Seahawks' Recipe for How to Win a Super Bowl (Unheeded by Cardinals?)
By Walter Mitchell
Wow, who would have thought two years ago that the Seattle Seahawks would be the 2025 NFL Champions in such dominating fashion? Here are just some of the ingredients of their Super Bowl winning recipe
GM John Schneider Takes Charge
1. Lets go of the legendary Pete Carroll.
2. Hires Mike Macdonald to revamp a stagnant defense for the express purpose of tantalizing Sean McVay and Kyler Shanahan.
3. Moves on from veteran QB Geno Smith.
4. Trades mercurial WR D.K. Metcalf.
5. To prep a year ahead and fortify the new Macdonald regime, he drafts the following:
2023:
- Round 1, No. 5 Overall: CB Devon Witherspoon, Illinois
- Round 1, No. 20 Overall: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
- Round 2, No. 37 Overall: OLB Derick Hall, Auburn
- Round 2, No. 52 Overall: RB Zach Charbonnet, UCLA
- Round 4, No. 108 Overall: G Anthony Bradford, LSU
- Round 4, No. 123 Overall: DT Cameron Young, Mississippi State
- Round 5, No. 151 Overall: DE Mike Morris, Michigan
- Round 5, No. 154 Overall: C Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan
- Round 6, No. 198 Overall: S Jerrick Reed II, New Mexico
- Round 7, No. 237 Overall: RB Kenny McIntosh, Georgia
2024:
- Round 1, No. 16 Overall: DT Byron Murphy II, Texas
- Round 3, No. 81 Overall: G Christian Haynes, UConn
- Round 4, Pick 118 overall: LB Tyrice Knight, UTEP
- Round 4, Pick 121 overall: TE AJ Barner, Michigan
- Round 5, Pick 136 overall: CB Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn
2025:
- Round 1, No. 18 Overall: G Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
- Round 2, No. 35 Overall: S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
- Round 2, No. 50 Overall: TE Elijah Arroyo, Miami
- Round 3, No. 92 Overall: QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama
- Round 5, No. 142 Overall: DT Rylie Mills, Notre Dame
- Round 5, No. 166 Overall: WR Tory Horton, Colorado State
6. Does everything he can to try to help Macdonald win from the get-go. Which is key because then after a 10-7 inaugural season, they are an attractive draw for the OC/QB tandem of Klint Kubiak and Sam Darnold, who worked together before while with the 49ers.
7. Huge added bonus, signing Kubiak's sidekick, OLC Rick Dennison, to improve the Seahawks' previously meh offensive line.
8. Then he goes and makes arguably the perfect acquisition at the trading deadline in WR Rashid Shaheed, from the Saints, per Klint Kubiak's request.
HC Mike Macdonald acts on his vision of what championship-level football looks likes
1. In the middle of his first year, unsatisfied with the play of the two UFA ILBers they signed, Tyrell Dodson and Jerome Baker, he moved on from both of them in favor of trading for ILB Ernest Jones and promoting rookie ILB Tyrice Knight to the starting lineup.
2. While first year OC Ryan Grubb helped to put up big numbers in the Seahawks' passing game, Macdonald let go of Grubb because he wanted a more powerfully balanced rushing and passing attack. Look who was the Seahawks' MVP of the Super Bowl as a testament to Macdonald's vision: RB Kenneth Walker III.
3. His "Big Nickel" defense (that John Schneider focused on building in his drafts), emerges as the top defense in the NFL. Perfect "home run" scheme fits for each of the three levels: NT Byron Murphy II, Big Nickel CB/S Nick Emmanwori and CB Devon Witherspoon.
4. Manifesting a penchant for conditioning his players into tip-tip physical strength which aids and abets the players' mental toughness.
Per Cooper Kupp:
“Mike did not make OTAs easy. Guys were talking about that actually earlier this week, about how OTAs is in two weeks and that thing kicked our rear-end last year. And so it’s like, ‘You're going to come here and you’re going to work.’ But the way it builds guys together and then you lift each other up — once that was happening — then I knew we had something special.”
5. Playing top level football on the road, no matter the venue or time zone.
How far behind the Seahawks are the Cardinals?
