Summer 2026
Coaches Football

Head coach Mike Macdonald drives Seahawks defense to Super Bowl win: ‘God called me to be a coach’

By Jon Ackerman Feb 9, 2026
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald holds the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LX, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

As the third quarter of Super LX wound down Sunday night in Santa Clara, California, the game was a defensive battle. Neither the Seattle Seahawks nor the New England Patriots had scored a touchdown, with Seattle’s four field goals making up the only points.

It was just the way Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald preferred it. As the team’s defensive play-caller, his unit was rolling.

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Then the “Dark Side” put the game away. With 16 seconds left in the third, Derick Hall forced a fumble by Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Five plays later, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold hit tight end AJ Barner for the game’s first touchdown and a 19-0 lead.

New England responded with a touchdown of its own and then forced a Seattle punt, but Seahawks safety Julian Love thwarted the Patriots’ next drive with an interception. That led to another Seattle field goal. Then, with 4:27 left in the fourth, the Seahawks’ pressure again got to Maye, who was hit as he was throwing, sending the ball directly to Seattle’s Uchenna Nwosu, who ran it 45 yards for a touchdown.

New England would manage a late TD, but ultimately Seattle cruised to a 29-13 victory for its second championship in franchise history.

When asked about his defense after being handed the Lombardi Trophy, Macdonald said, “They just made a decision they were going to play a certain way; they lived up to the ‘Dark Side’ today. It’s going to go down in the history books.”

The defensive performance wasn’t a surprise, considering the Seahawks finished the 2025-26 regular season allowing the fewest points in the league (17.2 per game) and the sixth-fewest yards (285.6). They ranked No. 8 in overall sacks (47 on the year), but racked up six against the Patriots, one shy of matching the Super Bowl record.

The dominant defensive showing makes Macdonald the first head coach that serves as a team’s primary defensive play-caller to win a Super Bowl, according to The Athletic. And at 38 years old, he becomes the third-youngest coach to hoist the Lombardi (behind Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin).

And to think, Macdonald nearly became an accountant. He had a finance degree and a master’s in sport management from Georgia when his graduate assistant coaching eligibility ran out, so he took a job with the financial firm KPMG. But a year later in 2014, he left to take an intern coaching role with the Baltimore Ravens.

Twelve years later, in just his second year as a head coach, he’s a Super Bowl champion.

“I believe God called me to be a coach and I listened to Him, and I thank Him,” Macdonald said during Sunday’s trophy presentation when asked about his journey. “We are incredibly blessed to be Seahawks, to be 12s, and now we’re world champions.”

Later, in his postgame press conference, Coach Macdonald was asked about that reference to God and how his faith has helped this team.

“One of the great things about our team is we grow together and that’s part of my life that’s been a journey,” he said. “My faith hasn’t always been strong. You have doubts, it’s kind of a roller coaster ride, and over the last few years it’s been really strengthened. You see what our players do and what [team chaplain] Jonathan Rainey does every day and brings people together. It’s a journey that we’re in together. It’s empowering and it’s inspiring to pursue that part of your life that’s so important.”

Earlier in the week at Super Bowl LX’s Opening Night, Sports Spectrum also asked Macdonald about his faith in Christ and how it has helped him lead his team to a Super Bowl.

“I appreciate you asking,” he responded. “My faith has really grown over the last couple years. That’s what I lean on. That’s where your strength comes from. Recently I have so much gratitude, and then ultimately strength, that you feel like God has put you in a position to lead these people.

β€œ[Faith is] your guiding light every day, so it’s something that I can hopefully continue to grow, and hopefully our players continue to seek it out β€” seek their faith and grow in their faith. It’s really special, and we got a lot of guys that are examples for me, too.”

One of Macdonald’s examples has been Leslie Frazier, a longtime defensive coach in the NFL (and Minnesota’s head coach from 2011-13) whom Macdonald brought in as an assistant head coach when he took over the Seahawks in 2024. Macdonald said Sunday, “We would not be having this press conference right now if Leslie wasn’t a Seahawk. He was the first person I called when we got the job.”

Sports Spectrum also spoke with Frazier at Super Bowl LX Opening Night, and he shared about the culture of faith within the Seahawks, as well as his own personal journey with the Lord, citing teammates of his who helped strengthen him.

β€œThere’s a bond there that goes beyond just being teammates, because there’s a love for one another that’s based on our faith,” he said. “We have a ton of guys and coaches that love the Lord, and so you’re pulling for your brothers all the time. … You need other people to hold you accountable. You need someone to disciple you to help you grow in your faith, because life can be challenging, and you need to know where you turn when things get difficult. For me, that’s been Jesus Christ.”

Another coach pursuing the Lord is Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. His game plan Sunday helped running back Kenneth Walker III to 135 rushing yards and Super Bowl MVP honors, and Kubiak confirmed after the game that he’ll become the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, but he left his mark on Seattle’s locker room. Earlier this year, KubiakΒ bought Bibles for every Seattle player and coach.

β€œYour identity is not in your job; our identity is in Christ,” Kubiak told Sports Spectrum on Opening Night. β€œWhen I learned that, and I spent more time in the Word from all the mentors I had in coaching that helped me get into Bible studies and read the Word every day, it took a really heavy load off just knowing that I’m a child of God.”

That common faith in Jesus helped to bond many Seahawks this year, resulting in a season that will never be forgotten.

>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<

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