MOBILE, Ala.—The second day of practice at the Senior Bowl had just wrapped up when Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider gathered the entire player personnel department to offer some thanks and encouragement.

"I respect the shit out of you guys," Schneider said from the team's suite at Hancock Whitney Stadium before turning the impromptu meeting over to Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.

At the same time last year, Macdonald was in the process of interviewing for, then accepting the Seahawks job while the team's scouts were in Mobile for the Senior Bowl. But a year later, Macdonald was on hand to be a part of what is one of the key early steps in the evaluation process ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

"I love this shit," Macdonald said. "This an opportunity to become the team we want to be."

Macdonald noted that it stung to not still be coaching in late January, but he also understood the value of being in Mobile with the people who will build the team's roster in 2025 and beyond.

After thanking the team's scouts and giving some big-picture thoughts on his first season as Seattle's head coach, Macdonald then proceeded to give a detailed position-by-position breakdown of the team, one that provided an honest assessment of the roster.

"That was awesome to hear him take us through the maturation of our team and our roster," said assistant general manager Nolan Teasley. "It just added some clarity. The foundation of everything that we do at different times of the year, whether it's in-season or offseason, is that you have to know your team first, you have to evaluate your team first. So that actually laid a really good foundation for us going into the offseason about where we need to get better, and about what we were able to do in-season and kind of point us in the right direction as we look to acquire and build for 2025."

A key component to the message Macdonald delivered was that it included plenty of accountability for him and his coaching staff. It wasn't a case of a coach demanding that the scouts get him better players, but rather a scene in which one coworker discussed with other coworkers how, together, they can help the team improve.

The relationship between the people building the roster and those coaching the players can, by its nature, get a little adversarial in the wrong situation. Heck, it happened with the Seahawks at one point, with then team CEO Tod Leiweke admitting in 2010, after Pete Carroll was hired, that things were a bit rocky at times in previous years, saying, "To be quite honest, there was not a harmonious relationship between Tim (Ruskell) and Mike Holmgren, and it's probably neither guy's fault. But we learned a lot there."

That lesson paved the way for Schneider and Carroll to form a successful partnership for more than a decade, by all accounts that type of harmony is carrying on in the relationship between Macdonald and his coaching staff and Seattle's current front office. Macdonald's message to the scouts wasn't about them finding better players, it was about how all of them, collectively, can help get the most out of the players currently on the team, while also finding the right kind of players to add to the mix.

"That was awesome," said director of college scouting Aaron Hineline. "It was real. Anytime you have that level of communication and honestly, you know where you stand. And our players are getting that too. I thought that was great. It was unfiltered, it was refreshing, because there's not too many times that that happens."

Tuesday, 9:30 a.m., Practice No. 1

Thirty or so hours before Macdonald and Schneider addressed the rest of the personnel department, a Seahawks state of the union, if you will, the group arrived at South Alabama University's Hancock Whitney Stadium for the opening practice of one of the first and most significant parts of the league's annual pre-draft process. Scouting is a year-round process, and teams have numerous chances to both evaluate players on tape and meet with them in various interview settings, but the Senior Bowl is unique in that it not only gives teams a chance to meet with prospects, but also to see them up close and personal in padded practices facing off with other top prospects from around the country.

"You have the narrative that you've researched in the spring and the fall, sometimes two years of it, and this is the first time that you get to talk to the players," said Matt Berry, who was recently promoted to vice president of player acquisition. "So we're trying to figure out what matches up, what doesn't, what questions you have going into the spring into our (pre-draft) meetings that we need to find at the combine, pro day, all the way up to April from a makeup, culture fit, football intelligence standpoint. That's really vital for us the first time we get to talk to the players.

"This is also a refresher of a live look, you get up close, you're getting to see a bunch of players in one practice that you'd usually be bouncing around to see. From a competition standpoint, you get to see how guys respond in a high-pressure setting, in a new offense, how they process, how they handle adversity, what kind of energy they bring to each drill, and how that matches up with your previous exposure to those players."

