This year’s Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl matchup wasted no time stirring up memories of one of the most infamous moments in NFL history.
On Opening Night, before a single whistle has blown, Seattle’s new head coach Mike Macdonald was immediately met with that question-the one that’s lingered over the franchise for more than a decade: What would he call if his team finds itself at the 1-yard line with a championship on the line?
Macdonald didn’t need the full question to know where it was headed.
“I know where this is going,” he said with a knowing smile, cutting off the reporter mid-ask.
Of course he did. Everyone in football knows the moment.
Super Bowl XLIX. One yard to glory.
Marshawn Lynch in the backfield. But instead of handing it to Beast Mode, the Seahawks opted for a quick slant from Russell Wilson to Ricardo Lockette.
Malcolm Butler jumped the route. Interception.
Game over. Patriots 28, Seahawks 24.
And just like that, a dynasty was dented and a play call was immortalized-for all the wrong reasons.
Macdonald, to his credit, didn’t take the bait. When pressed on what he’d do in that same high-stakes situation, he kept it simple: “Best play available.”
It’s a smart, coach-speak answer. But the shadow of that decision still looms large, even as Seattle enters this Super Bowl with a new head coach, a new quarterback, and a new identity. Yet somehow, that one play continues to echo-loud enough that it reached across the country to New York, where Darrell Bevell, the man who called that fateful pass, was also in the spotlight on Monday.
Bevell interviewed with the Jets for their offensive coordinator vacancy, a position the team is aggressively looking to fill. He wasn’t the only candidate in the building-Greg Roman also interviewed Monday, and Frank Reich is reportedly scheduled for Tuesday-but Bevell’s name still resonates in NFL circles, largely because of that Super Bowl moment.
It’s a tough legacy to shake. Bevell has had a long and varied coaching career since then.
He’s been the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the past four seasons, helping to develop Miami’s offense into one of the league’s more dynamic units. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville in 2021, where he also served as interim head coach.
He held similar roles in Detroit from 2019 to 2020, stepping in as interim head coach there as well.
But no matter how many games he’s coached, or how many quarterbacks he’s helped mold, Bevell’s name is still tied to that one decision. Fair or not, it’s a moment that’s etched into Super Bowl lore-and one that continues to follow him more than a decade later.
As for Macdonald and the current Seahawks? They’re focused on carving out their own legacy.
But as Opening Night made clear, the past is never too far behind. Especially when it’s just one yard away.