Not sure Lao Tzu ever thought he’d make it to The Seattle Times sports cover, but here goes.
It was the ancient Chinese philosopher who ranked the four types of leaders from worst to best. 4. The one who is despised. 3. The one who is feared. 2. The one who is loved. 1. The one people are hardly aware exists.
Seahawks owner Jody Allen is not Jerry Jones. Nor is she Mark Cuban. Nor is she anything like the late Jerry Buss.
She doesn’t give interviews, rarely makes herself public, and before last Sunday, at least, would probably be recognized by less than .1 percent of America’s population.
If the backseat had a backseat, that’s where Allen would be sitting. And yet, she just oversaw a Super Bowl championship won by a team with one of the most rapid growth periods we’ve seen in some time.
Based on numerous reports, this very well could be the last time the Seahawks end a season with Allen in charge. Said reports have indicated that the team will be going up for sale, as per the wishes of Jody’s late brother, Paul Allen, the former team owner whose directive was that the team be sold and the proceeds go to charity.
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But if this is it for Allen, she’s as deserving of a Super Bowl ring as anyone in that organization. She was never loud — but always leading.
“The thing that sticks out to me about Jody was her enthusiasm about where she wanted our team to be and our franchise to be as the vision of the Seattle Seahawks, and that was during our interview process,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said between the NFC Championship win and Super Bowl title. “Honestly, that’s really where it was like, this is something I feel really strongly about that I think that I could help create that.”
There have really only been two times this season in which Allen transformed from silent guide to public figure. The first was on the day of the NFC Championship, when she raised the 12 Flag before the game and talked to Fox Sports analyst Michael Strahan after. And the second was after the Super Bowl win last Sunday, when she took the stage with the team, raised the Lombardi Trophy NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell handed her, and gave a quick interview with NBC host Maria Taylor.
She didn’t even speak at Wednesday’s ceremony at Lumen Field before the parade — not because she is indifferent to the team but because, well, it’s just not her thing.
In the shadows, however, Allen has been instrumental to the Seahawks’ success. It was she who ultimately signed off on letting go of quarterback Russell Wilson in 2022, trusting the judgment of then-coach Pete Carroll and current general manager John Schneider. Wilson has not been dominant since.
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And it was she who fired Carroll after the 2023 season, allowing Schneider to have final say on all personnel decisions, which led to the hiring of Macdonald and the acquiring of a slew of Super Bowl-winning players.
I doubt Allen could give a TED Talk on the virtues of nickel and dime defensive packages. But she showed impeccable judgment on the biggest decisions and then, by the looks of things, got the hell out of the way. It’s wild how many owners are incapable of doing that.
At Wednesday’s ceremony, Schneider gave a three-minute toast to everyone involved in the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl, and he made sure to single out Jody.
“Paul would be so proud of you the way you led this organization,” Schneider said. “It allowed us to be where we are. To Jody Allen!”
What happens from here is mostly a mystery. If the team goes up for sale, someone or some group will have to throw down a lot of money ($7 billion? 8? 10?) to buy this team. Whether that takes a few months or a couple years is unknown.
But as integral as Allen has been in the Seahawks’ success since she inherited them in 2018, she is going to honor her brother’s wishes. Whoever follows could be great, but Allen has set a standard.
Remember the leadership order: 1. Hardly aware of existence. 2. Beloved. 3. Feared. 4. Despised. Jody is neither 3 nor 4, but she might have gone from 1 to 2. In this case, though, even Lao Tzu would agree that’s an upgrade.
Matt Calkins: mcalkins@seattletimes.com. Matt Calkins has been a sports columnist with the Seattle Times since 2015, where he has covered national title games, got a Seahawk to design his apartment and once extracted a two-word quote from Marshawn Lynch.