Said Teasley, "The benefit of seeing a number of high-level prospects in one space, then beginning the process of getting to know the person behind the player. Then also the opportunity to see some small-school prospects against a higher level of competition, there's always value in that. There's a lot of benefit to the Senior Bowl, and obviously (Senior Bowl executive director) Jim (Nagy) does a great job down there. They continue to improve the process of it year by year, it's time well spent.

"The structure of it is really well done, so you get to see the players put in positions that benefit the evaluation. Then the access to the players and the structure of the interviews has really improved. They do a really good job of that."

As the first practice got underway with players warming up, most of Seattle's scouts were in the suite they were sharing for the week with the Green Bay Packers, while a handful of others, including Berry, Schneider and Macdonald, headed to the field. At one point before the action got going, Steelers director of pro scouting Sheldon White stopped by the suite to have a quick chat with Teasley about his son, Seahawks receiver Cody White, with the two discussing what the younger White needs to do to take the next step after spending most of last season on the practice squad.

As practice began, it was fascinating to see how well a seasoned scout can hold a conversation while watching practice—and picking up intricacies that would go over the head of the vast majority of football fans—all at once. A conversation about the previous night's dinner can transition seamlessly to talk of a safety's footwork dropping into coverage, or about an offensive lineman's hand placement, then go right back to dinner, or to a funny standup comedy special one of them just watched on Netflix, after a play ends.

While the bulk of the day's action saw talent evaluators spread all over the field, that changed when the one-on-one pass-rush drills between offensive and defensive linemen took place. For that drill, a large circle of scouts, general managers and coaches formed around the action, with everyone, Schneider and Macdonald included, watching intently.

That Macdonald was on hand to watch these drills, to be a part of the process with Schneider and company, was a significant change from a year earlier when, during the same week in 2024, he was still interviewing for, then accepting, the Seahawks job. In future Januarys, Macdonald expects to still be coaching that late in the postseason, but he was eager to make the most out of a chance to be a part of the process this time around.

"I want to be involved in the process of deciding who's going to be on our team," Macdonald said sitting in the team’s suite between practices. "Who we bring in is really important in building the culture that we want and the team that we want, and you want to take advantage of every opportunity you have to make the best decisions for us. I just want to be a part of it."

Between seemingly never-ending phone calls—he was working with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak on hiring quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko and offensive line coach John Benton, among other things—Macdonald was able to gain valuable insight about players the Seahawks could select in the upcoming draft, and also provide valuable insight to scouts about specific things he and the coaching staff are looking for.

"It's awesome," Berry said of Macdonald being at this year's Senior Bowl. "Our job is to find players that fit his schemes, offensively and defensively, so the more time we spend with him, the better feel we get for what he's looking for, and the more refined we can get in the way we approach our process and integrate him and the coaching staff, so it's awesome.

"Mike is very clear with what he wants. I don't think there's much ambiguity in terms of the type of players that fit his scheme defensively. But honestly, the more time you spend with somebody, the more the nuances become clear, not just for the guys that are around him in our office all the time, but the area guys who don't get to spend as much time with him. So it helps give them clarity as they go out and continue to go through the process this spring of getting to know these guys."

Said Hineline, "It's good when you have Mike anywhere, and just having coaches around in general, it gives you a better idea of what they're looking for. They can show you an example of it, like, 'I like what that guy did right there. This is how we would use him.' That's all positive. Any chance for those guys to get around the players too, it gives them an opportunity to see these guys in person. Obviously, we'd all like to be playing still, but there's definitely an advantage to Mike being down there to see these guys first-hand."

A year earlier, not only was Macdonald not at the Senior Bowl, neither were Schneider and Teasley as they worked to finalize Macdonald's hiring. This year, they were together in Mobile getting an earlier jump on draft evaluations while also having a chance to bounce ideas off of each other after spending a full year together.

"John and Mike and I, for obvious reasons, weren't able to attend the Senior Bowl last year, so the opportunity to not only be there ourselves, but to have Mike alongside with us, there's a lot of value in that," Teasley said. "We kind of joked like, 'What a difference a year makes.' Last year we didn't have our head coach in place, and now we've gone through 17 games and learned and grown so much through that with our understanding of the system, and how he views the prerequisites, the requirements from a positional standpoint, that's grown exponentially. Having him down on the field, being able to pick his brain, and ask about certain players, how he would envision the fit here—could we do this? Would we be able to utilize this player in this situation or this position? There's a ton of value in having those conversations, and having them start so much earlier in the process than they did last year."

