2026 NFL Season Thread

GBP4EVER said:
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there's only one thing i don't like about xfinity, and i have had them for many years. when they come out with a new router like they show in that commercial, how come i still have the 6-years-old router they gave me when we first moved in here? okay, make that two things. why can't i get that 5-year price guarantee when i have been with you for so many years?
 

Seahawks GM John Schneider on Packers roots, Sam Darnold, building a winner (again)​

This is John Schneider’s 16th year as general manager of the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s his finest work, too.

Rare is the GM in all of sports who builds one Super Bowl winner, starts over, and then does it all over again. But after trading quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver, Schneider hit the bull’s eye on several draft picks. His defense is loaded. Mike Macdonald proved to be a grand slam hire at head coach. This past offseason, Schneider then dealt Geno Smith to Las Vegas and signed journeyman Sam Darnold. Free agency. Trades. Street pickups. Schneider has exhausted all options to morph these Seahawks into NFC Champions. Again.

A lot like his old boss, really.

From ‘93 to ‘96, Schneider worked under future Hall of Famer Ron Wolf as a young scout for the Green Bay Packers… where he also did a little babysitting on the side.

Eliot Wolf — now the New England Patriots GM — wasn’t even a teenager yet. He’d get out of school and tag along with John as much as possible.

Now, of course, they’re facing each other in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif.

Last week, I caught up with this season’s PFWA Executive of the Year to discuss those Packers roots, playing hoops with a young Eliot and what he loves most about Darnold.

Our chat with is below.

Go Long is in the Bay Area all week for Super Bowl LX.​

New here? It’s a fine time to join our community of readers from around the world.​


You saw something in Sam. How did you know this would work?

Schneider: Sam’s a football player. He’s not a 7-on-7 quarterback whose parents sent him to all these camps growing up. He’s a football player. And he went to USC as a linebacker. He obviously played quarterback, too. But it wasn’t like he was this quarterback prodigy. That’s what I always loved about him. I’ve been around football players. Aaron Rodgers. Brett Favre. Rich Gannon. Football players. That’s what Sam is, and that attracts the whole team. You’re naturally put in a position of leadership — he shines. Because he doesn’t switch. He just says, “I’m going to go out there and rip it.” It’s like a three-point shooter. Keep shooting, dude. You’re fine. And there are different personalities. But for us and Sam, we’re pretty similar because you see guys throw interceptions and they chuck their helmets and act like babies. Then, you see Sam throw an interception. He goes to his coach, picks up his tablet and asks, “What did I do?” He’s not losing his shit. Teammates see that. That’s why Ron Wolf always said you’ve got to go see a quarterback in person, to see how they handle themselves.

That was something that Ron taught you as a younger scout?

Schneider: Yeah. How cool is that? With Eliot?

You babysat him, right?

Schneider: Basically during the day. He’d be like, “Hey, can we go downstairs and go play basketball, John?” I’m like, “Alright, let’s go.”

When was that? When would you watch him?

Schneider: I mean, it’s got to be ‘93, ’94, ’95, right in there. I’d take him down to the little YMCA basketball courts. I’d make him run. We’d do breakaways. I’d make him run and do layups and shoot. I basically tried to wear him out because he was hanging out with us all the time. And that was my exercise, too. (Packers scout) Reggie (McKenzie) and I shared an office and he was just always around. It was cool. He’d get done with school, someone would drop him off and he was always around.

So Eliot was 11 and 12 years old then.

Schneider: He’d be like like, “Can we go play basketball?” I’d say, “Yeah, if your Dad doesn’t fire me!”

Did you guys ever play 1 on 1? Would you back him down?

Schneider: No, no, no, no. He ended up being a really good basketball player later on when we’d go down and play. But at this point, I was literally just teaching him how to do layups and stuff.

So you’re not bullying him and pushing him around. You took him under your wing.

Schneider: Oh yeah. He was a really cool kid. He had his brother, Jonathan. I was asked to bring Jonathan to one of his football games — and he’s not a football player — but he was playing Pop Warner or some shit. They’re like, “Hey, John, can you bring him down to practice?” So I’m driving him to this park and I’m like, “Oh, hey, Jonathan, so what position do you play?” He’s like, “Nose tackle.” I’m like, “Oh, that’s cool, buddy.” And he’s like, “Yeah, if you like getting your butt kicked every play.” He was such a cool kid. Those were fun times.

That scouting crew under Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson produced a bunch of GMs — what was in the water? What are you guys doing that other teams weren’t?

Schneider: It was Ron teaching all of us what it took. That work ethic. How to study. How to communicate. Don’t be a douchebag. Ron… I was scared of Ron, man. I tell him all the time.

What was intimidating about him?

Schneider: He was super intimidating. Reggie McKenzie would be like, “Hey, Schneid Dog. Ron wants to see you.” I’d be like, “Oh shit.” I’d go into his office and say, “You wanted to see me, sir?” And he’d be like, “Huh? No. What are you talking about?” Reggie knew how intimidated I was by Ron. Because Ron was my lifeline. If I didn’t have Ron, I wouldn’t be in the National Football League.

So he was always messing with you?

Schneider: Oh yeah. Totally.

To be in this position — a chance to win a second Super Bowl with a whole different team — you’re entering some rarefied air. Why are we here talking?

Schneider: Man, honestly, I don’t know, because we’ve really done the same thing. Pete (Carroll) and I, we came together in 2010. Every single day, we’d ask: “How are we improving?” In every aspect. Mine was planning, communicate, work. That was my thing. Pete’s thing was “always compete.” And then you learn from those two things.

And knowing when to pull the trigger, too, with Russell Wilson. That takes guts.

Schneider: You’ve got to make shitty decisions. You have to make bold decisions and you have to make shitty decisions.
 
realitybytes said:
there's only one thing i don't like about xfinity, and i have had them for many years. when they come out with a new router like they show in that commercial, how come i still have the 6-years-old router they gave me when we first moved in here? okay, make that two things. why can't i get that 5-year price guarantee when i have been with you for so many years?
Click to expand...
You ever call ask say your router is old ask if they will update Or call say you will cancel service to see if they will offer you 5 year price guarantee?
 
GBP4EVER said:
You ever call ask say your router is old ask if they will update Or call say you will cancel service to see if they will offer you 5 year price guarantee?
Click to expand...
maybe it is about time i try that. i have tried it twice before. more than ten years ago, i called to say i was switching to a different provider if they didn't give me the same deal they were offering new subscribers. i actually had to try it twice, and the day the new service was supposed to come, they called me and offered me the same deal. the second time i tried, was a couple years ago when i lost the deal i was on. i called and complained and this woman - who was obviously not in the u.s. gave me this deal that sounded great until i got my next bill and it was like a couple dollars less than my previous deal and locked me into a 2-year contract. i think that one might be over now, so tomorrow i might call and see if i can get something better.
 
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