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# ‘It Takes Everybody’: Competition-Driven Culture Back For Seahawks Under Mike Macdonald
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/it-takes-everybody-competition-driven-culture-back-seattle-seahawks-mike-macdonald/
- Published: 2025-11-10T20:55:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:55:05.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Features, Seahawks, George Holani, Nehemiah Pritchett, Ty Okada, Tyrice Knight, Olu Oluwatimi, Coby Bryant, Mike Macdonald

SEATTLE, Wash. - Closing in on the end of the first quarter, the Seattle Seahawks already held a 14-0 lead and had advanced the ball past the opposing 10-yard line for the first time, looking for an early kill shot in their Week 10 rematch against the Arizona Cardinals.

Following an incompletion to rookie tight end Nick Kallerup on first down, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak went back to the ground on 2nd and goal, but with the game far from decided, he turned to an unlikely source. Even with starter Ken Walker III and talented backup Zach Charbonnet both healthy and available, the Seahawks called second-year back George Holani’s number, a promise that the player had been made by running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu earlier in the week.

Going into Sunday’s game, Holani had no idea when that play would come. But as it turned out, Kubiak decided to push the button in a key spot, thrusting the seldom-used reserve into action for the earliest carry in a game in his career to this point. More than ready for his chance, even after right guard Anthony Bradford got whipped by defensive tackle Walter Nolen off the snap, the back sidestepped him to the right and read the defensive end crashing hard inside, bouncing an outside zone wide with only a cornerback to beat.

“I had no clue what was going on just because I was trying to read the front end,” Holani explained. “Somebody got beat inside so I have to keep the front side. Once I jumped to the outside, it was just clear. I had to outrun the safety.”

Winning his one-on-one, Holani made an effective stutter step back inside before accelerating back outside and throwing an effective stiff arm to discard the defender, exploding past him for a nine-yard touchdown that put an early dagger in the Cardinals. Up 21 at that point, the Seahawks coasted to a 44-22 victory over their rivals, staying atop the NFC West with contributions coming from everyone on the roster, even before the benches emptied late in regulation.

As a pinnacle of his team and culture-building philosophy, Mike Macdonald has brought teeth back to the “Always Compete” mantra that once made his predecessor Pete Carroll one of the NFL’s most revered leaders. Whether filling in for an injured player as linebacker Tyrice Knight did subbing in for Ernest Jones or being a role player who has grinded on the practice field to earn situational opportunities on Sunday as Holani has, actions speak louder than words and Seattle’s current staff has put money where their mouths are with the understanding “it takes everybody” on the active roster and practice squad to pull off the difficult task of consistently winning in the league.

“It’s simple. It's not like we're trying to reward guys. We are trying to win,” Macdonald told reporters post-game. “Guys that show that they can go play great football, we're going to give them opportunities to go do that. I think our actions back that up. I don't know. I would like to play on a team like that. If I was a player and I felt like, ‘Why do you want me to come out and work so hard every day, do all the things you're asking me to do?’ We want to develop you as a player and we're going need you at some point. So why would you not operate like that? I don't know. Some people don't do that. I don't get it.”

Since Macdonald has demonstrated he isn’t offering lip service when it comes to creating genuine opportunities for players to carve out expanded roles on game day, it’s no wonder the 7-2 Seahawks have managed to get a universal buy-in from everyone in the building. There’s a clear expectation that if you do your job on the practice field and in meeting rooms preparation-wise, you will not only be ready when injuries strike and you are needed to jump into the lineup, but you will have the confidence of everyone on the staff to be utilized at any given time as Holani was on Sunday.

On Sunday alone, Seattle opened play without Jones, safety Julian Love, defensive tackle Jarran Reed, and a trio of noteworthy receivers, with Love and Reed set to miss multiple games on injured reserve. Injuries are part of the game, but for many teams, losing a starting linebacker, defensive tackle, and safety would be a recipe for disaster.

But as has been the case all season long, the Seahawks didn’t blink, starting with Knight re-emerging in a starring role by forcing two fumbles on strip sacks that resulted in touchdowns for teammate Demarcus Lawrence in the first half against the Cardinals.

After missing nearly all of training camp with a meniscus injury in his knee and a heart-related issue, Knight lost his starting job to Drake Thomas in the first month of the season. As he told reporters after the game, he didn’t feel like himself when he returned to the field for the start of the season, and it took several weeks for him to “get back right” behind the scenes as he lost out on defensive snaps and found himself relegated to special teams duty.

Many players would have been upset about such a demotion, and some would have packed it in as a result. But in large part due to the culture Macdonald, the coaching staff, and the front office have established and continue to cultivate by week, Knight wasn’t deterred, understanding he would have a chance to earn snaps back with how he handled business during the work week, staying prepared for when opportunity knocked again.

