I have not been this excited about the Seattle Seahawks in a long ass time. The last time I felt myself doing fist pumps in the air over this team is when they drafted Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft well over a decade ago.

Over the past week and a half, Seattle landed the best head coaching prospect in the league with Mike Macdonald, a guy thought to be an absolute defensive mastermind, and then they followed that up by pairing him with Ryan Grubb, the best offensive play caller in college football last year. Make no mistake, these are home run hires for this program after parting ways with the legend of Pete Carroll.

The plan for this program is clear and it is undeniable. They want to be dominant on defense, and they want to be explosive, offensively. Shattered is the image that hiring a defensive minded head coach will lead to conservative offensive play calling. No way. They plan to dominate on both sides of the ball.

Seattle wants to be the Baltimore Ravens. I wrote months ago that the way to pry this division away from the 49ers is for Seattle to adopt the Baltimore model. I’m not going to say that John Schneider reads this little blog, but I will say that the blue print is obvious, and I saw it back in December as bright as daylight.

Kyle Shanahan’s offense is too well oiled to match it with a simplified defensive scheme. You need to punch it in the mouth with talent in the front seven, and you need to send pressures and disguise coverage in ways that limit the gimme plays that make Brock Purdy way too comfortable as a passer. As a defensive play caller, Macdonald has shown this ability, and he did that in Baltimore with a defense that lacks true superstar talent.

Conversely, San Francisco’s defense is too talented to play it safe against. You need an offense that is loaded up with explosive potential. The 49ers want you to play it safe against them with quick out patterns that they can jump. They want you to abandon the run for the pass as the game wears on.

Ryan Grubb’s offensive scheme is all about creative explosive plays with the run and pass, and it was evident as throughout the Washington Husky season last year. When opponents starting doing everything to take the deep pass away from Michael Penix Junior, Grubb leaned further into setting up explosive runs with Dillion Johnson. Even when Penix slumped a bit, it was hard to make this offense one dimensional. Penix always had outlets to dump off, and he tested defenses enough to keep the run game viable to lean into. Explosives eventually would happen, one way or another.

I get it if some fans will be skeptical as to whether Grubb can translate to the NFL. I just trust more the voices of Mike Holmgren and Hugh Millen, who are former long term NFLers that have closely observed Grubb’s offense at Washington, when they say Grubb is more than ready for the league with all of his motions and creativity to get big runs and passes going.

In my very humble opinion, I think pairing Grubb with Macdonald is a Hollywood styled fairytale story concocted by John Schneider. The cherry on the top of it would be drafting Penix this Spring, and while you might feel compelled to brush that idea off, I sorta feel the table is perhaps being set up for exactly that.

I also totally get it if readers wince at this idea, and believe that I am just a locked in homer who isn’t a serious footballer mind. I just beg to differ. I think Penix has the natural arm talent to be an elite passer in the NFL, but is clouded with just enough questions about his durability and the scheme he played in at Washington for him to slide into Seattle’s loving arms in the draft this Spring.

Penix has the arm talent that John Schneider craves, the high level starting experience that makes his floor fairly safe, and above all, he has a solid history with Grubb. If Seattle does draft him, he will be stepping into a situation perfectly set up for him to succeed with the weapons he will have in this offense along his former play caller. The fact the Grubb is bringing along with him former Washington OL coach Scott Huff is yet another reason to be optimistic about this pipe dream scenario.

So, forgive me if I dare to dream of all of this becoming a reality in a few short months. I think it is worth dreaming about, and will continue this process.

As for now, I am supremely excited for these Seahawks. I love the boldness of these coaching hires. With Macdonald, Grubb, Huff, Leslie Frazier as the assistant HC, Aden Durde from the Cowboys elevated to the DC working with Macdonald, I see a fascinating staff emerging.

A lot of stuff still needs to happen. I am plenty aware of this. More coaches need to be hired. Decisions need to be made about some expensive older players, the team needs to figure out a way to keep Leonard Big Cat Williams, and Jordyn Brooks, and perhaps Damien Lewis, and improve the offensive line.

I’m excited to see how it all shakes out. So far, this is a great beginning to a promising offseason for the team I love most.

If Cougar fans and Duck fans hate the idea of Grubb as the new OC, they can suck it, and root for a mediocre Mariners ball club instead, for all I care. If they will cash in their Seahawk fandom if this team does draft Penix, I say that they probably weren’t the biggest Seahawk fans to begin with.

For me, I say bravo on Grubb, and I hope Penix is the next franchise quarterback, and I got nothing against Geno Smith. I’m just willing to dare to dream a little bit more about the longer termed outlook with this team moving forward.

And if the rumors are true that they will be going back to their old color scheme with the uniforms this Fall, I think I will have reached my football Xanadu. My fingers are very crossed for that, as well.

Go Hawks.