A Grip on Sports: Seahawks end their season on a (somewhat) high note while WSU continues to rebuild its football roster
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Yes, the Seahawks finished the season on a high note. A note that almost turned sour in the final seconds of their 30-25 win at the Rams on Sunday. But Bill Parcells had it right. They are what their record says they are.
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• And what does the Hawks’ 10-7 mark say about them? They are close to a playoff cigar but not there.
A loss at home to the Giants, the middle game in a stretch of three in 11 days. An overtime home loss to the Rams. The inability to hold the lead in a must-win home game vs. the Vikings.
Those are the games Mike Macdonald will rue the most as he looks back on his first season. Heck, the whole home slate, which finished 3-6, may just make Macdonald rueful. And something he must rectify in 2025 and beyond.
But back to Sunday. The Seahawks played to win. Trotted out every healthy body they had. Why not? There was nothing after and a lot – financially, in Geno Smith’s case – riding on the results.
The Rams? Though playoff seeding hadn’t been decided, Sean McVay’s team knew they would be hosting a playoff game the next weekend. And that’s what mattered. He sat quarterback Matthew Stafford and a bunch of other key players. Handed the keys to former 49er Jimmy Garoppolo. Handed the defense to a lot of guys most of us hadn’t heard of before. And yet, with seconds left, the Rams were at the Seattle 9-yard line, needing just a touchdown to hand the Hawks’ their most humiliating loss of the season.
That it didn’t happen was testimony to Artie Burns’ effort and to why Garoppolo is no longer the star he once seemed to be. His last pass, a fourth-and-3 attempt aimed at Jordan Whittington was low and Burns was able to break it up.
Victory. Hollow, sure, but a win is a win. Even those as the locker room’s residents head out the door for the final time.
• College athletics has seen a sea change in the past half-decade or so. Name, image and likeness funds. The wide-open transfer portal. Conference makeup.
And now there is a change in how athletic directors fill head coaching positions.
Part of it is speed. It has always been pressing to fill an open spot as quickly as possible but up until free agency hit, there was a little time for contemplation.
Not anymore. If the head coaching spot isn’t done quickly, the roster might be scattered to the winds by the time it is.
Which means there is also an open door for coaches from lower levels, a door that seemed hardly ajar until recently. If a coach is successful at one level, and seems popular with his players, it behooves an athletic director to go in that direction rather than hire a successful assistant. Why? The ability to build a successful roster overnight via transfer. The best example in college football, circa 2024? Indiana and former James Madison coach Curt Cignetti.
The transfers Cignetti brought along from a Madison team that nearly upended the College Football Playoff structure in 2023 helped the Hoosiers actually do that this season. Thirteen of them came along, not just to help on game day but to aid Cignetti in his quest to change Indiana’s values and expectations. To build immediate trust and faith. Another 18 transfer from other sources allowed Cignetti to turn a 3-9 team into the 11-2 one that made the playoffs.
Which brings us to Jimmy Rogers and Washington State. Athletic director Anne McCoy hired a head coach with only two years in the role. Two successful ones, sure, with a national title and a semifinal appearance. At the FCS level.
Implied in the hire was an ability to attract a few of the better Jackrabbits to join him on the Palouse. It’s been working. Four former SDSU players have announced they will enroll at WSU, along with one recruit. Three others are expected to announce the same soon. The numbers correspond pretty closely with the players who are following Jake Dickert to Wake Forest.
But it doesn’t look as if Rogers is bringing along his former quarterback, Mark Gronowski, who has thrown for more than 10,000 yards in his career. The senior has already taken visits to Wisconsin and Iowa and seems to be leaning toward staying in the Midwest.
Then again, that seemed obvious when WSU quarterback Zevi Eckhaus entered and withdrew from the portal within days last week. Something made him stay. Whatever it was, it’s all part of the new game schools have to play.
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WSU: Of course Greg Woods has a story about the newest football transfers. Where else would I get the idea to write about it? Though I will admit, with the success David Riley’s basketball team has enjoyed, a lot of it due to the Eastern Washington players who followed him down U.S. 195, I’ve been thinking about addressing it for a while. … Rogers added to his coaching staff as well Sunday, with Greg sharing the news there will be two new offensive line coaches, one of which starred at Idaho and in the NFL. … Center Devin Kylany won’t be working with them, as the Cougs’ starter announced yesterday he’s entering the portal. Greg has that story as well. … Former linebacker Daiyan Henley, himself a transfer portal addition back in the day, grabbed his first NFL interception Sunday. His milestone leads off Ethan Myers’ weekly notebook covering local players in the league. … Another former WSU standout, quarterback Ryan Leaf, will be broadcasting his second consecutive FCS title game tonight. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano has a column today that has little to do with sports. … Washington lost a defensive back to the portal. … Oregon has already attracted six transfers. But the Ducks lost a quarterback to California, his original destination. … Colorado has added help up front. … Can Arizona State keep its successful run going? … USC is looking for a general manager, which is another of those big changes we wrote about earlier. The Trojans also have some needs at quarterback. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, Fresno State has added a running back from Arizona. … In basketball news, Washington’s men rallied in the second half but fell short of upsetting No. 22 Illinois, 81-77 Sunday at Hec Ed. … Oregon rebounded from a blowout loss to the Illini and handled Maryland 83-79. … San Diego State’s win over Boise State was a big deal for the Aztecs.
Gonzaga: Khalif Battle has been a breathe of cool air for the Zags this season, on and off the court. Theo Lawson, with the assistance of Jim Meehan, spent some time over the trip to Los Angeles – the most recent one – exploring that.
EWU and Idaho: Around in the Big Sky, can Montana State bring home the conference’s eighth national football title – and the first since Beau Baldwin’s Eastern Washington team in 2010? The Bobcats, who won the FCS title in 1984 and a D-II one in 1976, face North Dakota State – a nine-time FCS champion, including one three years ago over MSU – today in Frisco, Texas (4 p.m., ESPN).
Chiefs: It was a good weekend for Kamloops to visit Spokane. At least for the host Chiefs. They picked up a 5-2 win Sunday at the Arena to go with the one they earned Saturday. And, as Dave Nichols tells us, there were similarities.
Preps: The Washington State Football Coaches Association announced their All-State football teams for 2024 and Dave passes along the local players who made the teams.
Kraken: Two key players were placed on injured reserve Sunday.
Seahawks: Not only did the Hawks win, but Geno Smith hit a lot of bonus metrics during the game. Now the franchise needs to decide if he’s their quarterback in 2025. There are reasons he should be, according to Times’ columnist Matt Calkins. … Will the win be a springboard for next season? Probably not as much as offseason moves, including a decision on Tyler Lockett’s future. … Ernest Jones IV had more to say about his contract. … There are always grades. And quick impressions. … Detroit’s win over Minnesota last night – a rout – means the Lions are the NFL favorite. But Kansas City has to be dethroned first.
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• This is the second consecutive season the NFL’s playoffs won’t hold much in the way of allure for us. I’m OK with that. Frees up time on weekends to play with the dog, help Kim around the house, read a book or … Who am I kidding? I’ll watch games. It’s un-American not to. Until later …