Mike Macdonald: Seahawks Looking to ‘Run It Forward’ After Super Bowl Win

The Seattle Seahawks are not interested in “running it back,” but “running it forward.”

The defending Super Bowl LX champions began their offseason program on May 26. Head coach Mike Macdonald said his team should take pride in their accomplishment, but a new year provides an opportunity to build an enduring winning culture.

“We’re using the term, we want to ‘run it forward,’ ‘it’ meaning our process and who we are,” Macdonald said at the podium Tuesday. “And I think this is going to be a conversation that’s something that we’re going to talk about consistently. I don’t think it’s a one-and-done type of conversation. Really, it’s just how we talk about how we operate all the time.”

Macdonald was asked who came up with the phrase.

“If you like it, I’ll take credit for it,” he joked. “If not, somebody else.”

Macdonald said there have been obvious times in the offseason when the team talks about their Super Bowl win, like the upcoming ring ceremony in June and the celebrations afterward, but it is not top of mind.

He said that winning a Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—one that he hoped they would get more than once—and that they should be proud of all the hard work that went into winning a Super Bowl. But he was more invested in creating a winning culture over the long term.

A critical factor in building that culture is striking a balance between continuity and starting fresh each year, between trying to evolve and find a new edge and maintaining a standard of play and practice, he said.

“I think when you look at some of these high-performing teams that have been able to do it over a long period of time, I think the common thread that you find is a standard that you feel responsible to uphold on a daily basis,” he said.

“And part of that standard here is chasing edges, is a spirit of evolution and a spirit of moving forward all the time. So, that’s where our minds are, but giving us the freedom to move forward and have the space to kind of make each kind of new phase of the year our own and unique to us. So, there’s a balance there, but I’ve just been really pleased with every day’s work, and haven’t sensed an ounce of complacency, and that’s been really positive.”

Macdonald is looking to improve his own coaching and is tweaking practice structures and the intent behind practice periods with OTAs and training camp upcoming.

The Seahawks kept the vast majority of their Super Bowl roster together, but they did lose a few key pieces in free agency. Super Bowl LX MVP, running back Kenneth Walker III, signed with the Kansas City Chiefs; edge rusher Boye Mafe signed with the Cincinnati Bengals; safety Coby Bryant signed with the Chicago Bears; and cornerback Riq Woolen signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

They also lost offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who became the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Kubiak took quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko with him to become the Raiders’ offensive coordinator. Run game coordinator and senior offensive adviser Rick Dennison also followed Kubiak, becoming the Raiders’ offensive line coach.

The Seahawks also have a daunting schedule in 2026. The NFC West, their home division, produced three of last season’s playoff teams, and they lost to both the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams early last year.

They also square off against the AFC West this season, including the rising Denver Broncos, perennial competitors the Los Angeles Chargers, a Kansas City Chiefs team looking to re-establish themselves as a perennial powerhouse after faltering last season, and Kubiak’s Raiders. They also play the NFC East this year, which means facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants.

Since they won their division, the Seahawks will also match up with three division winners, including a Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots in Week 1; a rising Chicago Bears squad that showed tenacity in its playoff run; and a scrappy Carolina Panthers squad that clawed its way to the NFC South title and showed fight in the Wild Card round against the Rams.