Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald celebrates with the Vince Lombardi trophy on the podium after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Seahawks' Mike Macdonald joins short list of young Super Bowl-winning coaches

By Mike J. Asti | Last updated Feb 8, 2026 11:37 PM ET

The Seattle Seahawks capped off their magical season with a dominating 29-13 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots on Sunday. The victory helped quarterback Sam Darnold prove his worth and silence his doubters, established the Seahawks' defense as one of the best the NFL has seen in a while, and it also placed head coach Mike Macdonald on an impressive list.

In only his second season as an NFL head coach, Macdonald has now earned the title of "Super Bowl champion" no matter what happens throughout the rest of his career. But that's not the only distinction delivering Seattle the franchise's second Lombardi Trophy, earned by the 38-year-old defensive guru.

Mike Macdonald will forever go down as one of the youngest Super Bowl-winning coaches

At 38, Macdonald became the third youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl. While he doesn't have the honor of being the youngest to do it, only Sean McVay (36 - Super Bowl LVI) and Mike Tomlin (36 - Super Bowl XLIII) were younger at the time of their title wins.

Macdonald is also one of only four coaches to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory before turning 40, the other being Jon Gruden, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a triumph in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Head coaches to win a Super Bowl before turning 40 years old:

- Jon Gruden
- Mike Tomlin
- Sean McVay
- Mike Macdonald pic.twitter.com/ZwG4zm4myL
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) February 9, 2026

Few predicted Macdonald to have this much success so early into his tenure

But back to Macdonald, who the Seahawks hired ahead of the 2024 season, to replace Pete Carroll, the only other coach to ever guide the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win. Before taking over for Carroll, Macdonald served as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator for two seasons and spent one year in the same role under Jim Harbaugh in college football at Michigan.

And even though future success is never guaranteed to anyone, Macdonald is now in a great position to do something the other coaches who won a Super Bowl in their 30s have failed to accomplish to this point - secure a second ring.

To this point in his young coaching career, Macdonald owns an overall record of 27-10, a 24-10 mark in the regular season (a .706%) and an undefeated 3-0 record in the postseason.

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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