Seattle Seahawks' Post–Pete Carroll Era Is Already a Success

Mike MacDonald, you have our attention.

MacDonald, 38, had worked on John Harbaugh’s staff with the Baltimore Ravens prior to being named the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2024.

He had massive shoes to fill in Seattle, replacing legendary, Super Bowl winning head coach Pete Carroll, who had coached the Seahawks for 13 years.

The Seahawks were perennial contenders in the NFC during Carroll’s reign. They missed the postseason during his final year in 2023, but appeared in the postseason every year besides 2017 and 2021.

No playoffs in Seattle wasn’t a trend for long. The Seahawks missed the playoffs in 2023, Caroll’s final year as well as 2024, which was MacDonald’s first season.

In 2025, they won the NFC West and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC after defeating the red hot San Francisco 49ers in primetime. The Seahawks proved that they are here again, and they deserve some respect.

After losing a legendary coach who was consistently in the postseason, most organizations spend some time at the bottom. Not the Seahawks. Two years off is all that Seattle needed in order to turn themselves around into legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

MacDonald’s defense is ferocious, holding Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers to just three points for the only time this season since San Francisco’s season opener. The Niners only mustered 173 total yards of offense, which was the lowest mark in Shanahan’s tenure as the head coach in San Francisco, where he has worked since 2017.

But Sam Darnold’s career resurgence needs to be appreciated as well. During this season, Darnold proved that last season with Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings was not just a flash in the pan. The Seahawks rewarded the journeyman quarterback with a $100 million deal, and he’s delivered a 12 win season.

Not to mention, this offseason, the Seahawks shook up their offense. Darnold didn’t have the marquee wide receivers in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Instead, Jaxson Smith-Njigba exploded onto the scene as one of the premier receivers in the NFL.

Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will likely be a hot coaching candidate. Darnold’s 25 touchdowns to 14 interceptions were plenty enough to win the toughest division in football. The split backfield of Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III has worked as well.

What remains to be seen is if the Seahawks can keep this going in the NFL Playoffs. Reclamation project quarterbacks have been the trend in the NFL over the last few years, but a team has yet to win the Super Bowl with one of them in recent memory.

It’ll be up to MacDonald and Darnold to change that trend.