As most of you know, this off-season I have been imploring the Cardinals to adhere to the Seahawks' paradigm (and design for taking over the NFC West) by prioritizing the defense first.
It therefore was encouraging to see Michael Bidwill and Monti Ossenfort request interviews for a plethora of defensive head coaching candidates in:
* Robert Saleh
* Jesse Minter
* Anthony Campanile
* Raheem Morris
* Anthony Weaver
* Chris Shula
* Vance Joseph
* Jeff Hafley
* Matt Burke
* Ron Rivera
Turns out, this was a head fake by the Cardinals because, according to Bidwill, Mike LaFleur, who received minimal interest elsewhere, was their top candidate all along.
So then, it appeared that perhaps MB and MO may have been trying to recruit some of these defensive-minded candidates to be Mike LaFleur's DC. PHNX Cardinals podcasters had been promoting Mike LaFleur and Raheem Morris as the Cardinals' "dream team."
That did not make any sense. Why would Raheem Morris, as a legitimate HC candidate and eventual finalist, accept a subservient role to a first-time head coach, when he would have offers to be the DC for a winning program, as he did in accepting the 49ers' DC job?
Fact is all of those interviews with defensive-minded HC candidates amounted to absolutely nothing for the Cardinals.
Then after being unable to hire any of the defensive HC candidates as DC, their plan B was to sign Gus Bradley, only Bradley shunned more money and playcalling duties in order to join Robert Saleh in Tennessee.
Perhaps equally or more vexing, meteoric DC candidate Dino Vasso of the Texans withdrew his name for consideration from the Cardinals when he was signed to a hefty raise in salary to stay in Houston. Hello, Anthony Campanile, all over again.
Now it appears that Rams' assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant and Giants' linebackers' coach Charlie Bullen, a former coach with the Cardinals from 2019-2022, are perhaps the two remaining candidates. Aubrey Pleasant if promising, but has no play calling experience and Charlie Bullen was given the defensive play calling duties down the stretch for the Giants this season and shined in that interim role.
Meanwhile, Michael Bidwill has asked Mike LaFleur to interview Nick Rallis and the remaining defensive assistants who, unlike Rallis, are no longer under contract. In my opinion, neither Rallis nor any of his assistants are qualified to keep their jobs. It makes one wonder what Aubrey Pleasant and Charlie Bullen could do at this point to hire a competent group of assistants.
Last night while watching the Seahawks' swarming "Big Nickel" defense put a hurting on Drake Maye and the Patriots' offense, I began to wonder if the Cardinals would be wise to hire of the Seahawks' top defensive coaches as DC. One of the main reasons why I was so high on Anthony Weaver as HC was his time spent in Baltimore with Mike Macdonald forging the Big Nickel in its infant stages.
Seahawks' top three defensive assistants:
* Leslie Frazier, 66, Assistant Head Coach, 26 years NFL (HC, DC exp.)
* Kirk Olivadotti, 52, Inside Linebackers Coach, 23 years NFL (coached with Mike Macdonald in 2011-2013 on the University of Georgia defensive staff).
* Jeff Howard, 43, Safeties Coach, 13 years NFL (former defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Browns from 2020-2022).
Having tapped into Sean McVay's staff in hiring Mike LaFleur as HC, how about tapping into Mike Macdonald's staff for DC?
If the Cardinals hire Aubrey Pleasants or. Charlie Bullen, how about hiring ta veteran defensive advisor for added support? Ron Rivera? Pete Carroll? Marvin Lewis?
What about Antonio Pearce, 47, who has head coaching and NFL defensive play calling experience going back to his years as DC for Arizona St.?
In my opinion, the number one priority for the Arizona Cardinals this off-season has been getting the defensive coaching staff appointments right.
At this stage, to see the Cardinals' twisting in the wind, having yet to make a defensive coordinator decision, while so many well qualified defensive coaches have spurned Bidwill's and Ossenfort's interests, especially after watching the Seahawks' defense dominate the Patriots' offense throughout Super Bowl LX in just Mike Macdonald's second year as head coach, it feels as unsettling as it is predictable.
