When Mike Macdonald made a strange quote on Geno Smith starting in 2025, the Seattle Seahawks head coach became more aware of those comments. In his end-of-season press conference, Macdonald made it clear that he wants Smith around. He also described his thoughts on the quarterback returning.
“I want Geno to be here,” Macdonald said in his end-of-season news conference. “I think he's a heck of a player, I feel like Geno's the best for the team right now, and I'll be involved with it. Ultimately, it's not my decision. It's a Seahawks decision, but Geno knows how we feel about him, and we love him as our starting quarterback, for sure.”
“We did a lot of really good things, and one of those things was Geno's productivity, and this is something that I'm looking forward to building off of,” Macdonald said. “I thought he had a really good year. We had a conversation yesterday, but the feeling you get was he's proud of the things we did but felt like we could have done a better job as an offense and as a team, and could have put ourselves in a position to go into the tournament to go make a run at this thing.”
Mike Macdonald wants Geno Smith to start for the Seahawks
Although the head coach supports Smith, it's ultimately not his decision. Management has the final say-so in a decision like that. However, management has been supportive of the first-year head coach. The Seahawks fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Macdonald emphasized that Grubb wasn't taking the offense where he wanted it to be.
Through his time in Seattle, Smith has had a bounce-back career. After winning 2022-23 Comeback Player of the Year, he's continued that trajectory. He had career-highs in passing yards and completion percentage this season. The chemistry with DK Metcalf, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and Kenneth Walker III has been impressive.
While Macdonald's support is there, it's ultimately not his decision if Smith stays. However, only in his first season, management has been loyal to Macdonald. They might trust him and keep Smith for the final season of his contract. After all, Smith has done all that's been asked, and then some.
Still, it's only the beginning of the offseason for Seattle. Even with a 10-7 record, it wasn't enough to squeak by in the playoffs. They'll continue to make adjustments heading into Macdonald's second year, and possibly Smith's sixth with the team.
