The door to the quarterback room in the Pacific Northwest opened two months ago when the Seattle Seahawks dealt Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. That led to seven-year pro Sam Darnold getting big money this offseason to join Mike Macdonald’s club. He also stated that new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, late of the Saints, was a big reason the ‘Hawks were an appealing destination in free agency.
“Klint, obviously a blue collar man, he’s very easy going,” explained Darnold (via DJ Siddiqi of Forbes). “I was with him obviously in 2023 with the Niners. It’s a system that I’m pretty aware of. I have some experience in it a couple years ago. That was obviously a draw.”
When the former Jets, Panthers, 49ers, and Vikings signal-caller was asked about this upcoming season and his objectives with the ‘Hawks, his answer was quite profound and really emphasized the big picture.
“When people ask you about kind of what goals you’re setting, you have long-term goals, you have short-term goals,” said the 2024 Pro Bowler with Minnesota. “I really stick with that mindset of just continuing to be the best that I can every single day. I feel like everything will kind of fall into place if I just continue to do that. It’s tough, because in this business, everything is driven on results.
“Do you get wins? Do you throw for touchdowns? You’re trying not to throw interceptions,” added Darnold. “All these stats that people look at, at the end of the day, you just do everything that you can every day to be the best person, best player you can be, and everything else will kind of just fall into place from there. That’s really how I look at it.”
That approach obviously paid off for the well-traveled signal-caller in 2024. He easily enjoyed a career year with the Vikings under NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell. Now he looks to lead the Seahawks, who have finished with three consecutive winning seasons, but missed the playoffs each of the past two years.
