The Seattle Seahawks moved on from some of their most notable names this offseason, yet they find themselves in the driver’s seat of the NFC with just two games left until the playoffs.

Lefko: A bold offseason has Seattle Seahawks on brink of history

The Seahawks’ offseason featured some difficult decisions as they traded away starting quarterback Geno Smith and standout wide receiver DK Metcalf. They changed offensive coordinators with Klint Kubiak taking over for Ryan Grubb. And they took a chance on quarterback Sam Darnold after his turnaround 2024 campaign.

It’s all added up to a 12-3 start for a Seahawks squad that’s in first place in the NFC West and holds the NFC’s top seed for the playoffs.

With what the Seahawks have been able to accomplish after some major changes in the offseason, FOX NFL analyst and three-time Super Bowl-champion offensive lineman Mark Schlereth believes head coach Mike Macdonald should be in consideration for NFL Coach of the Year and general manager John Schneider should be up for executive of the year.

“I think Mike Macdonald is still one of those guys that you would have to consider based upon what they’ve done and the turnover they’ve had,” Schlereth told Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob during his weekly conversation on Monday.

Schlereth named Macdonald as one of three top candidates for coach of the year alongside first-year coaches Ben Johnson and Liam Coen. Johnson has guided the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears to 11 wins and a shot at the NFC’s top seed for the playoffs. Coen has done the same in the other conference with the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars. Their teams won five and four games, respectively, last season.

“When you think about it – and I get the first-year coaches – but you’ve turned over your quarterback situation, you’ve turned over players on the defensive side of the ball, you eliminated your offensive coordinator after one year and went with a whole new offense, and then you took a gamble on Sam Darnold,” Schlereth said.

“So there’s a lot of big-time decisions that were made this offseason. And maybe he doesn’t win it, but if he doesn’t, you’d have to look at Schneider being in that kind of executive of the year (conversation).”

Schlereth also noted a conversation he had with Macdonald about why Kubiak was the pick at offensive coordinator.

“(He) was like, man, I wanted to do this offense. I wanted this offense to be a part of the Seahawks because it’s the toughest offense that I’ve had to defend over the years,” Schlereth said. “With (49ers coach) Kyle Shanahan and with (Rams coach Sean) McVay and with all these guys, it’s the one offense that gives you fits, that always seems to have an answer both in the run game, the play-action game and the passing game. So a lot of that decision lays at the feet of Mike Macdonald as well.”

Schlereth named Jaguars general manager James Gladstone as one of Schneider’s top challengers for executive of the year.

“Schneider obviously did a great job of moving on from Pete Carroll (after the 2023 season) and moving on from Geno Smith and deciding not to pay him and all those different things,” Schlereth said.

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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