SEATTLE — The beers didn’t stand a chance. Neither did the New England Patriots.
As AJ Barner slammed two cold ones on his march from the Lumen Field tunnel to the victory stage Wednesday morning, the message was loud, clear, and a little bit buzzed: The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl LX champions, and they still don’t care what you think.
Seventeen days after stunning the NFC, and one week after dismantling New England 29-13 to hoist the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy, the Seahawks’ championship parade turned downtown Seattle into a sea of action green and navy. But amidst the fur coats, cowboy hats, and flying confetti, one three-word mantra defined the day.
“We Did Not Care”
Coach Mike Macdonald didn’t need a prepared speech. Standing in the same spot where he addressed the crowd after the NFC Championship, he looked out at the legions of 12s and pointed to the mentality that fueled their improbable 2025 run.
“I’ve got a few things for y’all,” Barner yelled into the mic, flanked by general manager John Schneider and a rowdy roster. “First, we did not care. Second, we still don’t care.”
That attitude—immortalized on T-shirts during the team’s flight to the Bay Area—was born from the “M.O.B. Ties” rallying cry (“Mission Over Bulls—“). It turned a roster of perceived afterthoughts into a juggernaut that peaked exactly when it had to.
The Hangover Cure: Reloading for 2026
The parade buzz will fade, but the target on Seattle’s back is permanent. The Kansas City Chiefs remain the only team in recent memory to repeat, and the “Super Bowl Hangover” is a proven career-killer. Just ask the 2022 Rams, who plummeted to 5-12 a year after their ring.
“I think mentally is you’ve got to enjoy it now but realize that everybody’s going to want your head now… I think we’ve got the right group of guys to get our minds ready to reload and do it again.”
— Ernest Jones IV, Seahawks Linebacker
The front office isn’t sleeping off the celebration. Macdonald and Schneider face an immediate crunch: finding a new offensive coordinator. Klint Kubiak parlayed Seattle’s explosive season into the head coaching gig with the Las Vegas Raiders, leaving a massive void.
Sources confirm Seattle is looking inward to keep the system consistent for quarterback Sam Darnold. The shortlist of internal candidates getting interviews includes:
- Andrew Janocko (Quarterbacks Coach)
- Justin Outten (Run Game Specialist)
- Mack Brown (Tight Ends Coach)
- Jake Peetz (Passing Game Coordinator)
The Checkbook Challenge
Continuity is king, but cash is king-er. The Seahawks enter the offseason with roughly $60 million in cap space—sixth-most in the NFL—but that money is already spent in spirit. The priority list starts with Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
Walker was the heartbeat of the offense, carrying the load after Zach Charbonnet’s divisional round ACL tear. With Charbonnet likely out until mid-2026, letting Walker walk in free agency isn’t an option. But he’s not the only one with his hand out.
Pending Free Agents / Extension Eligible:
- Rashid Shaheed (WR/KR): The midseason trade acquisition who scored three special teams TDs.
- Riq Woolen & Boye Mafe: Defensive stars eyeing massive paydays.
- Devon Witherspoon & Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Both eligible for mega-extensions that will eat future cap.
With no compensatory picks expected and only four draft selections (including No. 32), Schneider has to get creative. He’s built two title-winning rosters a dozen years apart; he knows the drill.
Climbing the Mountain Again
Inside the Seahawks’ auditorium, the “trophy wall” is finally complete. Throughout the season, Macdonald hung the helmet of every conquered opponent on a pole. On Wednesday, the team X account revealed the final addition: The Patriots’ silver shell, sitting atop 16 others.
Safety Julian Love summed up the bittersweet reality of reaching the summit.
“You have no more goals to reach for the year… It’s like, ‘Dang, I’m sad. I wish we could keep going.’ So, you’ve got to deal with that… And then, just reset and climb that mountain again.”
— Julian Love, Seahawks Safety
The party in Seattle is just ending. The work to repeat starts tomorrow.
