Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has been a thorn in the Seattle Seahawks' side for a decade. By the end of his tenure, former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll struggled to beat the NFC West rival, and that was likely one reason he was let go. Thankfully, Mike Macdonald has found some success in 2025.
But the games have been close, and if not for quarterback Sam Darnold playing the game of his life in the NFC Championship game, the Rams would be in the Super Bowl, and not the Seahawks. McVay's scheme and game-planning give even the brilliant Macdonald fits.
That isn't going to change. McVay and his general manager, Les Snead, recently signed multi-year extensions to stay with Los Angeles. It wasn't all that long ago that some were thinking McVay might step down from coaching and potentially go into the media instead. No rival's fans would have been upset had that happened.
The Seattle Seahawks will have to face the Los Angeles Rams' Sean McVay for quite a while longer
The NFC West, except for the lousy Arizona Cardinals, is nothing if not stable. McVay and Snead have worked together since 2017 (Snead was hired in 2012), the same as the San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Those duos are tied for the longest-tenured coach-general manager combination in the league (the Kansas City Chiefs are tied with them).
For the Seahawks, general manager John Schneider has been in his position since 2010, but Mike Macdonald was only hired after the 2023 season. (The Cardinals have gone through too many general managers and head coaches to mention in the last decade.)
The above implies that the Seattle Seahawks' division is likely to remain the same in their fight for the NFC West crown. The 49ers, Rams, and Seattle are all going to be difficult to beat, and will probably have to keep trying to beat each other to win the division. That could also equate to being the top seed in the NFC as well.
Honestly, would Seahawks fans want it any other way? Blowouts are great, but beating your toughest rival in a tight game is even better and more fulfilling. Plus, a team can be toughened a bit by having to battle in the regular season. We will see firsthand if that theory turns out to be true when Seattle plays the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60.