The Seahawks have made it clear they aren't "running it back" as they chase another Super Bowl; instead, a new term has been used throughout the building.
The Seattle Seahawks have been very intentional with the messaging after their Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.
Mike Macdonald has made it clear that his team isn't "defending" its Super Bowl title, nor is it "running it back" as the Seahawks look to claim back-to-back titles.
But just because that's the coach's messaging, it doesn't mean it will land with players the right way. After all, some might see the 2026 season as a chance to defend the Super Bowl win.
Make no mistake about it, the Seahawks will now be getting the best every week as teams look to get their pound of flesh from the Super Bowl champs, so "defending" the title is an easy theme to build your offseason program around.
For Macdonald, as OTAs have gotten underway, he's made it clear that a new mantra, slogan, theme, or whatever you want to call it, is the team's focus as it begins the long road to what it hopes will end the same way it did last season.
“We're using the term we want to, run it forward," Macdonald said. "It meaning our process and who we are. I think this is going to be a conversation that something that we're going to talk about consistently. I don't think it's a one-and-done type of conversation.
"Really, it's just how we talk about how we operate all the time. It's something that we're having conversations with our team and our units every day about who we want to be and how we want to do things. This situation is no different.”
So, run it forward. That's the mantra for the Super Bowl champs. I don't mind it.
It can be hard to leave what the team accomplished last season in the rearview mirror, but that is exactly what Macdonald is hoping his team will do as the offseason gets underway.
As brutal as it sounds, last season means absolutely zero now, with every other team now having Seattle in their sights in 2026.
And Macdonald's messaging is aimed squarely at his team, maintaining the rage of last season, and using it to power the Seahawks forward as they go from the hunter to the hunted in Macdonald's third year.
With run it forward being the mantra the entire offseason is built around.
