Latest news with #ShaunAlexander
Fox News
4 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Seahawks legend predicts Sam Darnold will top his career-best 2024 season with Seattle
Sam Darnold is coming off his best year in the NFL by a mile, yet one Seattle Seahawks legend is confident he can top it in 2025. Darnold, who threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns for a 14-3 Minnesota Vikings squad last season, must prove himself yet again with a different team this season after joining the Seahawks in free agency. The expectations remain high for Darnold, but Shaun Alexander, the legendary Seahawks running back who won league MVP in 2005, thinks Darnold will check all the boxes this season. "I think he's going to be better this year than he was last year with us, and I think they got the right offensive coordinator for him," Alexander told Fox News Digital after his work with USAA's "Salute to Service NFL Boot Camp" Monday. "I think the system looks right for him. They look great at practice." Darnold reunites with Klint Kubiak, who served as offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints last season. They were together in 2023 with the San Francisco 49ers, where Kubiak served as pass game coordinator and Darnold was backing up Brock Purdy after a failed tenure with the Carolina Panthers. It's a new-look offense in all aspects for the Seahawks, including at wide receiver with DK Metcalf shipped to the Pittsburgh Steelers in an offseason trade. Metcalf was a constant in the pass game for Seattle, but with the rise of Jaxon Smith-Njigba last season, they moved on and brought in Cooper Kupp, a move Alexander doesn't mind. Combine the receiving weapons with the dynamic duo of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet in the backfield, and Alexander went bold with his prediction for the Seahawks. "I'm still thinking that it's Seahawks 17-0," Alexander said, laughing. Realistically, Alexander believes this is a playoff team. They missed it at 10-7 last year, but Alexander has them getting in this time. "I think they're going to be 11-6," he said. "I think they're going to beat the right teams and shock somebody. I do know that it's going to be very hard to beat them at home. So, you get these things all equated, they're going to be a good team. "Both Kenneth and Charbonnet healthy, that's a good duo. I like how they're using Sam in the offense. They're coming up with their scheme that does what he does best. Defense, I think their secondary is wonderful. When you got all that — guys start making plays on the D-line — it's going to be hard to beat them." Darnold and the Seahawks will have a tough NFC West matchup against his former squad, the 49ers, Sept. 7 at home to kick off the 2025 campaign in front of "The 12s" for the first time. APPRECIATING THOSE WHO SERVE US While Alexander loved talking shop, he also loved meeting with men and women of the military through the USAA Salute to Service NFL Boot Camp, competing in drills similar to those the Seahawks Ring of Honor member did. Alexander admired the competitiveness during the 40-yard dash, broad jump and more drills at the NFL Combine, calling the day "special." He also has a special appreciation for the military given his own family ties. His second-oldest brother was a 22-year military veteran. "I just thought of him as a hero. Like I have an older brother who's a hero. He protects the country," Alexander said of his brother. "You can't undo what you were a part of. It's like, 'Man, I know what you're all doing, and I know you're grinding, and sometimes you want to stop and not do it. But you're a hero to somebody.' So, it's like a little 10-year-old kid that's like, 'Man, I'm going to give everything I got to go be great.' And thank you for doing that. Getting to share those kind of moments with the military is awesome."
Forbes
5 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Shaun Alexander On Seattle Seahawks Winning More Games In 2025: ‘They're Primed To Do It'
Shaun Alexander is obviously one of the most pivotal figures in Seattle Seahawks franchise history. The 2005 NFL MVP helped put the Seahawks on the map by leading them to five straight playoff appearances, including their first Super Bowl game at the conclusion of his MVP season. Alexander ran for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns during the 2005 campaign, setting an NFL record for single-season rushing touchdowns at the time. Prior to Alexander's arrival in 2000, the Seahawks had been to the conference championship game just once and had never clinched a playoff berth in more than two consecutive seasons. 'It was an honor for me to come here playing in Seattle creating the winning culture that everybody's experienced,' says Alexander in a one-on-one interview. 'The Seahawks always had a great defense. I got here when Cortez Kennedy was the man, Defensive Player of the Year as a defensive tackle. They always had great fans. The 12th Man was already here, but the winning culture was not. Being a part of turning this culture to winning -- the five playoffs in a row, the four division wins in five years.' The Seahawks have obviously grown a lot as a franchise over the past two decades. Shortly after Alexander's departure in 2008 and his retirement following that season, Seattle hired Pete Carroll as their head coach. That quickly led to the Legion of Boom defense and the Seahawks' first Super Bowl win at the conclusion of the 2013 season. While many Seahawks greats have since emerged, including running back Marshawn Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson and defensive stalwarts such as Richard Sherman, it all started with the winning culture that guys like Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck built in Seattle. It was a consistent winning culture that didn't exist for the franchise prior to their arrivals. 'We all retired, they bring in Pete and general manager John (Schneider), and they do it again, and they go win a Super Bowl,' says Alexander. 