Key Takeaways
- Seattle Seahawks legend Shaun Alexander is expecting big things out of his former team in the 2025 NFL season.
- The Hawks made numerous changes this offseason, trading DK Metcalf and Geno Smith, replacing them with Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp.
- The franchise also hired Klint Kubiak as their new OC, which Alexander believes is a great move given his chemistry with Darnold.
Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald (Photo by Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)
Shaun Alexander knows what it's like for the Seattle Seahawks to be overlooked as a team.
As a franchise tucked away in the Pacific Northwest region, the Seahawks have always been an overlooked franchise. Despite being one of the more successful teams in the NFL over the past 25 seasons -- Alexander was drafted by the team in 2000 -- observers have normally overlooked the NFC West team.
This time around, things are no different. Despite finishing with a 10-7 record in Mike Macdonald's first season as a head coach, many are predicting the Seahawks to finish last in the NFC West. In fact, they have the worst odds of any NFC West team to win the division. That's even lower than the 8-9 Arizona Cardinals, who have clinched just one playoff berth in the past nine seasons.
"Seattle's always been overlooked," says Alexander while smiling in a one-on-one interview with RG. "I remember my first big game -- I think it was against the Raiders in 2001. I did the morning radio show and back then, they were overlooked in their own town. Their fans were like, 'Hey, there's the radio guy.' KIRO (the Seahawks local radio affiliate) is like, 'Hey, I don't know if everybody knows, but we got a superstar here in our town. You're overlooking your own town.' Of course the rest of the country's going to overlook you."
Obviously, the Seahawks aren't overlooked in their own town anymore. Alexander's dominance during his tenure in Seattle (2000-2007) led to the running back winning MVP honors after setting an NFL record with 27 rushing touchdowns during the 2005 season. During that same year, Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time.
Fast forward a few years later, and the Seahawks became a powerhouse under head coach Pete Carroll and the Legion of Boom defense, winning their first Super Bowl and advancing to the big game two consecutive times.
However, Alexander acknowledges the Seahawks are still overlooked by the rest of the country. Seattle has posted three straight winning seasons and has had only one losing season since the 2012 campaign.
"That's not the case in house anymore," says Alexander of the Seahawks being overlooked in Seattle. "People know Seattle's that squad, but it's so easy to do it when it comes to the whole NFL because we are tucked in the corner. So I believe that that's the case."
Revamped Seahawks
The Seahawks made some upgrades in the offseason as they take on more of the look of Macdonald's team rather than Pete Carroll's holdovers. Gone are DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Geno Smith, all starters during the Carroll era. The players who are now in are none other than Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold and former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp.
Seattle's offense ranked 18th last season and 11th on defense. In other words, they're going to have to improve on offense if they hope to advance in the playoffs.
"We got two great running backs, three great receivers, a fine quarterback, a really good offensive line, the defense and the defensive backs are amazing," says Alexander. We got everything it takes to go do something special. If the defensive line shows up big, it's going to go great for us."
The Seahawks made a major decision in moving off of two-time Pro Bowler and NFL Comeback Player of the Year Smith. In place of Smith is Darnold, who is coming off a career year after leading the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs.
Alexander explains the decision to move from Smith to Darnold.
"I just think that Coach Macdonald's bringing in the offense that's going to fit the kind of defense that he wants," says Alexander. "We're going to play dynamic defense and we all know that. He's like, 'How do I get the right quarterback and offensive coordinator to go be dynamic together?' If we didn't fill that in with Geno, so he brought in Sam."
New Face Running The Offense
The Seahawks brought in a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak. Kubiak previously teamed up with Darnold when the latter was the backup quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
"Or was it their coordinator that he thought that doesn't fit? So let me go get this coordinator," says Alexander of Macdonald's decision to hire Kubiak. "Does he fit Geno? Maybe Sam does. He's just building his kind of team. The players love Coach Macdonald. They're going to play hard for him."
Alexander has high expectations for the Seahawks this season, predicting them to have a better year than they did last season when they finished with 10 wins.
Although the 47-year-old hasn't played for the Seahawks in nearly two decades, he keeps in close touch with the players. He says he's spoken to Darnold, Kupp, fellow Alabama Crimson Tide alum Jalen Milroe, and running back Kenneth Walker.
"Yep, I've spoken with Sam, talked with Coop, talked with Jalen, my quote unquote nephew, says Alexander while laughing. "The boys are playing good. I got to talk with Kenneth last night. This is a team that they enjoy playing with, they play hard with each other."
