Wyman: Another area where Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald excels

With a cutting-edge scheme and the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defense, Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is known as perhaps the brightest defensive mind in football. After all, Macdonald is just a few months removed from becoming the first head coach to win a Super Bowl while serving as his team’s primary defensive play caller.

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But according to Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman, Macdonald also shines in his ability to help players grow and improve over the course of a season.

The results certainly back that up.

After a middling start to Macdonald’s first season in 2024, the Seahawks found their stride and went 6-2 over that back half of the year. The midseason turnaround stemmed from a dramatic improvement on defense, with that side of the ball rounding into form and emerging as a top-five unit over the final two months.

And after a 3-2 start in 2025, the Seahawks won 14 of their final 15 games while soaring to their Super Bowl triumph. Along the way, their rushing attack took a big step forward, the offense played turnover-free football over the final four games, and players such as linebacker Drake Thomas and safety Ty Okada emerged as breakout contributors.

Wyman thinks it ultimately stems from Macdonald’s ability both as a teacher and a culture-setter.

“One of the things about Mike’s team is that it continues to grow and get better as the season goes on,” Wyman said Monday during an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “I always felt like every team I was on, (it was like), this is how good we are, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. We didn’t grow. We didn’t get better.

“Players get better during the season (under Macdonald), and I think a lot of it is because of the way that Mike practices.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with Dave Wyman at this link.

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