SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — When Jay Harbaugh was hired as special teams coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks in February 2024, long snapper Chris Stoll initially didn’t like him because of his college ties.
Jay, the son of Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, coached for nine seasons at Michigan while Stoll spent six years at Penn State. It didn’t take long for Stoll to come around on the younger Harbaugh, though.
“He is able to generate buy-in from guys, and that’s also just the culture we have here in Seattle,” Stoll said. “We know that we can make a difference and an impact on special teams.”
The Seahawks specials teams certainly have under Harbaugh’s direction in their leadup to Super Bowl 60.
Including these playoffs, Seattle has scored five special teams touchdowns, four of them on returns. Rashid Shaheed, whom the Seahawks acquired from the New Orleans Saints in November, returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers, which was one of three special teams touchdowns for the speedy wide receiver.
Ahead of the Seahawks’ 31-27 win against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game, Harbaugh said that in an era where 20-yard punt returns happen infrequently, rattling off as many special teams touchdowns as Seattle has is no small accomplishment.
“The investment that they have, that they put in day in and day out, unselfishness and commitment to doing it right and respecting the opponent in the process, they deserve to have success,” Harbaugh said.
It isn’t just the return game where Seattle has excelled.
In his 11th season, Jason Myers set the NFL record for most points by a kicker in a single season with 171, surpassing David Akers’ 166. And punter Michael Dickson was a second-team AP All-Pro selection in his eighth year in the league after averaging 42.2 yards per punt, and landing 20 of his 52 punts inside the 20-yard line.
“They’re studs,” said special teams ace and fullback Brady Russell. “They’re clearly two of the best in the world and their performance kind of reflects their work ethic.”
Seattle was also tied in allowing the second-fewest punt returns (19) and fourth-fewest touchbacks (3) as a team in 2025. And unsung players like Dareke Young have risen to the occasion in big moments, too, like when he recovered a muffed punt in the NFC championship game to set up a touchdown.
“There’s been a ton of games where we really flipped the game, got the momentum back,” Myers said. “Or, it was a close game, and we really started the onslaught of points.”
Stoll said it’s no coincidence the Seahawks have enjoyed success on special teams.
Specials teams is the first meeting and practice period of the day. The expectation each year is for the Seahawks to generate special teams scores, even though they don’t come in bunches every season.
Coach Mike Macdonald is thankful Harbaugh joined his staff in 2024.
Macdonald was Michigan’s defensive coordinator in 2021 while Harbaugh oversaw the Wolverines’ special teams. Their relationship dates back much further, though, to when Harbaugh was a quality control coach for the Baltimore Ravens and interviewed Macdonald for a job in 2014. They’ve been friends ever since.
“It was a very, very easy decision to beg him to come to Seattle and be our special teams coordinator,” Macdonald said. “And he’s done a tremendous job since Day 1. You talk about chasing edges, this guy, that’s how he operates all the time. Pushing the envelope, he pushes me. He’s got a great perspective.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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