Mike Macdonald admits that public speaking is not his favorite activity.
So, on his biggest stage Sunday night, he embraced the wisdom of brevity.
The Seattle Seahawks had just won the NFC Championship game to earn a trip to Super Bowl 60.
Fresh off the dramatic 31-27 win over the rival Rams, Macdonald was ushered onto a portable stage that had been pulled onto Lumen Field.
A national broadcaster reminded Macdonald, in just his second season as head coach of the Seahawks, that most pundits predicted that his team would be an “afterthought” in a division destined to be dominated by Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Macdonald’s assessment of those predictions went like this: “We … did … not … care.”
Crowd went hysterical. Maybe even seismic. Somebody should check with the geologic service and see if Macdonald’s quip measurably Richtered the place.
Name it the Quote Quake.
When they settled down, Macdonald continued to explain that none of what happened this season related to what anybody outside the program thought of them, it was only about his team.
For those who listened to 10 seasons of the professorial Holmgren and 14 more of the voluble Pete Carroll, Macdonald is a man of far fewer words. So sometimes we need to parse them for the full effect.
First, he uses the collective pronoun “we” rather than the personal pronoun “I.”
That’s an important distinction. From Day One, Macdonald has stressed the shared equity in the program, verbalized by the “we” mentality.
Perhaps a rhetorical preference, Macdonald followed the “we” with “did not,” rather than the contraction “didn’t.” “Did not” carries more contrary emphasis.
And “care” was specific to the question about others’ opinions. Because he and the Seahawks obviously care a great deal about many things. Details, execution, effort, team cohesion, resilience.
The list goes on, as there are a thousand things that happen in games that create concerns and require critical attention.
But the “We do not care” attitude applies to a number of developments that could derail teams with lesser focus.
Such as when a player gets a taunting penalty that everyone in the stadium knows was ill-advised, yet they know they’ll have the capacity, in one phase of the game or another, to compensate.
Or if a talented defender is having a difficult night, they are assured that said player will respond at a crucial moment with a pair of sensational pass defenses to save the game.
Or, if a speedy gunner on punt coverage is slightly out of position to recover a muff that could have meant an easy touchdown, they coach him up a bit and when it happens again later in the game, he’s in the right spot and it sets up a crucial score.
How do they know these things? They’ve won nine straight games, with large or small margins, playing well across the board, or relatively subpar in some regards. Whatever the game has thrown at them, they’ve dealt with it.
Not because they do not care about the mistake, but they know that it will not deter them.
For instance, in a game-threatening loss of composure, cornerback Riq Woolen was flagged for taunting the Rams sideline after the Hawks had denied a third-and-long conversion pass.
Instead of turning the Rams over on downs, L.A. was given a first down and quarterback Matthew Stafford passed to Puka Nacua for a 34-yard touchdown on the next play. Massive change of fortunes.
Sideline discussions followed, of course, but after the game, it was all cool.
“It was a poor decision, okay, whatever,” said safety Julian Love, a clear-headed veteran. “I said, ‘don’t do that again, obviously, but I love you, and you’re gonna make plays for us.’ That’s how we approach it … what’s next?”
Linebacker Ernest Jones IV looked at it as just another challenge, almost as if enjoying the extra degree-of-difficulty.
“Honestly, in that moment, I started laughing,” Jones said. “We worked on these moments when our backs are against the wall. I knew that we were going to rise to the occasion, it was just a matter of who was going to do it.”
Pro Bowl corner Devon Witherspoon, already a recognized star in the league, faced some challenges early in the game against the Rams’ powerful passing attack. But when the Rams got down inside the Hawks 10-yard-line late in the game, threatening to ring up the go-ahead touchdown, Witherspoon made consecutive pass defenses that Macdonald called “legendary stuff.”
In the second quarter, punter Michael Dickson launched a moon-shot punt that Ram returner Xavier Smith settled under. Gunner Dareke Young closed in on him, and seemed uncertain whether to crowd Smith on the fair catch, or get behind him to down the ball to avoid a touchback.
Smith muffed the punt but recovered, as Young wasn’t in position to snatch it up. Instead of Young recovering at the Rams’ 13, Stafford drove L.A. 87 yards for a touchdown that put the Rams up 13-10.
Macdonald explained that Young got some updated coaching about his positioning in that situation, and, after the first Seahawk possession of the second half, Smith once again muffed a lofty Dickson punt. This time, Young was perfectly positioned to recover at the Rams’ 17.
One play later, quarterback Sam Darnold tossed a touchdown to Jake Bobo.
Have a problem, fix the problem. That’s how it’s been for the last nine games.
Things going wrong? We do not care. Or so Macdonald might say, because he’s a man of few words, but many victories.