Mics Caught Mike Macdonald’s Special Message to Sam Darnold After Winning Super Bowl

Mike Macdonald and Sam Darnold led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win on Sunday. | NFL

The Seahawks beat the Patriots, 29–13, in Super Bowl LX on Sunday to win the franchise’s third championship.

The game will be remembered as a truly dominant defensive showing by Seattle, led by coach Mike Macdonald, who designed a brilliant game plan to completely stifle New England’s elite offense. Quarterback Sam Darnold wasn’t asked to do much but the Seahawks wouldn’t have gotten here without his great play under center over the course of the year. Plus, earning a ring surely feels very good for the former No. 3 pick after bouncing around the NFL since he was drafted in 2018.

After the game the NFL microphones caught Macdonald’s special message to Darnold moments after they became champions together.

“You’re a Super Bowl champion,” Macdonald said before laughing aloud in pure joy.

“No one can take that from us!” Darnold replied.

“Forever. Forever, man,” Macdonald said as the two embraced.

"You're a Super Bowl Champion. No one can take that from us."

Sam Darnold and Mike Macdonald share a special moment postgame ❤️@insidethenfl Super Bowl LX Mic’d Up on X pic.twitter.com/Z3WDM1vmZE

— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026

It’s a really awesome moment between the two men.

Darnold has gone through the lowest of lows as an NFL quarterback, burning out in New York with the Jets and getting jettisoned by the Panthers before turning his career around slowly— first as a backup with the 49ers, then as a starter with the Vikings before getting $100 million to sign with the Seahawks. Now he has reached the highest of highs and will always be a Super Bowl champ. Macdonald hasn’t experienced quite the same rollercoaster of a career over the last eight years but is a great story in his own right as one of the youngest coaches to ever win the big game. He’ll be remembered as the architect and play-caller of this elite unit that led Seattle to victory.

It seems like these two are just getting started. The 38-year-old Macdonald isn’t going anywhere and Darnold is now a championship cornerstone quarterback the likes of which every single team desperately searches for. The Seahawks’ core defensively is made up almost entirely of quality young players who figure to play a role in Seattle for a while yet. There are plenty of factors that go into winning the Super Bowl out of the control of the players and coaches but it feels like this is just the beginning for this version of the Seahawks.

Regardless of whether that’s true, Darnold has it right above— nobody can take this championship away from them. What a season for him and Macdonald both.

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