This Seahawks-Commanders game is a good occasion to laud John Schneider for his work in replacing Pete Carroll about 32 months ago.
Dan Quinn was a natural candidate, considering his ties to the Seahawks under Carroll. But Schneider decided to go in a new direction, and he sniped Mike Macdonald from Washington, which then settled on Quinn (the third choice behind Ben Johnson, who stayed in Detroit that year, and Macdonald).
Quinn looked like a great consolation pick when he and rookie QB Jayden Daniels surprisingly led the Commanders to the NFC title game in 2024. But it has been all downhill since then. Quinn was 12-5 in his first season, plus two playoff wins, but he is 5-14 since then – including an 0-2 start heading into this game against the Seahawks.
It really hasn’t mattered whether Daniels has been healthy or not. Since 2025, he is 2-7 as the starter and Marcus Mariota is 3-7. The Hawks will see Mariota this time after Daniels reinjured his left elbow last week.
As Mike Sando wrote this week, that 2024 NFC title game appearance – despite being a 55-23 blowout loss to Philadelphia — seemed to make the Commanders think “they were one or two players away from the next step. They acquired offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, receiver Deebo Samuel and others but still had an older roster without the building blocks for long-term success — unless Daniels could stay healthy and continue to ascend. That has not happened.”
The Seahawks, meanwhile, have vaulted to the top of the NFL.
Schneider did plenty of research in that hunt to replace Carroll in January 2024. He was looking for someone who was “going to change the marketplace” and he landed a “disruptor” in Macdonald. “This is the future right here,” Schneider said when introducing the then 36-year-old defensive savant.
Macdonald liked that the team was stocked with good young players (courtesy of Schneider’s Russell Wilson trade) and talented veterans such as Leonard Williams, Julian Love and Jarran Reed.
Seattle won 10 games in his first year, but the Hawks missed the playoffs and Macdonald fired neophyte offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Geno Smith and DK Metcalf then decided they did not want to play for Macdonald, so they were replaced with Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp — and they helped Macdonald lead the Hawks to a Super Bowl title in the coach’s second season.
That march included a 38-14 win over Quinn, Daniels and company in November. The Hawks are 13-1, including playoffs, since that win. The Commanders are 2-8.
As Sando wrote, “The gap is wide and appears to be getting wider …”
Like last year, that should be evident in this game as well.
