Combine week means time to get down to business

It’s Combine week. And you know what that means: While the scouts are checking out the draft prospects, a bunch of bigger business is being done behind the scenes in Indianapolis.

A year ago, John Schneider was listening to trade offers for DK Metcalf while trying to get a deal done with Geno Smith’s agents (and declining a trade offer from Pete Carroll’s Raiders).

A few days after the Combine, Schneider traded both Metcalf and Smith and quickly pivoted to Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp in the first week of free agency.

Nothing so drastic and dramatic is expected this week, although you can bet Schneider will check with the Raiders about Maxx Crosby again. He reportedly offered Smith and Metcalf for Crosby just before making the separate trades to Las Vegas and Pittsburgh a year ago.

Beyond that, Schneider and his guys will figure out the markets for Kenneth Walker III, Rashid Shaheed and their other free agents.

Last year, Schneider and team contract negotiator Joey Laine got both Ernest Jones IV and Jarran Reed re-signed just before the league year began. They surely hope to keep a couple more guys this time as well.

Here’s the latest.

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Savvy coaching moves, plus markets for Walker & others

The offseason comes fast for Super Bowl champs, but Mike Macdonald and John Schneider were ready for it.

The Super Bowl celebration is over, and Macdonald is already back to Chasing Edges with some new coaching hires. Meanwhile, in what is no surprise, the Seahawks apparently are not considering the franchise tag for Kenneth Walker III.

Let’s run down the intriguing coaching moves by Macdonald and then take a look at Walker’s situation and project the markets for Seattle’s other key free agents.

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Back-to-back? Defense that dominated Pats will return in 2026

In his first team meeting in 2024, Mike Macdonald predicted the Seahawks would be in the NFC Championship Game.

“It’s inevitable,” he told his first group of Seahawks, which included many of the guys who beat the Rams in the NFC title game a couple weeks ago.

Macdonald did not predict a Super Bowl win, but he and his team delivered that Sunday, beating the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. Afterward, he said he had “100% confidence” that his team would win. That’s certainly how it felt to us (we had predicted a 31-13 win).

Macdonald brought a vision to Seattle, and – along with some great help from John Schneider — he has made it come to life by creating the best defense in the NFL. It is a unit that is poised to dominate in 2026 — and probably beyond.

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Hawks 29, Patriots 13: Super Bowl LX highlights

The Seahawks dominated the Patriots 29-13 in Super LX. Here are all the highlights:

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Another Super Bowl vs. Patriots offers redemptive chance at a dynasty

In the lead-up to Super Bowl LX, there has been a lot of discussion about the previous Super Bowl between the Seahawks and Patriots.

Mike Macdonald’s team is not out to atone for the sins of Pete Carroll in that controversial Super Bowl XLIX giveaway. They DO NOT CARE about that, as Macdonald has made clear. Nor should they. They are their own team out to carve their own destiny.

But, while Carroll ruined a chance at a Seahawks dynasty by losing to those Patriots, it is perhaps apropos that Macdonald could very well begin a Seahawks dynasty by beating these Patriots.

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It’s Seahawks vs. Patriots Redux. There are tons of great storylines. Let’s check them out …

Sam Darnold is getting all kinds of well-deserved kudos for how he has rebounded from terrible situations in his first five seasons. Christian McCaffrey was teammates with him both in Carolina and San Francisco and calls him “one of my best friends and also an incredible player.” Josh Allen doesn’t usually watch the Super Bowl, but he will Sunday because he and Darnold (fellow 2018 first-round picks) are very good friends.

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New OC and new owner would step into potential dynasty in making

As the Seahawks prepare for a belated Super Bowl rematch with the Patriots this week, their future is already a big part of the storyline.

After they play in Super Bowl LX, the Hawks reportedly will lose offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak (and probably a few assistants with him). And sometime this year the franchise reportedly will go up for sale.

So, if the Seahawks return to this game in 2027 (as we fully expect), they might do so with a new owner in addition to a new OC.

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Why we were confident Macdonald would lead Hawks to Super Bowl

After last season, we said in multiple forums that Mike Macdonald is going to win a Super Bowl within the next three years.

We didn’t necessarily expect it to be this season — we thought this would be more like the 2012 ramp-up year. But the Seahawks won another shootout against the Rams, 31-27, in the NFC title game and Macdonald is now poised to fulfill our prediction even earlier than we really thought he would.

So why were we so confident? How did we know Macdonald had what it took to bring another championship to Seattle?

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Reaction, stats, highlights from Seattle’s NFC title win vs. the Rams

The Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl after a rousing 31-27 win over the Rams in the NFC title game.

With his defense struggling to contain the Rams for much of the game, Sam Darnold led Seattle with 346 passing yards, three touchdowns (all under pressure) and no interceptions. It was a spectacular performance that silenced any remaining Darnold doubters.

The analysis of the game is still ongoing two days later, and we finally have time to post the CHawk Talk — what everyone is saying about Seattle’s big win.

Here are some of the many highlights from NFL Twitter.

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Why it took so long for Schneider to win the exec award

John Schneider was named executive of the year for the first time Thursday, and a lot of people are saying, “It’s about time” – as if Schneider has deserved it annually for years.

But the fact is he has not really merited the award since he helped create the last Super Bowl roster for Seattle. That was way back in 2012-13.

He did not win it back then because he had steadily created that team over four years – with the historically stellar 2010-12 drafts and a couple of inexplicably fortuitous signings in 2013 that put the Hawks over the top.

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