The Seahawks’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday wasn’t just a celebration - it was a statement. And linebacker Ernest Jones IV made sure of that.
Standing in front of a roaring Seattle crowd, Jones took the mic with the kind of energy you’d expect from someone who just helped lead his team to the mountaintop. Wearing a shirt with an image of quarterback Sam Darnold flipping the bird in full Johnny Cash fashion, Jones didn’t hold back - and honestly, that’s been the Seahawks’ vibe all season.
“I’m gonna keep it a buck,” Jones said. “I’m probably the last person they should have gave the mic to. But we finna turn up, man.”
From there, he gave props where they were due - a shoutout to owner Jody Allen, general manager John Schneider, and head coach Mike Macdonald. But the heart of his message was for the guys in the locker room - the ones who went to war every week and came out on top.
“Shout out to these badass mutherfuckers who play this game the right way,” Jones said, drawing a massive reaction from the crowd. “Not only do we have the best defense in the world, we got the best team in the world. And quite frankly, if you got anything to say for my quarterback, you got anything to say for my defense, you got anything to say for my O-line, and you got anything to say about the city of Seattle, I got two words for you: Fuck you!”
That raw emotion? That’s not new for Jones - and it’s not just talk.
Back in Week 11, after a brutal loss to the Rams where Sam Darnold threw four interceptions, Jones was the first to step up and defend his quarterback. While critics were quick to pile on, Jones shut it down immediately.
“Sam’s been balling,” he said after that game. “If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam’s had us in every fucking game.
So for him to sit there and say, ‘That’s my fault,’ no it’s not. It was plays that defensively we could have made… opportunities where we could have gotten better stops.
It’s football, man. He’s our quarterback.
We’ve got his back.”
And from that point on, the Seahawks didn’t lose another game.
Darnold, who had been under a microscope all season, responded with poise. Over the team’s final 10 games - including the postseason - he threw just four interceptions total.
Zero of those came in the playoffs. That’s not just a bounce-back - that’s a quarterback growing into the moment, and a team rallying around him.
Jones’ fiery words at the Super Bowl celebration weren’t just about bravado. They were a reflection of a team that stuck together when it mattered most. A team that took the hits, heard the noise, and turned it into fuel.
Seattle didn’t just win a championship - they forged an identity. And if Wednesday’s celebration told us anything, it’s that this team isn’t backing down from anyone.