Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones hoisted his second career Lombardi Trophy in February. The veteran is aiming to have a better title defense this time around.
Jones won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams in his rookie season in 2021. In 2022, L.A. crashed back to earth, going 5-12 in an injury-plagued season. Jones said the two teams’ mindsets are vastly different.
“I just think the mindset, it’s kind of different,” Jones said via Seattle Sports. “The first time (with the Rams), we were trying to defend it. This time, (last year) really doesn’t matter. … Last year is not going to help us.
“We’ve gotta go out and do it again and do what we did and establish ourselves early and keep that going.”
Jones’ comments echo the message of most coaches following title wins. Namely: The past doesn’t matter to future success. Coach Mike Macdonald has dubbed his mantra for 2026, “run it forward,” consistently noting that the Seahawks must improve and evolve to remain atop the mountain.
With the rest of the division countering the Seahawks’ success with their own moves — namely the Rams’ acquisition of Myles Garrett — Seattle knows it must continue to adapt. To that end, Jones noted that even after last year’s success, Macdonald continues to tweak his scheme.
“I think scheme-wise, doing some different things, seeing where guys, can we move around, can we add different layers to our games?” Jones said. “And I think just the overall day-to-day, just seeing improvements out of guys, whether it’s by position or scheme-wise, you can tell this team’s getting better.”
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