Seahawks Share Look at Prophetic First Team Meeting Under Mike Macdonald

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Mike Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks were destined for success from the team's very first meeting on April 8, 2024.
Leading up to Sunday's NFC Championship game, the franchise released a video that included Macdonald's message to the team ahead of the 2024 season.
"We’ve got a hell of a program ready for you guys," Macdonald said. "One of the things that I want you guys to feel going into this program is that we have a vision for you and this football team.
“I’m going to take you here now, so stay with me. I want us to just take a minute here and fast-forward to January, NFC Championship. It’s 30-something degrees, it’s wet, it’s windy. [Expletive] for them, okay, but it’s just right for us.”
It may not have happened in his first season, but Macdonald got the Seahawks to exactly the place he said he would. After going 9-8 under Pete Carroll in 2023, the Seahawks finished 10-7 in 2024 and 14-3 this season.
21 months in the making. Stacked every opportunity to get here. pic.twitter.com/NxzZsrdoaE
— xz* - Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 21, 2026
"We’re loose, we’re focused, we’re confident," Macdonald continued. "We just spent the last nine months stacking every opportunity that we had to put us in that position. The team across from us, in the other locker room, they’ve seen the tape. They know what they’re in for — eleven guys playing as one, every snap. They know that we’re like that. They know that they’re facing a bunch of men that won’t give up. They know they’re facing a team that won’t die and won’t quit. They know, it’s inevitable. So, let’s go to work."
There aren't many recent turnarounds in the NFL that rival what Macdonald has done with the Seahawks. Sure, the franchise wasn't a bottom-of-the-league roster when Macdonald took over, but it was a team that appeared to be underachieving under Carroll's once-great culture and philosophy.
Macdonald brought a fresh culture and a new defensive scheme that the players have flourished in. The Seahawks haven't had a defense as dominant as their current one since their last Super Bowl run during the 2014-15 season. That's fueling the current run.
Following the Seahawks' 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round, it doesn't look like there is a more powerful team in the league right now. The Los Angeles Rams, however, have been Seattle's biggest threat. That's building up to one of the best NFC Championship games in recent memory.
Regardless of how this weekend ends up for the Seahawks, Macdonald's prophetic vision for the team can't be ignored. You have to give him credit for bringing it to life.
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