'The boys jumped in into a great culture. That was the 25 years – I came in at year 25 being with the Seahawks. They've been here this their 50th year. In those 25 years, what they got was Coach Holmgren, grabbing me and bringing Matt and drafting well in the draft and, and then we all leave and bring in Pete and John.' It's obvious the Seahawks have been one of the most successful NFL franchises over the past 25 years, with Seattle having the eighth-most wins in the league during that time frame. Furthermore, they have the ninth-best winning percentage over the past 20 seasons, with nine division titles and three Super Bowl appearances since the 2004 season. However, they've struggled to advance deep in the playoffs in recent years, failing to advance past the divisional round since the 2014 season – when they last advanced to the Super Bowl. Although the Seahawks have missed the playoffs in back-to-back years, they went 10-7 last season during Mike Macdonald's first year in Seattle. With the addition of Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold and former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, there's hope that Seattle can break through the glass ceiling and emerge as one of the top teams in the NFC. Alexander speaks highly of the 38-year-old Macdonald, saying he's what the Seahawks need at head coach for the next decade or two. 'I feel like Coach Macdonald is not like Mike Holmgren, he's not like Pete Carroll, but he's what we need for these next 10-to-20 years, and it's going to take us into a great place,' says Alexander. ' I feel like when you take 10 wins for granted, you get bit and so I feel like everyone in the league's like, 'Oh yeah, okay, Seattle.' We won 10 games last year. We're going to keep getting better, go over the top of that this year.' The 47-year-old says the Seahawks are 'primed' to be better than they were last year with Macdonald continuing to build his vision of the team. He also mentions how Seattle brought in offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who previously coached Darnold when the two were with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. 'They're really primed to go do it,' says Alexander of the Seahawks this season. 'He's building a team that fits him and his style. When you let Geno (Smith) go, you bring in Sam Darnold, bringing a new offensive coordinator that fits you and your style. They look great in practice. I'm liking what I see out of them.' Alexander partnered with USAA for their Salute to Service boot camp during Seahawks training camp on Monday. The event saw the former MVP coach and mentor service members in football drills such as the 40-yard dash, broad jump, three-cone shuttle, receiving gauntlet and the QB arm challenge. Participants' scores were monitored with each member from the winning team receiving tickets for the Seahawks' November 9th game against the Arizona Cardinals. 'Today was a lot of fun being a part of the USA Salute to Service NFL boot camp,' says Alexander. 'It's a lot of fun to just be with guys that serve for our country. It has a special feeling to my heart, because my brother went to the army at 17, so I was probably like 10 years old. We know what it's like for family to leave and join the military.' The Seahawks great has previously partnered with USAA before and speaks glowingly of his sharing this experienced with military members. 'We know what it's like to hear the stories where it's in Germany, across the country, or whether it's in North Carolina or Texas,' says Alexander. 'All the drills and serving that he's doing. It was special to come back and tell the military service here, the Coast Guard and Army and just saying, 'Hey, we are so thankful for who you are and all this and all the things you've done for all the hard work.' Being able to take them and run them through NFL Combine type of drills was a lot of fun watching them burn it up and go for it. It was special.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who's the most underrated Seahawk? I'm guessing you'll be surprised by my pick
I believe that Shaun Alexander is the most underrated Seahawk of the past 25 years. I know that may sound ridiculous given how much attention he received in the eight seasons he played for the Seahawks. He was a first-round pick, after all, and remains the only player in franchise history to be named the league's MVP. Others will reject my contention outright, dismissing Alexander as a self-interested player who shied away from contact and was only the fourth-best player on the 2005 team. I actually think this reaction proves my point, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Finally, there are some of you who will think that I'm kind of reaching to come up with a topic, and this is undeniably true. It was either this or another column about how the Mariners are doing surprisingly well, Dan Wilson sure looks like a good fit at manager and Julio Rodriguez is coming around, but you can't be sure they'll keep it up. They are the Mariners after all. The truth is that I have always been fascinated by Alexander. Not so much him personally, as the local feelings about him. He is statistically one of the two or three most productive players in the history of an increasingly impressive franchise. He also drew the loudest cheers in 2005 on Seattle's route to its first Super Bowl appearance. Yet if you were making a Mount Rushmore for this franchise, not only would Alexander not be on it, I'm not sure how many Seahawks fans would include him on their list of the 10 best players in franchise history. That's kind of remarkable when you consider that Alexander owns the franchise records for rushing yards in a career (9,429), rushing yards in a single season (1,880), rushing yards in a single game (266) and career touchdowns (122). He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in five successive seasons. I'm not trying to say that Alexander is the best running back in franchise history. I just don't think he was the third or fourth-best, either, and so many people have concluded he was overrated that I believe he is now underrated. I understand the reason for this. He ran behind an offensive line that included two Hall of