It’s very hard to win a Super Bowl. It’s even harder to win a Super Bowl as a second-year head coach like Mike Macdonald just did with the Seattle Seahawks.
Macdonald is a defensive coach, so it was expected that the Seahawks would be elite on that side of the ball after hiring him in 2024. The team definitely hasn’t disappointed in that regard, as they ended the 2025 season at No. 1 in most categories.
The unit shouldn’t be any worse in 2026, either, as they return almost all of their key contributors. As a result, the Seahawks figure to be a contender again in 2026, but it’s not just in the hands of the defense.
Macdonald And Sam Darnold One of NFL’s Best Duos
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Garrett Podell of CBS Sports recently identified the 10 best quarterback-coach duos in the league. Unsurprisingly, Darnold and Macdonald made the cut, coming in at No. 3.
Podell mentioned the fact that Macdonald’s defense is elite, and Darnold has been so much better than he gets credit for over the last two seasons.
“Of course, having the No. 1 scoring defense makes field position and ball control for an offense exponentially easier, but Darnold deserves credit for being at the controls of the unit on the field,” Podell explained. “No quarterback has been a part of more victories across the last two seasons than Darnold and his 28 wins. That, and him ranking top-five in the league in passing yards (8,367), passing yards per attempt (8.2) and passing touchdowns (60), has to mean something.”
If you asked a casual NFL fan which quarterback had the most wins over the last two seasons, Darnold likely wouldn’t be the first name that comes to mind. However, the quarterback is in fact responsible for two straight 14-win seasons, which is an incredibly impressive feat this day and age.
It’s also rare to find a team with an elite offense and an elite defense. As mentioned above, the roster is basically the same, so there’s no reason to think the Seahawks can’t do it again in 2026. We’ve also now seen enough from Darnold to know this isn’t a fluke. The quarterback has won 14 games and thrown for 4,000+ with two different teams and two different systems.
The only two duos ranked higher than Seattle’s were Kansas City (Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid), and Los Angeles (Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay).