That chance came in Week 9 when Jones limped off the field late in the second quarter of a 38-14 win over the Commanders with a knee injury, throwing Knight back into the fire as the WILL linebacker next to Thomas. Seizing his chance to play, in a little more than a half of football, he wound up leading the team in total tackles, and Macdonald awarded him by sliding him back to the MIKE position on Sunday, another example of the coach pushing the right button at the right time.

Maximizing Knight’s strengths as a talented blitzer with a previous background rushing off the edge at UTEP, Macdonald incorporated two blitz packages the Seahawks hadn’t used this season for the second-year linebacker. Both hit beautifully with the defender flying through the line unblocked as he crushed quarterback Jacoby Brissett to knock the ball out of his hand before he began his throwing motion, forcing Seattle’s first two defensive fumbles all season and turning them into 14 points in a first half avalanche.

“You got to stay ready, how you prepare, and he's playing great football,” Macdonald said of Knight. “Obviously want Ernest \[Jones\] back as soon as possible, but he is showing he can go in and play great ball and execute. Both of those were pressures we haven't ran before, and so to be able to go in and execute those things not getting all the reps was some high-powered stuff.”

The beneficiary of Knight’s fumble palooza by becoming only the second player since 1970 with two returns for touchdowns in the same game, Lawrence couldn’t have been happier to see Knight seize his moment of redemption, lauding him for not backing down from adversity and exhibiting the mental toughness to bounce back when Seattle needed him to come through.

"I see resilience,” Lawrence said. “Things aren't going your way, but you're still able to get back in there, fight, and come strong for the team. He's definitely a resilient guy and I'm glad he's on my team."

When it comes to Seattle’s fast start that has just now started to grab the attention of a national audience, there’s been no bigger theme than perseverance and preparation. From a former Jets and Panthers castoff-turned-MVP candidate in Sam Darnold thriving under center in Kubiak’s offense to players like safety Ty Okada and Knight shining as injury substitutes for Love and Jones to unheralded role players such as Holani excelling unexpectedly in critical moments, there’s a not-so-quiet confidence that exudes from every man in uniform, regardless of what has happened in their past that led them to this point.

To his credit, Macdonald has helped bring that vision fully back to life by practicing what he preaches, something he has been doing since Day 1 when arrived as Carroll’s successor in February 2024\. As a first-year head coach, he moved on from both of his starting linebackers by Week 10, trading for Jones and promoting Knight into the lineup as a rookie for reps he had earned. In the secondary, Coby Bryant’s renowned practice habits led to a full-time starting job at safety as veteran Rayshawn Jenkins couldn’t get his job back when he came back from a hand injury, while Josh Jobe’s stellar play unseated Tre Brown as a starter at cornerback as well.

This season, Macdonald’s faith in Okada has turned him into the 2025 version of Bryant, as the former undrafted free agent out of Montana has been more than a serviceable starter in Love’s place with 39 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception, and four pass breakups. Then on Sunday, he rolled the dice by plugging Nehemiah Pritchett into the lineup as a third cornerback in nickel and dime sets with Jobe sidelined by a concussion, and the second-year defender rewarded the coach with two outstanding pass breakups, including one that erased a touchdown for Marvin Harrison Jr. as he knocked the ball out of the receiver’s hands with the two players diving to the ground.

Only a month earlier, Pritchett got toasted by Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield for two touchdowns in a 38-35 loss, looking as if he wasn’t ready for the moment when he subbed in for a concussed Riq Woolen. But Macdonald backed up his young cornerback the day afterward, and the former fifth round pick has kept battling on the practice field, earning himself another chance that went far better for him on Sunday with multiple big plays in coverage.

On the offensive side of the ball, starting center Jalen Sundell went down midway through the second quarter with a knee injury, forcing former starter Olu Oluwatimi into the lineup. While a botched snap to Darnold turned into a quick Cardinals touchdown, he rebounded from that mistake by dishing out several key blocks in the run game in the second half, helping the Seahawks eclipse 200 yards on the ground and melt the clock away down the stretch with a finishing touch that had yet to be seen from Kubiak’s offense this year.

For Macdonald, it’s just another day at the office, as the standard has firmly been set for all 70 players under contract to be ready for their turn at any given moment. Seeing the success of Oluwatimi, Holani, Knight, Pritchett, and others has manufactured a true belief in the locker room that embodies those principles, bringing all hands on deck no matter who goes down, making the Seahawks a force to reckon with as they come at opponents in waves each week.

“A win in our league is hard. It's hard to get to… Took all 70 today. We had some guys go down this week as you guys are well aware. We had guys step up and nobody flinched. It took all 70 again. That's how we roll. You know, you attribute it to our guys, you know, dedicating how we play our style of football all the time no matter the situation. That's what we're chasing. When we do it right, we play really good ball.”