The pieces are starting to come together. Head coaching vacancies continue to be filled around the league, cementing the foreseeable future for teams like the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks. We’ll get through the coaching hires in Seattle and Washington, plus touch on the key players and moments that defined the NFL’s Conference Championship games.

Dan Quinn: Commanding a New Era

Cheesy, but it’s true. Quinn comes to Washington with head coaching experience, but also a proven ability to coax high-level play out of his players. In Dallas, he tilted the franchise’s identity into one that dominated teams defensively at times. Turnovers and sacks, especially, were how Quinn’s Cowboys defenses made their cheddar, turning many of their interceptions into scores and terrorizing quarterbacks.

He also helped architect one of the league’s most iconic defenses of the modern era in Seattle and coached his 2016 Atlanta Falcons to a Super Bowl berth. Though he never won a ring as a head coach, he did collect one with the Seahawks when they stomped the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Coming into Washington, Quinn has a few key players to build around. The depth of the Commanders’ front seven is not what it was at this time last season, largely in part because of the trades involving Chase Young and Montez Sweat. But Washington has two of the league’s better tackles in Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne as pillars for their team.

Payne and Allen will be leaned on heavily by Quinn, who had a stud in Grady Jarrett in Atlanta and under Quinn established himself as one of the game’s premier defensive tackles. Washington faces some serious questions about their defense, with multiple starters hitting free agency in the spring. But there’s depth in this upcoming NFL Draft class at positions that the Commanders will be looking to address: at cornerback, and along the offensive line.

Expectations for this organization will understandably be low, given they have taken a back seat to the Cowboys and Eagles over the last few years. But offensively, Washington will almost assuredly be playing with a better quarterback. If they could turn in their draft card today, it would almost certainly have one of the top college quarterback’s names on it. The Commanders’ skill players also make up one of the league’s better groups. Quinn comes into a good situation, and it seems more likely than not that he will take advantage of a revamped front office and quickly turn Washington into a contender in the vaunted NFC East.

Young Macdonald Has His Farm

After leading the Baltimore Ravens defense to an all-time great season, Macdonald steps into the role of head coach in Seattle with an interesting mix of players on both sides. His offensive skill players are, like Washington, some of the league’s better players at their respective positions. Jake Bobo might be the best fourth receiver in the NFL. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet make up a lethal tandem at running back. DK Metcalf is a bonafide star. Even though there is a seemingly short leash for Geno Smith, the offense is in good hands.

Shoring up the offensive line will likely be a focus for Seattle heading into the draft. Especially considering how many players are set to hit free agency in the spring, and the fact that injuries challenged this unit’s depth in 2023. Better play from the offensive line, then, becomes essential in unlocking the potential of this offense.

But, more importantly, Macdonald and the front office will look to fix a defense that ranked 8th worst in terms of points allowed (per ESPN stats) and generated only 19 turnovers in 17 regular season games. A few key members of Baltimore’s esteemed defensive staff are reportedly (per ESPN) going to follow Macdonald to Seattle, which means the likelihood of improvement in both of the aforementioned categories is strong.

Jamal Adams is a player to watch for either being a cut or trade candidate. Two of Seattle’s top inside linebackers will also be free agents. Macdonald helped coax high-level play out of Patrick Queen, and unlocked the All-Pro talent of Roquan Smith since he arrived in Baltimore. Retaining Devin Bush, who could flourish under Macdonald, becomes an important move for Seattle. Jordyn Brooks, on the other hand, is an integral part of this Seahawks defense and appears poised to resign with Seattle. Keeping both Brooks and Bush could help Macdonald build out the sort of defense he had in Baltimore, even if that sounds lofty and awfully difficult.

Like with Quinn in Washington, the hiring of Macdonald for Seattle makes sense. It’s a good fit. The identities mesh well with what both respective front offices are trying to establish and maintain. As for which one will last longer…the early guess is Macondald. That has mostly to do with how much talent is on hand in Seattle and the willingness of John Schneider to take swings on players. Even if that means moving on from iconic players like Russell Wilson, or taking a chance on high-pedigree cast-offs like Leonard Williams and Bush, what Schneider has done over the years is remarkable.

