Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald finished third in the NFL AP Coach of the Year voting despite turning a 9-8 team into a 17-3 Super Bowl champion in just two seasons.
He was against stiff competition as Mike Vrabel, who won the award, took the New England Patriots from 4-13 a season ago to a runner-up Super Bowl finish.
But the Patriots played one of the easiest schedules in the last quarter-decade on their way there, while Macdonald and the Seahawks had to endure a gauntlet schedule that included eight total games against NFC West opponents.
At the team's Super Bowl parade on Wednesday, legendary Seahawks play-by-play announcer asserted that Macdonald should have been Coach of the Year, but he probably prefers having the Lombardi Trophy. Macdonald concurred.
"I think I'll take this trophy instead," Macdonald said, hoisting the Lombardi to the crowd.
#Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald, when introduced by being told he should’ve been NFL Coach of the Year:
“I think I’ll take this trophy instead.” 💀pic.twitter.com/FfbZwAZqaJ https://t.co/RyCEem8XoI
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 11, 2026
The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl since the 2013-14 season, and they did it at the 49ers' home field. That was some extra salt in the wound after beating San Francisco 41-6 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Macdonald moved to 27-10 overall as the Seahawks' head coach and a perfect 3-0 in the playoffs to start his career. That's about as good as it gets for a first-time head coach.
Vrabel received 19 first-place votes (302 total points) and the Jaguars' Liam Coen received 16 (239 points). Macdonald got eight first-place votes (191 points), displaying that there was a big gap in the opinions of voters.
In the end, Macdonald got the better prize. But it's going to be hard to win the award moving forward, as it's often given to coaches who turn a franchise around. The Seahawks have already reached the pinnacle, so they would need to collapse for Macdonald to get back in the running in a few years.
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