As Seahawks prepare to raise banner, they're breaking in new owners
· Yahoo Sports
It's a new day in Seattle. New season to begin. New banner to raise. New ownership group to navigate.
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The sale process has been completed, start to finish, between the falling of the confetti and the commencement of the new campaign. The team was put up for sale, the bids were collected, a winner was picked, the group was vetted, approval was obtained, and the transaction was finalized. Come Wednesday night, Vinod, Neeru, and Neal Khosla will be ultimately calling the shots — not Jody Allen.
On Saturday, coach Mike Macdonald fielded a question from reporters about whether he has had contact with the new owners.
"We have a few times," Macdonald said. "It’s been great conversation. I know [G.M.] John [Schneider] has been in more contact with them than I have. It’s been all positive and it’s like any new relationship. At this point, we’re at the beginning stages of trying to understand where everybody is coming from and what everybody is trying to get done. There’s a lot of parallels, which is great. There’s a lot of alignment. I’d say you’re at the infant stages of this whole process but it’s definitely exciting."
Exciting is one word for it. But there's surely a degree of anxiety. Not necessarily for the folks who were central to the engineering of a win in Super Bowl LX. A pro football franchise has many layers and levels of employees; no one knows whether and to what extent the new bosses will make changes until the changes begin to be made.
Will the Khoslas do nothing at all? Will they give it a full season before exercising their prerogative to hire, and fire, whomever they see fit? Will the success, or lack thereof, of the team be a factor in their approach?
The latest episode of Hard Knocks included a clip from Vinod Khosla's introductory press conference, with Macdonald and Schneider watching it at the facility. "The task ahead is actually pretty simple," Khosla said. "Keep the winning streak alive, get another Super Bowl."
Macdonald's reaction seemed to be a combination laugh and snort (his back was to the camera). Schneider turned to Macdonald and laughed out loud.
"That's pretty simple," Schneider said. "That's awesome."
Awesome is one word for it. Especially when the NFL Films microphones are hot. And while it's possible Khosla was joking, no one knows how to read his words and facial expressions because the folks in charge of the football operation have never had to read his words and facial expressions.
That's a big part of the adjustment process, and they'll need to adjust to the unique personalities of three Khoslas. Vinod, the leader of the ownership group. His wife, Neeru, the controlling owner. And their son, Neal, the presumptive eventual owner of the team.
Schneider and Macdonald will never say it, but they don't need to. The defense of their Super Bowl title will include an effort to figure out how the Khoslas will run the team. One interaction at a time.
And if Vinod Khosla wasn't kidding about his belief that the task is "actually pretty simple" (he most likely was), they'll find out whether he was or wasn't if they fail to win the Super Bowl, if they fail to qualify for it, if they make an early exit from the playoffs, or if they don't qualify for the postseason at all.