The Jacksonville Jaguars saw their season come to an abrupt end when they lost to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. However, they should feel great about their chances of making the postseason and maybe even making a deep run in 2026. Granted, success in the NFL doesn't carry over from one year to another, but the Jags should have plenty of reasons for optimism. For starters, they have an ascending head coach in Liam Coen.
With Coen at the helm, Jacksonville underwent a huge turnaround in just one year. Sure, their season didn't finish the way they wanted, but as the Seattle Seahawks showed in 2026, progress takes time, and if the Jags don't deviate from their current path, perhaps they could also be playing in the Super Bowl the next year.
Mike Macdonald turned the Seahawks into a Super-Bowl team
There's no doubt that Pete Carroll reinvigorated the Seahawks when they hired him in 2010. At the time, they were coming off the short-lived Jim Mora era. And in just his third season at the helm, Carroll turned the Hawks into a playoff contender. Then in 2013, they defeated Peyton Manning and the Broncos in the Super Bowl. While Seattle returned to the championship game one year later, it wasn't able to ride nearly as high the following years.
After 2014, the Seahawks were good enough to make the playoffs but not talented enough to get to the Super Bowl. Like his predecessor, Carroll grew stale, so Seattle gave him the boot in 2024 and hired Mike Macdonald as his replacement. Although the Seahawks didn't make the playoffs in his first season, they finished 10-4, their best record in three years. Then in 2025, they took the next step.
Seattle already had a stout defense in place but knew it needed an upgrade at quarterback, so it traded Geno Smith ot the Las Vegas Raiders and signed Sam Darnold, who was coming off a bounce-back season, in free agency. He proved to be the missing piece on what was otherwise a talented roster, and the Hawks are now slated to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Of course, the turnaround started with Macdonald. He was able to get the most out of the roster he inherited and address his team's biggest needs the past two years. Just like the Hawks, the Jags also have a young head coach who is in a position to take them to new heights.
The Jaguars share several similarities with the Seahawks beyond Liam Coen and Mike Macdonald
Just because Mike Macdonald took the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in his second season as the head coach doesn't mean that Liam Coen will do the same with the Jaguars in 2026. However, they should feel good about their chances.
After all, the Jags, like Seattle, have put together a well-rounded defense — led by Anthony Campanile — that may lack star power but also has foundational pieces such as linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, and safety Antonio Johnson. Couple that with the fact that Travis Hunter will tentatively play corner full-time, and Jacksonville will have no shortage of talent.
Although the Jags won't have much money to spend in free agency, they have plenty of draft picks (including four on Day 2), so they should have no trouble fortifying the roster. Another thing working in their favor is that they already have a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, so the front office won't have to look for one.
When you add it all up the Jaguars have the pieces to recreate the success the Seattle Seahawks have had the past two years. And who knows, maybe they'll also reach the Super Bowl and even play against them at some point.