Famers: Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. He was a running back who'd step out of bounds instead of taking a hit. He wasn't a good pass protector and didn't seem all that interested in improving. He was also prone to thinking about himself first. He complained he'd been 'stabbed in the back' when the Seahawks chose to run a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line at the end of the regular-season finale instead of handing him the ball. Sure, the sneak resulted in a touchdown and that touchdown put Seattle in the playoffs, but it also left Alexander 1 yard short of Curtis Martin in the race for the league's rushing title. The following year provided a more comical example of Alexander's self-awareness or lack thereof. In the second half of the season, journalist Tim Keown was assigned to do a story on Alexander and the Seahawks for ESPN The Magazine. According to Keown, Alexander explained his idea for a cover photo: the Seahawks offensive linemen—a group that included Hutchinson, Jones and Robbie Tobeck—would dress as elves and stand behind Alexander who would be seated in a chair, wearing a Santa suit with the Lombardi Trophy and MVP in his lap. Proposed caption: 'All I Want for Christmas.' Now, this was not in fact the cover ESPN The Magazine went with, but I have liked to imagine the face Hutchinson made when he heard that someone thought he should dress up as an elf. I began covering the Seahawks in August 2005, and in Alexander's final three years on the team, I became acquainted with the gap between how Alexander saw himself and the effect he had on those around him. Much of this was completely harmless: Shaun being Shaun. I also think that we began to focus so much on what he wasn't as a player, that we lost sight of the things he did (exceptionally) well. We focused on the hits he turned down, and forgot about the vision that led to six runs of 50 or more yards in his eight seasons with Seattle. Marshawn Lynch, who was certainly a tougher runner than Alexander, had three regular-season runs of 50 or more in his seven seasons with the Seahawks. Of the ten biggest single-season rushing totals in franchise history, Alexander is responsible for four of them. No one else has more than two. If you think that Alexander left hundreds of yards on the table because he went down too easy, well, you must believe that Alexander should have been one of the most prolific runners in the history of the league. The 7,504 yards he rushed for from 2001 through 2005 stands on its own as a truly remarkable total. There are just three players in NFL history who've ever rushed for more than 8,000 yards over a five-year span: Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson and Emmitt Smith. Walter Payton's highest total in a single five-year span was 7,707 while O.J. Simpson's was 7,699 and Adrian Peterson ran up 7,508. Alexander couldn't sustain his peak like those other guys did. His productivity declined dramatically after he signed a multi-year contract in 2006, missing six games that season because of a foot injury. He finished with 896 yards that year, and by the end of the following season, it was clear the burst he'd once had evaporated. The Seahawks released him following the 2007 season, and while he signed with Washington midway through the following season, he lasted only four games before he was let go, finishing his career with 9,453 yards. It's a number that seems to look smaller the farther we get from Alexander's career, and that's too bad. He was a hell of a running back. Danny O'Neil was born in Oregon, the son of a logger, but had the good sense to attend college in Washington. He's covered Seattle sports for 20 years, writing for two newspapers, one glossy magazine and hosting a daily radio show for eight years on KIRO 710 AM. You can subscribe to his free newsletter and find his other work at
USA Today
07-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama football announces homecoming opponent for 2025 season
Alabama football announces homecoming opponent for 2025 season The Alabama Crimson Tide just announced that the 2025 Homecoming game will take place on Nov. 15th when the Oklahoma Sooners come to town. It's a statement decision by Alabama AD Greg Byrne and company as the Crimson Tide dropped the 2024 matchup in Norman 24-3. Typically, teams pick easier opponents for Homecoming games as alumni will be back in town to celebrate, but the Crimson Tide chose to take on the blue bloods form Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide have an all-time record against the Sooners of 2-4-1 and are 89-13-1 all-time in Homecoming games including 21 straight wins. Alabama won their 2024 homecoming game 34-0 in a rout against Missouri with Shaun Alexander in attendance as the Parade's Grand Marshall for the festivities. The time of the 2025 game will be announced closer to the start of the season.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alabama football announces 2025 Homecoming game
Alabama football's 2025 Homecoming game will be on Nov. 15 against Oklahoma, per the school's NIL collective, Yea Alabama. Unusually late on the calendar for Homecoming, the game will serve as an opportunity for the Crimson Tide to avenge a critical 24-3 loss to the Sooners last season. Alabama has won its Homecoming game for 22 consecutive seasons, defeating Missouri 34-0 for Homecoming last year. Alabama's all-time record on Homecoming is 89-13-1. Homecoming events typically include a Friday-night pep rally and a parade on Saturday morning. Former Crimson Tide star running back Shaun Alexander served as the parade's grand marshal last year. Alabama has also announced the annual A-Day game to conclude spring practice will be held April 12. UA will open the 2025 season at Florida State on Aug. 30. Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@ Follow on X @chasegoodbread. HOMECOMING: Things to do in Tuscaloosa before Alabama's homecoming football game BIG HONOR: Former Alabama football defensive back named NFL Defensive Player of the Year This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football announces 2025 Homecoming game
