As local reporters gathered to talk with Seahawks second-year tight end Elijah Arroyo, I noticed a familiar face walking through the V Mason Athletics Center.
As local reporters gathered to talk with Seahawks second-year tight end Elijah Arroyo, I noticed a familiar face walking through the Virginia Mason Athletics Center.
And that face was quite familiar with Seattle.
Mitch Johnson.
The former WIAA State Champion from O'Dea is obviously much more renowned in the basketball world as the coach who just led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Finals.
But on Monday, he was checking in with his hometown NFL team. The son of Sonics NBA Champion John Johnson, Mitch and Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald set up a multi-day visit with the respective coaching staffs of the Spurs and Seahawks.
"It’s been a great visit, great people. Aligned on how we want to run our program and similar experiences taking over for legendary coaches and things like that, which you’re able to talk shop with. It’s been fun" Macdonald said, adding, “There’s a lot of parallels. At the end of the day, we say we sell football. It’s a people business on how you align people and do all the things right. There’s a lot of similarities."
Macdonald joked that while Mitch is quite knowledgeable on the Seahawks, he's not very familiar with Johnson's team.
"He’s way more knowledgeable about our team and our game than I am about basketball. I don’t really know Wemby (Victor Wembanyama). I’m an idiot right now when it comes to other sports.”
I don't think anyone would ever call Macdonald an idiot, but it was a fun moment.
Really, the entire dynamic is fun and unique. Yes, there's the tie-in with Johnson being from Seattle, but there's something to be said as Macdonald pointed out for learning something from another coach even in a different sport.
Both teams are championship-caliber and still searching for edges to get even better.
Perhaps both will hoist their respective league trophy next time out.