"The more we get to know these guys, the better."

After some downtime following Tuesday's practice, scouts were back at the Mobile Convention Center for the second night in a row to conduct interviews with prospects.

Unlike the formal interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine, which take place in a suite at Lucas Oil Stadium, these sessions have a more casual feel. The spacious convention center was divided up by black curtains, with each team interviewing multiple players at once—the Seahawks had four tables set up, each with a tablet at the table to record the interviews.

Somewhere in the room, a voice over a bullhorn made announcements of "rotate, rotate" when the 15-minutes interview sessions were up, or gave two-minute warnings as time was winding down on an interview.

Steve Hutchinson, a Seahawks Ring of Honor member who works for the team as a football consultant, sat in on offensive linemen interviews, with all of the prospects almost certainly unaware that the slim, mustachioed man across from them was a Hall of Fame guard.

The Seahawks would talk to every player at the Senior Bowl over the course of the week, asking some players back for second interviews. After one prospect left his interview, scouts are encouraged by what they heard.

"That was good," Berry said to Hineline. "That was really positive."

These interviews are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting to know players, and in most cases the Senior Bowl is the first time most prospects have talked with teams.

"The way we've always approached the interviews is, it's not just a one-off; we try to have as many interactions with these players as possible," Berry said. "It's a collective, and you're trying to develop a relationship with players where they're more comfortable with you and they're more their authentic selves so you have a better sense of what they're going to be going forward."

Said Hineline, "The more we get to know these guys, the better. It helps us build a relationship with the guy, and that's an integral part of what we're trying to get done. You might have some questions about a guy, and the more reps at it, the better. It changes as these guys get more comfortable with us, to be honest with you."

Between interviews, Hutchinson and vice president of player personnel Trent Kirchner proudly discussed the prodigious number of oysters they and a few other scouts put down that afternoon at Wintzell's Oyster House, a favorite of scouts in downtown Mobile. Already, plans were being made for a return engagement the next day.

"It's been really impressive working with them."

Back at Hancock Whitney Stadium, for Day 2 of practice, the suite started filling up ahead of the first practice of the morning. As things got going, some people headed down to the field, while others, such as Hineline and area scout Josh Graff found seats in the stadium's lower bowl to be closer to the action. Up in the suite, scouts divvied up the drills they were watching, frequently checking in with each other to see what someone else thought of a player from a particular scout's area, or to see what someone else thought of a particular rep.

Hutchinson, Kirchner and assistant director of pro personnel Armani Perez chatted about offensive linemen, covering everything from the importance of arm length to Hutchinson's approach to grading players. At one point as various conversations were taking place, Marshall defensive end Mike Green emphatically won a pass rush rep, bowling over an opposing lineman in a clip that would go viral, in NFL media circles anyway, eliciting an "Oh, shit" from one onlooker in Seattle's suite.

On the field, Macdonald and Schneider watched the action while also finding themselves frequently drawn into conversations. Schneider is not just a very successful executive, he's also a very well-respected one, having spent decades in the business while building a strong reputation around the league. That makes him popular at an event like this.

"He probably knows every single person on that field there," Macdonald said, nodding toward the field. "It's unbelievable how many people know him. That just speaks to how he builds relationships throughout the league. There's a different feeling you get from some people, but with John, there's a trust and respect factor around the league."

For Macdonald, being on the field with Schneider provides a valuable opportunity to get a better feel for players the team could end up selecting in a few months.

"That's the driving force of why we're down here," he said. "You talk about chasing edges. That little margin of, yeah, I can watch it on tape, but how do I feel guys in person? It's different. It's like being at practice and feeling players at practice vs. watching them execute on tape.

"Just watching one-on-ones, seeing how they handle it if they lose a rep, or when they win a rep, and watching them talk to teammates. There's just little things you can pick up here and there. You're trying to just feel them. Just feel who they are without them always being on their best behavior when they're in a meeting or something. Just trying to get that extra angle of understanding what type of player they are and what type of person they are. It's been cool, it's been a fun experience."

