The Seattle Seahawks have climbed to the top of the NFL under Mike Macdonald.
But a prominent analyst believes the 39-year-old coach could be headed toward an even bigger place in league history.
The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia made the case for Macdonald while previewing the NFC West, putting a striking label on a coach who is entering only his third season in Seattle.
“This feels wild to say, given that Macdonald hasn’t yet celebrated his 40th birthday, but he’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory,” Kapadia wrote.
Kapadia pointed first to Macdonald’s work on defense. Seattle finished No. 1 in EPA per drive on that side of the ball last season, and Kapadia argued Macdonald could probably take almost any defensive roster in the league and produce a top-10 unit.
The results through two seasons help explain that confidence.
Macdonald Has Rare Early Rise With Seahawks
Macdonald inherited a Seattle team coming off a 9-8 season and immediately produced 10 wins in 2024, becoming the winningest first-year head coach in franchise history. The Seahawks missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker, but their late-season surge provided a preview of what followed.
Seattle went 14-3 in 2025, earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed and defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. His 27 victories over his first two seasons, including the playoffs, tied the NFL record for a head coach over that span.
He also became the third-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl and the ninth first-time head coach to capture a championship within his first two seasons.
Defense remained Macdonald’s calling card throughout the run. The Seahawks allowed an NFL-low 17.2 points per game last season and held opponents to 3.7 yards per rushing attempt. Seattle also finished with a franchise-record plus-191 point differential.
Kapadia highlighted the broader consistency as another reason to believe Macdonald’s early success is sustainable.
Since Seattle’s Week 10 bye during the 2024 season, the Seahawks have gone 23-5. Only one of those five losses came by more than four points.
“That’s absurd,” Kapadia wrote. “This team has just been really hard to play against for a year and a half.”
Seahawks Have Chance to Push Macdonald’s Legacy Even Higher
The next challenge is one few coaches ever get the opportunity to pursue.
The Seahawks enter 2026 trying to become the 10th team in the Super Bowl era to win consecutive championships, according to The Ringer. Doing so would add a big-time accomplishment to a coaching career that has developed at unusual speed.
Seattle returns much of the core from last year’s title team, including quarterback Sam Darnold and All-Pro receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks also kept the foundation of Macdonald’s defense intact despite some offseason turnover.
There are questions on offense after Klint Kubiak left to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach. Kapadia noted new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury has never called plays before, giving Seattle a notable variable as it tries to repeat.
Still, the defensive floor and Macdonald’s track record give the Seahawks a level of stability that few contenders can match.
Kapadia projected Seattle to finish 11-6, behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West, while still describing the Seahawks as one of the best teams in football.
A second deep postseason run would only add fuel to the Hall of Fame discussion.
Macdonald has coached two seasons in Seattle and already owns a championship, a franchise-record 14-win regular season and a first-rate NFL defense.
At 39, the amount of career still in front of him may be the most compelling part of the argument.
Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald Put on ‘Hall of Fame Trajectory’ Before Week 1