Quarterback and head coach power rankings: Where do the Seahawks land?

USA Today

4 days ago

Quarterback and head coach power rankings: Where do the Seahawks land?
The theme of the Seattle Seahawks right now, and headed into 2025, is... unknown. There are a lot of unknowns with this team after undergoing a sizable rehaul earlier this offseason. General manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald are remaking the Seahawks in their image as they continue boldly going down this new path they're forging together.
One of the biggest unknowns is quarterback Sam Darnold... specifically, what version of Sam Darnold will Seattle get? Is what we saw from Minnesota last year the real deal? Or was it a flash in the pan, "one-hit-wonder" and he will turn back into the proverbial pumpkin?
It's a fair question to ask, considering Darnold has had exactly one (1) good year up to this point, and a lot of years that.... weren't so good. This unknown is why in a recent power ranking of quarterback/head coach duos, Mike Macdonald and Sam Darnold rank among the bottom third of the league. In NFL Spin Zone's ranking, Macdonald and Darnold are all the way down at No. 25 overall.
Here is what NFL Spin Zone had to say:
Sam Darnold was one of the NFL's biggest success stories last year and Mike Macdonald decided to clean house on the offensive side of the ball this offseason. Everyone is interested to see if Darnold can keep things going without being tethered to Kevin O'Connell, especially because he sort of came crashing back to earth as the season progressed in 2024. And he won't have Justin Jefferson anymore, either.
Well, as far as "crashing back to earth as the season progressed" isn't quite accurate. Darnold played lights-out football down the stretch. It wasn't until the Week 18 finale in Detroit and the Wild Card game against the Rams when Darnold's "crash" began. But then again, in fairness, those were the two biggest games for the Vikings all season long... which is why doubt still persists for Darnold.
And persist it will, as the burden of proof lies with Darnold and the Seahawks.
For those interested... Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford came in at No. 4 on the list, followed by Kyle Shanahan/Brock Purdy at No. 8, and Jonathan Gannon/Kyler Murray at No. 20. Just ahead of Gannon and Murray were Pete Carroll and Geno Smith at No. 19 overall.