Seahawks Mike Macdonald getting Coach of the Year hype from analyst

A Brief History of Seahawks Going For Coach of the Year

It’s been over forty years since a Seattle head coach took home the AP NFL Coach of the Year award. Which is kind of interesting, since it’s been in the last quarter-century that the Seahawks have become a high-end, borderline-elite franchise that has piled up winning seasons, playoff berths, and super bowl appearances.

To this point, Seattle coaches have been rewarded for clearing a low bar rather than producing an elite outcome. The 1978 Seahawks were the first decent team in franchise history, going 9-7 after finishing 7-21 combined in their first two seasons, and Jack Patera was named Coach of the Year for it despite still missing the postseason.

The 1984 Seahawks were the first great team in franchise history, pulling off 12-4 to crush the previous franchise best of 9-7 without the benefit of star running back Curt Warner. Chuck Knox was rewarded with Coach of the Year for this very impressive accomplishment, his third time taking the accolade with his third different squad.

But none of the elite Seattle squads since then have been rewarded in the same way. The 2005 Seahawks went 13-3 and got the top seed for the first time, but Mike Holmgren lost out to Lovie Smith, who guided a previously bad Bears team to 11-5 despite having to use a backup quarterback for most of the year.

Seattle returned to 13 wins and the top seed in 2013, but Ron Rivera’s 12-4 season in Carolina won out over Pete Carroll. Like Lovie, Rivera guided a team that had been bad for several seasons prior to relevancy. The 12-4, #1 seeded Seahawks of the following 2014 season also lost out here to division rival Bruce Arians, who got the Cardinals to 11-5 to take it home.

A couple of dark horse shots also fell short. 2018, perhaps Carroll’s finest coaching job as a Seahawk as he squeezed 10 wins out of a nominally-rebuilding squad, went to Matt Nagy of the 12-4 Chicago Bears. The 2020 Seahawks had the one great regular season in the post Legion of Boom era, going 12-4, but there was no beating Kevin Stefanski’s 11-5 in Cleveland.

Could 2025 be the year that the streak is broken?

Don't forget about this guy — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald walks off the field after a victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Mark Schlereth Advocates For Macdonald’s Candidacy

Mark Schlereth, three-time Super Bowl winner in Denver and FOX NFL analyst, likes Macdonald, putting him in his top three with Johnson and Coen for the award. In a conversation with Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton on Seattle Sports Radio, Schlereth gives Macdonald a lot of credit for having so much success on a team with massive turnover.

“When you think about it – and I get the first-year coaches – but you’ve turned over your quarterback situation, you’ve turned over players on the defensive side of the ball, you eliminated your offensive coordinator after one year and went with a whole new offense, and then you took a gamble on Sam Darnold,” Schlereth said.

Mark also gives Macdonald credit for being involved in the decision to hire Klint Kubiak, citing a conversation he had with Seattle’s coach about wanting to have the kind of offense that he considers to be the toughest one he’s had to defend against. He also suggests that John Schneider makes a strong case for Executive of the Year, a conversation also worth having.

Mike Macdonald Has An Uphill Battle

The exact odds are different depending on which source you utilize, but the current favorite for 2025 Coach of the Year is Mike Vrabel, who has guided the New England Patriots to 12-3 after a 4-13 campaign from Jerod Mayo in 2024. DraftKings has Vrabel as a favorite versus the field at -110.

It’s not hard to understand why Vrabel will probably win, guiding a prestige franchise out of the darkness, but any praise you give to the 2025 Patriots has to include the caveat that they are playing against an historically easy schedule, with a staggering 0.38 SOS. The Seahawks, for comparison, are at 0.502.

Second place is Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers (+330 on DraftKings). San Francisco currently sits at 11-4 despite losing their two best defensive players (Nick Bosa and Fred Warner) early in the season, playing most of their games with backup QB Mac Jones, and getting nothing from planned star Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Clearly deserved.

Mike Macdonald settles in at tied for second (+330 on Draftkings). A few other dark horses linger (Ben Johnson and his 11-4 Bears +650, Liam Coen sits at 11-4 in Jacksonville +750), but those three are almost certainly going to produce the winner. And given that New England has two layup games remaining (At Jets, VS Miami), you’d assume that Vrabel has it in the bag.

Macdonald coaching his way to another win. — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald looks on during the first half against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

How Mike Macdonald Climbs That Hill

However, the Patriots won’t earn the top seed and first round bye even if they win out, so long as Denver wins out as well. This could move the needle in the direction of Shanahan or Macdonald, who might be playing a game in Week 18 for that precious top seed.

It also seems salient to point out that New England has been, by a wide margin, the least injury-affected team in football according to Sports Info Solutions. Even a late season IR stint from starting left tackle Will Campbell does little to change the fact that Vrabel has benefitted tremendously from injury luck, an unbeatable combination with the soft schedule.

Full disclosure, Seattle is considered the fourth-least affected-by-injury team in football according to that study, whereas San Francisco comes in at third-most. However, as mentioned earlier, Seattle and San Francisco play each other in Week 18 in a game that might determine the NFC’s top seed.

So, if we assume that the Patriots finish 14-3 but miss out on the top seed by a tiebreaker, and Seattle finishes 14-3 and gets the top seed, having beat the 49ers in the season finale to punch that ticket, Macdonald seems to have a very strong case to me. I imagine he would get my vote, if I had one.

It’s not quite that simple, of course. Macdonald’s Seahawks had a respectable ten wins last year, and he inherited a squad from Carroll that had won nine games for two straight seasons. The turnaround is not nearly as stark as with New England, or even San Francisco (the 2024 49ers went 6-11).

But if the Seahawks win out, there will be a very strong case for Coach Macdonald to take home the hardware, the first Seattle coach in over forty years to do so.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

If the coach wins out, then there is no doubt. — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald looks on before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

A Brief History of Seahawks Going For Coach of the Year

Mark Schlereth Advocates For Macdonald’s Candidacy

Mike Macdonald Has An Uphill Battle

How Mike Macdonald Climbs That Hill

More Seahawks on SI stories