Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was named the team's 2026 Salute to Service Award nominee on Thursday, celebrating his military family upbringing. In this Instagram video the team released honoring his nomination, he allows himself to speak with a rare level of emotion. Watch, and let's discuss:
“These guys right there, alright, they’re the best in the world. Okay, so we need to learn from these guys. They’re putting their lives on the line every day.”
Macdonald tells the Seahawks in their meeting room, pointing behind him to a picture of service men and women.
“Sometimes I feel like unfortunately we take it for granted, and it’s a great opportunity to show our respect for those people.”
“[These] people have come to our facility and taught
us and myself and our team a lot of things that helped us come together, and become a tighter team.”
Macdonald comes from a military family. He mentions that his dad went to West Point, his grandfather served in World War II, and multiple of his dad’s sisters were nurses in the military and served in Vietnam. Almost everyone in America can relate to this story — having family members, loved ones, and friends who served.
Macdonald also mentions the anthem as the moment the NFL’s Salute to Service week really comes together.
“That’s kind of my moment where you feel like, man, this is really cool, this is really special and you can also take time to appreciate what those people do for us.”
When the Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, Macdonald will be fighting to keep Seattle’s playoff hopes alive. After starting the season 2-0, they’ve gone just 2-4 in their last six games. They played a brutal schedule of opponents in October and could use that context as an excuse. However, Macdonald just isn’t wired that way. He’s process-oriented, has a growth mindset, and believes in his team to rise to every challenge they see on the field.
Those traits that make him a great coach are an ode to his military family every week. It’s not so much the results that make the service members what they are, but it’s the humanity they have to show to make it there. Macdonald does that in a way that can modernize old-school coaching, but he didn’t just learn that from football. He’s seen more at stake than playoff hopes to be worried about. That’s why that flag, that anthem, and that flyover mean so much to him.
Appreciate the national anthem today. You know Macdonald will.
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This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Mike Macdonald named Seahawks 2026 Salute To Service Award nominee
