RENTON, Wash. — Does firing Ryan Grubb get the Seattle Seahawks closer to the Super Bowl?

With this decision, and any others, that's the only thing that matters. Because the goal was never to reach 10 wins by surviving a rival resting its starters for a tournament for which you failed to qualify. It wasn't to go 7-1 on the road, as impressive as that is. It wasn't to finish 4-2 in a division you didn't win. It wasn't to deliver the most wins for a first-year coach in franchise history. It wasn't to decorate a dying tree with tinsel and ornaments.

It wasn't to become an anomaly, just the second team to win 10 games and miss the playoffs since the postseason expanded in 2020. It certainly wasn't to spend Monday morning stuffing jerseys and cleats into cardboard boxes at an eerily empty Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

None of which invalidates the above accomplishments, or suggests the Seahawks erred in hiring rookie coach Mike Macdonald a year ago. Seattle made strides this season it can build on in 2025 and beyond.

But the goal, in a relentless results business, is to finish your season with a win.

Just not this one.

Less than 24 hours after closing a 10-7 season with a hollow, 30-25 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks parted ways with their first-year offensive coordinator Monday. They did so, Macdonald said on Seattle Sports 710 AM, because, "I felt like the direction our offense was going was different than [the] vision that I had for our team."

Though Macdonald declined to expand, he was undoubtedly referring to the Seahawks' roadblocks in the running game. Though Seattle finished fifth among NFL teams in completion percentage (69.6%) and eighth in passing yards (4,020), Grubb's lack of balance remained glaring. After 17 games his offense sat 17th in yards per carry (4.2), 28th in rushing yards per game (95.7) and 29th in rushing attempts (383). The Seahawks also took 54 sacks, third-most in the league.

(The only teams that surrendered more sacks, Chicago and Cleveland, combined for an 8-26 record. So that should tell you something.)

You can blame the above on an injured and inconsistent offensive line — which cycled through two centers, three right guards and four right tackles.

You can blame it on Grubb's inability to assuage his offense's obvious weaknesses.

Or, you can blame it on a little (or lot) of both.

Regardless, it's fair to conclude that a different coordinator could have more efficiently hid the Seahawks' flaws. The question is whether Grubb — who ascended the previous two seasons at the University of Washington — could have continued to grow in the role.

"He's only going to continue to get better," Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith said Sunday, providing an emphatic vote of confidence. "As he gets to dive into the offseason and look at the ways he can get better and this offense can get better, I think he's going to have an even better second year."

He added: "It's his first year, man. Got to give the guy some grace."

No such grace was given.

Which mirrors how Macdonald and general manager John Schneider approached other personnel decisions this season. When the free-agent linebacker duo of Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker disappointed, they were dispatched and replaced with Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight. When returners Laviska Shenault Jr. and Dee Williams simultaneously stumbled against the New York Jets, they were expeditiously waived.

In a sports city where too many front offices seem unmotivated to contend — (motions to the Mariners) — credit the Seahawks for maintaining a more merciless standard.

I'm not convinced that Grubb couldn't have grown into an elite NFL coordinator.

But I appreciate that the Seahawks are willing to do what they believe is necessary to win.

"I think that's just the way this thing works," rookie tight end AJ Barner said Monday, of Seattle's offensive inconsistency. "Everyone's talented. Everyone's got good schemes. Some of it is the play-calling, and some of it is on the players as well. It's a two-way street. When you get those things clicking together, that's when you can really have that success. We need to make sure both ends are working well."

In 2024, the Seahawks ranked 13th in the NFL in yards per play (5.5), 14th in red zone touchdown rate (57.1%), 18th in scoring (22.1 points per game), 19th in quarterback rating (91.5) and 21st in third-down conversions (37.6%). Smith (4,320 passing yards, 70.4% completions, 23 total touchdowns, 15 interceptions) and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (100 catches, 1,130 receiving yards, 5 TD) were particularly productive.

Statistically, Grubb's debut wasn't a disaster.

But don't forget the goal.

"I think we're really close [to being a Super Bowl caliber offense]," said Barner, who recorded 30 catches for 245 receiving yards and four touchdowns. "I think we just need to do it at every level of the offense. We need to run the ball well. We need to throw the ball well, play-action well. That takes all hands on deck and everyone clicking. So it'll be a big offseason for us to make sure we get all those things dialed in."

Added right tackle Abraham Lucas: "I love the team. I love this organization. I love what Mike [Macdonald] is doing with it. I know he is the guy. Objectively, there's never been a better time to be a fan, just with the foundation moving forward. They're going to make all the necessary adjustments."

If you believe Macdonald is the guy, then you'll trust him to swap Grubb for an immediate upgrade. You'll agree with his answer to the question at the top of this column.

You'll know the next offensive coordinator, whoever he is, will be subject to the same standard.

Because another nine- or 10-win season — a lukewarm Groundhog Day — isn't good enough. Don't forget the goal.

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