Mike Macdonald gives credit where it belongs after Seahawks' huge win

It can be tempting for bosses to take credit for the great work their underlings do - even in an environment where they couldn't possibly hope to do the work themselves.

The most infamous example in sports may have been former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who claimed that organizations win championships - a hell of a hot take when the greatest athlete of all time was a part of the roster.

Fortunately, it seems the Seattle Seahawks front office has their heads screwed on a bit tighter than that. General manager John Schneider should have a case for Executive of the Year and head coach Mike Macdonald deserves serious consideration for Coach of the Year.

However, when the regular season ended Macdonald didn't even want to hear about his own contributions. He was focused dead-center on crediting the players for their huge win. Here's what Macdonald had to say.

Mike Macdonald on Seahawks defense

Proud coach Mike Macdonald doesn’t want to hear anything about his defensive game plan. He wants you to know the #Seahawks players were “incredible” tonight in dominating the 49ers.@thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/cSMxy6D0Kb
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) January 4, 2026

This is the sign of a true winner and a coach who understands what his job is all about. While Macdonald definitely deserves a lot of the credit for putting together the best defense in the NFL, it's ultimately on the players to bring his vision to life. That Macdonald understands this is an excellent sign for this team's prospects, both in the playoffs and the future.

They're peaking at just the right time, too. Last night's victory over the San Francisco 49ers was arguably the team's most-impressive defensive performance of the season.

Not only did they hold the Niners to just three points - a new low for the Kyle Shanahan era - they did it against a unit that had been burning everything in its path over the last month.

In their previous three games, the 49ers had scored 37, 48 and 42 points. To get completely shut down the way they did shows that this Seahawks defense is on an entirely different level than the rest of the league right now.

While we don't relish the idea of having to face the 49ers or the Rams again in a few weeks' time, it would be utterly absurd to consider any other team entering the tournament as the Super Bowl favorites over these Seahawks.

Mike Macdonald on Seahawks defense

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