Mike Macdonald among the youngest head coaches to make the Super Bowl

For the 21st time in 22 seasons, the Super Bowl will feature at least one former Michigan Wolverine, as the Seattle Seahawks are set to take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

With both teams having at least one former Wolverine, this means at least one former Michigan football player will win a Super Bowl in a couple weeks.

Before we get into that, let’s recap the Conference championships, starting with a former defensive coordinator leading his team one game away from their second Super Bowl win in franchise history.

Mike Macdonald leads Seattle to the Super Bowl

In an exciting NFC Championship between NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks held on to beat the Los Angeles Rams, 31-27. Former Michigan defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald will be coaching in the Super Bowl in just his second season as head coach of the Seahawks.

At 38 years old, he’s the third-youngest head coach to make it to the Super Bowl, behind Mike Tomlin with the Steelers (36) and Sean McVay with the Rams (33), the man Macdonald beat to get to the big game.

On the NFC Championship trophy presentation, he was fired up and thanked the home crowd known as “the 12.” They used to refer to themselves as “the 12th man” before the phrase was trademarked by Texas A&M a decade ago.

“I’m speechless,” Macdonald said after the game. “I’ll tell you what, this is the power of 12 as one man, this is a heck of a job! When you do it together, this is what you can do, how about the 12!…it’s about us, and it’s always been about us and what we do, and now we’re going to the Super Bowl!”

Macdonald is not the only former Michigan coach on Seattle’s staff. Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh was with the Wolverines for nearly a decade (2015-23), and outside linebacker coach Chris Partridge had multiple stints with the Wolverines (2015-19, 2023).

There are a few Seahawks players who spent time in Ann Arbor, although one of them will definitely not be playing in the Super Bowl. Running back Zach Charbonnet was a key piece of the Seahawks’ offense, but is out for the rest of the year after tearing his ACL in the Divisional Round vs the San Francisco 49ers.

A couple Seahawks did play in the NFC Championship, however — tight end AJ Barner had two catches for 13 yards, and Mike Morris was credited with a tackle.

Blake Corum plays key role in fourth quarter for Rams

Running back Blake Corum has steadily gotten more snaps with the Los Angeles Rams all season long, and he was a key target for Matthew Stafford late in the NFC Championship.

Corum was used heavily during a methodical 14-play drive where the Rams drove 84 yards and held the ball for 7:24 of game time. He started off the drive with an 11-yard rush and immediately followed that with catching a check down and going for 15 yards. He caught two more passes on the drive, gaining nine yards total before getting stuffed for -1 yards up the middle midway through the first quarter.

Corum was a safety blanket for Stafford; he ended the game with nine carries for 55 yards and three catches for 24 yards. It’s a disappointing end to the season for Corum, but he’s expected to be a big part of Los Angeles’ offense next season.

Linebacker Josaiah Stewart was credited for two tackles in the NFC Championship.

Patriots make it back to the Super Bowl

In a snowy Sunday afternoon in Denver, the New England Patriots beat the Broncos in an ugly 10-7 game to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in seven years. In that win, guard Mike Owenu helped the Patriots rush for 141 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. The offensive line did give up five sacks, though.

Pro Football Focus grades haven’t been logged for the championship games as of this writing, but Owenu is a top-five guard in football with the fourth-best grade among 77 guards in pass blocking (78.2). He’s the only Wolverine on the Patriots, but Owenu is an important part of New England’s offense. He and the Patriots being able to hold off an impressive Seahawks’ front seven would significantly improve the Patriots’ chances of winning the Super Bowl.

Wolverines to watch in the Super Bowl

Sunday, Feb. 8

New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks: 6:40 p.m. on NBC — offensive lineman Mike Onwenu for the Patriots; tight end A.J. Barner, offensive lineman Olu Oluwatimi and defensive lineman Mike Morris for the Seahawks

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