and now Macdonald stayed true to themselves in creating a culture that breeds success. So far, Mike’s fulfillment of his vision for the Seattle Seahawks has been a masterclass in coaching, development, and leadership all done through the lens of authenticity. Mike is almost psychotically driven towards greatness while also embracing his own sense of awkwardness.
And he’s OURS.
