Big Picture: GM John Schneider Shares How Seahawks Became a Super Bowl Contender Again

Big brother, little brother. When asked about the difference between winning a Super Bowl with the ageless Pete Carroll and reaching the precipice of accomplishing that same feat in two years with Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider compared those relationships to something most folks understand — brotherly love. "It’s kind of like Pete was my older brother and he’s kind of my younger brother," Schneider told me. "That’s what it feels like. That’s the best way I can describe it." In a conversation with me, Schneider discussed roster building with the exacting Macdonald, the maturation of his star quarterback Sam Darnold and the difference between two dominant defenses for the Seahawks — the Legion of Boom and the Dark Side. Carroll, 74, was 20 years older than the 54-year-old Schneider when the two worked together for 14 seasons. While Macdonald, the third-youngest coach in the NFL at 38, is 15 years younger than the Seahawks' general manager. Yes, the two have different personalities; the always-positive Carroll brings a larger-than-life persona to every room he enters, and Macdonald offers a no-nonsense, workmanlike approach. However, Schneider said both were similar in the way they attacked football. "It’s the same as when Pete and I walked in the door in 2010," Schneider told me. "It’s a daily effort to improve football operations. How can we improve our football team every single day? He’s open-minded like Pete was. He knows what he wants, like Pete does. So, it’s not really different, to be honest. "He’s very open to making the toughest decisions and the tough discussions you have to make — decisions that you believe are going to affect the franchise in a positive manner. He doesn’t shy away from those." In his 16th season with the Seahawks, Schneider now serves as general manager and president of football operations, picking up the new title after the franchise parted ways with Carroll in 2024. The Seahawks have posted a 147-96-1 mark during Schneider’s tenure, sixth-best in the NFL over that time. Seattle had 15 players earn first-team All-Pro honors in that span. Schneider has been particularly effective in building one of the youngest rosters in the league. Over the past four drafts, Schneider has drafted 20 starters or solid contributors currently on the team’s roster. Players like wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, running back Kenneth Walker III, defensive lineman Byron Murphy II, offensive tackle Charles Cross, offensive tackle Abe Lucas, safety Nick Emmanwori and guard Grey Zabel emerged as the franchise’s new core of players. For his effort in getting the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl for the third time during his tenure, Schneider earned the Pro Football Writers Association’s executive of the year for the first time in his pro career. "It’s the ultimate organizational award," Schneider told me about the honor. "It’s a cool representation of people in the background that help us, like our video guys, strength and conditioning, the trainers, the PR people — everyone who affects our team on a daily basis who help support the players and the coaches." Schneider has a good relationship with the man who leads the personnel department of the team that'll try and take down his Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Schneider worked with New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf when the two were with the Green Bay Packers. Schneider’s mentor and the first person to offer him a job in the personnel business as an intern over 30 years ago in his hometown of Green Bay was Hall of Famer Ron Wolf, Eliot’s father. Schneider said the two remained close. "He was at the facility, so I kind of took him under my wing," Schneider said about the younger Wolf. "I’d play basketball with him. I literally taught him how to get out on fastbreaks and dribbling drills, stuff like that. He was that young. And I was the youngest of the [personnel executive] group between Reggie McKenzie, Ted Thompson, John Dorsey, Alonzo Highsmith and myself. "We had a natural bond. And I like to think when he’s gone through some tough times, hopefully he feels like I’ve been there for him. We still talk a bunch." One of the primary reasons for Seattle’s success this season has been the play of quarterback Sam Darnold. Schneider took a significant risk in trading a good performer in Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders so the West Virginia product could reunite with Carroll. Seattle then signed the well-traveled Donald for less money, a three-year, $100.5 million deal in free agency. On his fifth NFL team, the USC product had a history of struggling in big moments. However, Darnold bought into Macdonald’s team-building philosophy and had one of his best games as a pro in the postseason, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns in leading Seattle over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game. Darnold and Tom Brady are the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win 14 games in consecutive regular seasons. Darnold is the only signal caller to accomplish that with two different teams. "He’s continued to evolve as a leader, the way he interacts with his teammates," Schneider told me about Darnold. "The way he carries himself as a pro. He’s really shown his resilience. He plays the game like a good corner would. He can make a mistake, and he doesn’t lose his mind. He can just turn the page and go on to the next one. "Somebody described it to me the other day like a really good 3-point shooter, and I agree." Along with Darnold, Schneider made another impactful midseason trade in securing speedy receiver Rashid Shaheed. The Seahawks gave up fourth and fifth-round picks for the San Diego native, who has three returns for touchdowns since joining the team in November. Schneider said he’d been in conversation with the Saints for about three weeks before completing the trade and didn’t know what other teams were involved in the negotiations. "They did a really good job of not letting us know who we were competing with," Schneider told me. "But it wasn’t like a big negotiation. It was basically, ‘It’s going to take this and this. If you want him, that’s what it’s going to take.’ At the end of the day, that’s what it was. "Tory Horton was still playing at the time. He got hurt right around that time. Otherwise, we would have had two guys who could really fly. We were looking for that in the draft. And Klint [Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak] had coached Rashid in the past, so we knew what we were bringing in the locker room." One of the attractions of hiring Macdonald for Schneider was his reputation as one of the top defensive innovators in the league, playing in the toughest division in the NFL in the NFC West and having to face Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan twice a year. That vision has come to fruition with the development of one of the top defenses in the league in the Dark Side, which has grown to rival one of the best defenses in league history in Seattle’s Legion of Boom. So, which defense is better? Schneider wouldn’t bite. "It’s a different generation," Schneider told me. "Those guys [Legion of Boom] were a little more edgy. They kind of demanded your attention. They were in your face. "Much like that group, these guys [The Darkside] are bonded. They’re connected and really playing together, with each other and for each other. I think that’s the easiest way to explain it, without getting into the details for every position group." Schneider’s core philosophy hasn’t changed since he arrived in Seattle in 2010 — plan, communicate and work. It’s a simple strategy that bears fruit each season. "We have so many decisions to make on a daily basis, to try and figure out what the landscape is going to look like in the National Football League," Schneider told me. "So, I try to keep it simple, stupid, so we’re not overthinking things — paralyzed through evaluation. "Let’s just keep it real." A devout Catholic, Schneider also leans heavily on his faith. On game days, he can be seen handing out little Jesus statues to fans before the game. He has a statue of Jesus on his desk at Seahawks headquarters, given to him by his mother with a scripture from the Bible — Matthew 10:27. "My mom gave me this really cool little statue on my desk that says, ‘With God, anything is possible,’ Schneider told me. "It’s really important to me and I want to help. You have a platform where hopefully young adults and kids look at me and our like, ‘Wow, I can do that someday, with prayer and hard work.'" In the Big Picture, we contextualize key moves and moments so you can instantly understand why they matter.