PHOENIX—It took more than a month, but Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald finally rewatched his team's Super Bowl LX victory, doing so for the first time last week.
Macdonald has only watched the cut up tape of it, like he would after any other game, though—his wife, Stephanie, still wants to sit down together and watch the TV copy all the way through—and for Macdonald that first viewing felt a lot like his Monday film study after a regular-season game.
"I watched it on tape," Macdonald said. "Steph wants to watch it all the way through on the TV copy, so I think we might do that at some point… I haven't watched (the Super Bowl commercials) yet. It was cool, but it was the same feeling as watching any other tape. You get pissed off about certain things, but there was a lot of good stuff on there.
"It was like normal. It didn't feel like I was watching the Super Bowl. It felt like I was in-season, upset because we didn't take a guy to the flat or something."
The fact that Macdonald was downplaying his experience of watching the team he coached reach the pinnacle of its sport was fitting given his messaging when he talked with the media on Monday from the NFL Annual Meeting.
Macdonald and his team are incredibly proud of what they accomplished during the 2025 season, going 14-3 in the regular season before beating the 49ers, Rams and Patriots in the postseason to win the second Super Bowl title in franchise history. But they also know that the 2026 version of the Seahawks is starting fresh, and that focusing on last year's accomplishments won't help them win games in the upcoming season.
"We're a new team, and we have to rebecome the team that we're destined to be," Macdonald said. "There's a lot of new pieces, and I think that's where the focus is. OK, how can we get those ground elements back to where we want them? What's a better way in terms of our process? How can we do Phase One better? How can we do Phase Two—even though we're going to alter the schedule a little bit—how can we do those things the best we can and take those things to the next level?"
As Macdonald noted, the offseason workout program will look a little bit different because of the team's Super Bowl run in order to let players get enough of a break in, particularly veteran players who were playing a lot in the postseason. When the offseason program begins in April, younger players who didn't play a lot last season, as well as those coming off of injuries, will report as usual, but other players will participate in meetings remotely before joining for in-person workouts later in the spring.
"It was a shorter offseason, so I just felt like the guys needed a standard amount of time away from the building, so we're kind of tiering it, what we had planned out for them to come back during the offseason," Macdonald said. "Guys that didn't really play through that whole playoff push, young guys we're trying to develop or guys that are injured that we're trying to get extra hands on, we'll ask them to come back a little bit earlier, then the other guys will be remote for the first two weeks. Then starting with phase two we're hoping to get everyone back in the building and rolling, then we go from there."
The Seahawks will report for offseason workouts with a lot of the same players who helped them win the Super Bowl. Only five players left in free agency—running back Kenneth Walker III, safety Coby Bryant, cornerback Riq Woolen, outside linebacker Boye Mafe and receiver Dareke Young—and only two of them, Walker and Bryant, started Super Bowl LX. So there will be a lot of continuity, but despite general manager and president of football operations John Schneider using the phrase "let's run it back" at the NFL scouting combine, Macdonald doesn't quite view it in those terms.
"We're trying to be really careful with our language, we're not really saying we're running anything back, we're not defending anything," Macdonald said. "That's just not really our attitude. The goal is to try to retain as many great players as we can, and we love our roster and we love our guys, and we're trying to keep that unit together and have that continuity. That's what we've been trying to do."
Asked about going into the season as the "defending champions," Macdonald replied, "That's not a thing. We're not defending anything. I've already talked to some of the guys about it, and they're great. The guys are awesome, and they know what we need to do. We're work through those things, it's not like you have the definitive meeting—no, it's, this is our mentality on how we want to approach it. We'll work through it. It's not just me saying it, our coaches have an influence, and we'll figure out ways for guys to talk—we'll do walk and talks or whatever—we'll figure out ways for the guys to really make it their journey again so we can all be on the same page moving forward."
Macdonald accomplished a ton in his second season as the Seahawks, overseeing the NFL's best defense and leading the franchise to a title while becoming the third-youngest Super Bowl-winning head coach in league history. But he doesn't really think about that accomplishment, not unless you ask him about it, instead focusing on the day-to-day process of that job that will be key if he and his team are going to have another successful season.
"You know what's funny, it's really cool, but I don't really think about it until somebody brings it up to me," he said. "I feel like I'm the same person, I think that puts everything in perspective, it's just, why are we actually doing what we do? It's really just to defend our way of life, that we can be Seahawks and put great emphasis on people and enjoy how we go about our business and the people we're with every day. If we would have lost the game, I would have hopefully felt the same and felt the same about our team, have the same amount of pride in what we were able to accomplish last year."
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving through the 2025 regular season. Check out the best photos of JSN's 2025 season.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at L.A. Rams in Week 11.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at L.A. Rams in Week 11.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at L.A. Rams in Week 11.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at L.A. Rams in Week 11.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Atlanta Falcons in Week 14.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Atlanta Falcons in Week 14.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at Atlanta Falcons in Week 14.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the L.A. Rams in Week 16.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the L.A. Rams in Week 16.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the L.A. Rams in Week 16.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) vs. the L.A. Rams in Week 16.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