When he was back in the suite between practices, Macdonald fit right in with a group of scouts that, at this time a year ago, he hadn't even met. And while Macdonald was playing catch up last year, it didn't take him long to appreciate the way Schneider and the player personnel department operated, an opinion that has only strengthened over the last year.

"I was really impressed from the very start, just hopping into draft meetings," Macdonald said. "There's a confidence, a calm confidence about how our guys operate. They're on their stuff, it's very thorough. I just love the style of how they operate. They tell you the way it is, they're not afraid to speak their opinion, which is great, but it's all within the respect of, we're just trying to get it right, you're trying to nail the person. It's not an easy job, especially nowadays with players moving from team to team; that's par for the course now rather than the exception to the rule. You've got to work contacts, you've got to work all these different relationships to try to get to the core of the person, and it's been really impressive working with them. I'm really excited about our people. They do a great job."

When practice wrapped up, Schneider and Macdonald addressed the team, after which Schneider announced that, with no player interviews scheduled for the evening, all are invited to Wintzell's for oysters and beer.

"It's natural, it's more of a brotherhood."

By 4 p.m. or so, several tables at Wintzell's were pushed together and were covered in dozens of oysters and a few pitchers of beer. Hutchinson took control, ordering every variety of oyster on the menu, then scanned the room like a lineman ready to identify a blitz, finding any plate nearing empty and insisting that person took a few more.

Just a few feet away, Titans scouts were also sharing a meal, a group that included Reggie McKenzie, a longtime NFL personnel man whose career includes seven seasons as the GM of the Raiders, and before that, 17 seasons in Green Bay's front office, including 10 seasons working with Schneider.

While he was there with his new team, McKenzie couldn't help but spend some time with Schneider and the Seahawks group, enjoying the energy and camaraderie at the table and some good-natured jokes from Schneider.

"It is a special group," Berry said of the closeness of Seattle's scouting department. "It kind of mirrors what John had with Reggie and John Dorsey and those guys in Green Bay. It speaks to the longevity of our crew, people don't want to leave here. That speaks to John and the culture he's created. The more time you spend with people, and the longer you're around and the more you're into the process and growing together, the better you're going to be.

"The thing about our group, why we've gotten so close, is the draft room. It's the way our process goes, and the amount of time we spend together, and the amount of years we've done it. I think the heart of this system is that draft room. We talk about, there's full transparency in there, anybody can say anything, so you learn that way and you grow up that way. You can have one of the younger, junior members challenge one of the older guys, it's that type of culture in there, which is pretty special. And that carries over outside the room as well."

Later, Alonzo Highsmith, currently a personnel executive for the Patriots who also spent three seasons in the Seahawks front office from 2020-2022, took a seat with the group. Between oysters and light-hearted conversations, Highsmith, who spent time with four teams as a player and with four NFL teams, as well as the University of Miami, in his front office career, turned reflective, telling those sitting nearest to him what a special thing they have in Seattle. It's not at all uncommon for a group of scouts to get together for a meal at the Senior Bowl or at the combine. What is rare is how much fun the Seahawks group is having.

"It's John's leadership and how we communicate and how we operate," Teasley said. "We're not siloed, it's very open, so that just gives everybody the opportunity to communicate across the board and be open-minded to other people's opinions and viewpoints. By doing that in a work space, then when you do get time to spend time together more recreationally, if you will, then it's natural, it's more of a brotherhood. It's fun, it's a good group of people."

Added Hineline, "John has always made our jobs fun. Our connection is like no other. There's a common respect amongst everybody. Everybody knows what buttons they can push to give guys a hard time, other guys you can't. But everybody's pretty low ego, and very team-oriented. Almost all of us started as interns at one point or another. The only guys that weren't interns were Kirk (Parrish), Matt Berry, Todd (Brunner) and Hutch, everybody else was homegrown. We've just known each other for so long. I think the connection part, just the unfiltered connectivity, we're just low egos, a bunch of dudes who are about the same stuff.

"It's rare, it really is."