Nice to watch a Defense that can pressure with their front 4, mostly due to good drafting , something Monti has yet to figure out. I would hire A. Pierce as DC. Attempt to move down in the draft, add more picks and draft a Peter Woods DT around 14, then take a Zion Young DE in rd 3. Those two along with Sweat and a hopefully a motivated Walter Nolan and the DLine with good coaching should be able to contend in the division.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals keep hiring like coaching experience costs extra—which, to be fair, it does, and that’s clearly a dealbreaker. Another rebuild where the franchise isn’t building a coaching staff—they’re balancing a checkbook
ReplyDeleteHey Walt, I think a cool exercise in this long offseason would be to compare the 2008 Cardinals team that went to the super bowl and last seasons 3-14 team. Last seasons team had a trio of WRs that I bet would have all had a 1000+ yard season on the 2008 team(if they stayed healthy) so similar there IMO. But I wonder how the OL, DL, LB, DB and rest of the team compares to each another. Was that 9 win 2008 team really that much better talent wise than last seasons team or was it the coaching, QB situation and a much tougher division in 2025 that made most of the difference.
ReplyDeleteKurt Warner was a genius when it came to syncing up every WR on his roster. That said, I think Larry, Q and Breasty >>> M-Willy, MHJ, Dortch.
DeleteAnother thing that makes those teams similar, they both had one Calais Campbell!!
DeleteHow about MHJ, M-Willy and McBride?
DeleteGreat call about Calais, NSCard! The Fitz, Q, Stevie Wonder trio is the Cardinals' G.O.A.T. WR trio!
DeleteI think this article shows that the Cardinals are a lot closer to being contenders then most realize, as long as Monti pushes all the right buttons.
ReplyDeleteIt also highlights that teams don't magically turn into contenders in a year or two. Using the Seahawks as an example, they having been building towards this moment for 5 or 6 years. It began with letting veterans go and taking cap hits to replenish their cap space and stock pile draft picks after the Adams trade worked out horribly. It was supercharged when they traded Wilson after the 2021 season, which is what let to the excellent draft classes you highlighted.
With all that in place, Schneider pushed all the right buttons for it to turn into a super bowl. Luck also has a small role to play to make it all work, most notably with injuries and their super bowl opponent, and to a smaller degree - everything that added up to get home field advantage.
The Patriots are another example. They began 2 years before Belichick left. Cutting veterans and beginning to stock pile cap space and draft picks. By the time they hired Vrabel, they had more then twice the cap space as the next closest team and many high craft picks in place for Vrabel and Elliot to work their magic. It takes that long to rebuild and be in position to strike when the opportunity is there.
Monti has been slowly doing all this behind the scenes and most don't realize it. When they trade Kyler, the Cardinals will have 216.8M available in 2027 and 287.5M in 2028. Collectively over the next 3 years, we have more space than any team. He has put together draft classes that compare well with the ones you highlighted above and if there is unrealized potential in those draft classes as a result of the previous coaches, we are in great shape. Now, he just needs to get the hires right and fix the injury issues with no expense spared.
I have to say Kudos to John Schneider. I actually thought that Pete Carroll was undone by his poor draft classes after the previous super bowls and that if they had a new GM, they may have gotten more. Now I think Pete may have been holding back Schneider and maybe if he had moved on earlier, they could have a couple by now.
And kudos to both MacDonald and Vrabel, I hope that Lafleur is taking notes.
Cards are only miles behind Rams, Seattle and SF in minor areas like GM, QB, Coaching and Ownership but, hey Dreaming is Free and hope springs eternal
DeleteAll three of those teams just lost huge pieces of their coaching staffs.
DeleteThe 49ers, after and semi reset this past season, is still the worst cap situation in the whole league and are a year away from being the new Saints. All while looking at some big pieces being a part of their 28 free agents.
The Seahawks might have lost the engine that makes Sam work and are looking at big extensions for Witherspoon and JSN. They will either have to pay big for Walker, Shaheed, Mafe and Bryant or try to fill the holes they leave behind with hopefuls. More importantly, they could have a new owner next year who may, or may not be better than MB.
The Rams have a deceivingly average or less than cap situation with some huge contracts coming up. They are also trying to stretch an almost 40 year old beat up QB as far as they can and could be starting Stetson Bennett in another year.
Things change fast in the NFL. We could be the top of the pile soon enough.