Yes, Darnold's rise has been superb, but so too has been his ability to do it with so much change around him.
I stated last season that Sam Darnold's career redemption tour is now complete as he led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl.
Having been on the NFL scrap heap in Carolina back in 2022, Darnold then moved to San Francisco for a season, then was the starter with the Minnesota Vikings (14-3 record) before moving to the Seahawks in 2025.
So, three teams in three seasons, that isn't exactly ideal.
But Darnold found his home with the Seahawks and Mike Macdonald, and now he is starting a second consecutive season with the same team for the first time since 2022.
We can't overlook how beneficial that is for Darnold, and yes, he does have a different coordinator, but for the most part, Sam is in a great spot in Seattle.
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But NFL.com's Matt Okada has gone through the numbers, and he's gotten to No. 10.
Why is that significant? Well, Brian Fleury will be Darnold's 10th different offensive coordinator in his career.
"Sam Darnold will be working with his 10th different play-caller in his ninth NFL season: Jeremy Bates, Adam Gase, Dowell Loggains, Joe Brady, Jeff Nixon, Ben McAdoo, Kyle Shanahan, Kevin O’Connell, Klint Kubiak and now Brian Fleury," Okada said.
"Losing Kubiak after his ultra-efficient 2025 is likely to take a toll, and much of Seattle’s success will be determined by how well Darnold adapts to having yet another new voice in his helmet."
How Darnold copes with yet another coordinator change will be fascinating to see play out because Seattle is now the hunted, so it will get every team's best shot each week.
But even more surprising than Darnold's 10th coordinator is the fact that Fleury will be Darnold's fifth different coordinator in five years.
That's eyebrow-raising.
The constant change, learning a new scheme, having a different voice in your ear, it all adds up, but perhaps that is what makes Darnold so rock solid. He's seen everything in terms of offensive football.
So why many see Darnold's success last season as his crowning moment, and so they should, we can't forget the constant coordinator turnover he's had to deal with over the last five years.
