The Seahawks entered the 2025 season having not won a playoff game in six years. They had lost steam from the prime Russell Wilson period. Bobby Wagner’s 2024 move to the Commanders severed roster ties to the Legion of Boom Super Bowl years, with Pete Carroll being fired shortly before that defection. John Schneider, however, remained and was in the process of transforming the roster.
Schneider and Mike Macdonald — the NFL’s youngest head coach in 2025 — completed a level jump last season, revitalizing Seattle’s defense and making key changes on offense. Shipping out Geno Smith and D.K. Metcalf, the Seahawks built a championship roster on the backs of those swaps and the seminal 2022 Wilson trade. After winning the Rams rubber match, the Seahawks demolished the overmatched Patriots in Super Bowl LX. They now have several starters from that roster unsigned, as a title defense mission commences.
Coaching/front office:
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak became Raiders’ head coach
Hired Brian Fleury as OC replacement
Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko became Raiders’ OC
Run-game coordinator Rick Dennison joined Kubiak’s Raiders staff
Hired Zach Orr as inside linebackers coach
Blocked Justin Outten from Raiders interview, promoted Outten to run-game coordinator
DC Aden Durde interviewed for Browns, Falcons’ HC jobs
DBs coach Karl Scott interviewed for Cardinals, Commanders’ DC jobs
WRs coach Frisman Jackson interviewed for Raiders’ OC job
Pass-game coordinator Jake Peetz interviewed for Lions’ OC job
Just as the Legion of Boom-era team lost coordinators (Gus Bradley, Dan Quinn) to HC jobs, Macdonald’s staff saw Kubiak draw extensive interest. It became known before Super Bowl LX the first-year Seattle OC was bound for Las Vegas. Despite a spree of coach and GM turnover this decade, the Raiders convinced Kubiak to take his HC shot in a loaded AFC West.
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