Now, About Those Games…

Moving into the games of the weekend. We were again treated to two contests that came right down to the wire. In the NFC, Detroit blew a chance to become the darling of the season and stamp their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII by letting a big lead slip away in the second half against San Francisco.

Earlier that day, Baltimore experienced a similar letdown by allowing Kansas City to ice the game late and stamp their own ticket to the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs will be playing in their fourth Super Bowl in six years. Patrick Mahomes is putting together the sort of season that will further define his legacy as one of the greatest to ever throw the ball, given the ineptitude of the offense at times and the lack of stars around him. He has done more with less this season than in any other previous year.

Steve Spagnuolo put together a banner year and is quickly becoming recognized as the defensive genius that he is. With a win over San Francisco, Spags would add to that collection of Super Bowl rings with a total of four (!), which would cement him as one of the best to ever coordinate a unit. No coordinator has won league titles with two teams in the history of the game, except Spags. His head coaching career flamed out in St. Louis, but it’s clear that he is at his best when it comes to leading defenses as a coordinator. Keeping him around could mean that the window for establishing the NFL’s next-greatest dynasty remains open and breezy.

Beyond Spagnuolo and the defense, Kansas City’s offense could be clicking at the right time. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is becoming more than just a splash player who is just as apt to swing a game with a big reception as he is to drop a crucial catch (see: his entire career in Green Bay). MVS came up huge against Baltimore and provided one of the key plays of the game by hauling in a massive fourth-quarter catch. More consistency from MVS, plus the steady emergence of Rashee Rice means that Mahomes’ cupboard is not as bare as it appeared at times this season. Sprinkle in a little Travis Kelce action, and the Chiefs are right back to cooking.

San Francisco, beware…

But what the 49ers were able to do against the Lions also deserves its share of credit. Detroit had their foot on San Francisco’s neck for much of the first half. Behind a high-powered, and creative offensive attack, the upstart Lions looked Super Bowl-bound. Only… that 24-7 lead slipped away before the 4th quarter even started. If you took your eyes off the game for the third quarter only, you’d have thought you were watching two different games.

Much can be made, and discussed, about what Dan Campbell did, and did not do, throughout the game, but it is simple.

Campbell got in his own way. It’s easy for coaches to lose sight of the prize when they’re in the thick of a heavy-weight fight, and find themselves with a lead. (See: Mike McCarthy, 2014 NFC Championship game). Lions players will probably tell you they expected to put up points against San Francisco and were not surprised by that halftime lead. It wasn’t exactly their fault that the 49ers had opportunity after opportunity to get back in the game. Those opportunities were largely a byproduct of Campbell’s decisions in-game.

Sure, Campbell has built a reputation for being bold. To close out the 2022 season, he decided to be bold against Green Bay instead of playing it safe in their season finale. That sent Green Bay home and kept them from the playoffs. The Lions won, and entered 2023 with tons of momentum. While the stakes were considerably higher against San Francisco, and the implications of Campbell’s boldness much greater, there remains still the matter of logic. Campbell got in his own way by eschewing simple logic to take the points when he had a chance, which put San Francisco in position to storm back and take the lead: for good.

Campbell will learn from this. His players will also benefit from the heartbreak. They will be more battle-tested when their chance arrives next season. Because: this Lions team isn’t going anywhere. Adding another blue chipper to pair with Aidan Hutchinson should be paramount on their list of off-season priorities. Pass rushers don’t grow on trees, but there’s a chance one or two big fish land in the open market, come free agency. (Keep an eye out for a Joey Bosa trade or even a player like Dorrance Armstrong to get lured away from a good situation by big money elsewhere).

Creating more opportunities for Hutchinson to get home could be the difference maker for Detroit, especially as they maintain a young and promising nucleus of skill players on offense. Like Kyle Hamilton for the Ravens, Hutchinson has Defensive Player of the Year honors in his future. From the offensive line to the running backs, receivers, and tight ends, the Lions are truly loaded. By fixing a few things on the defense, Detroit could deservedly be a betting favorite for NFC Champions in 2024.