If it seems like there is a Michigan football alum on just about every Super Bowl championship team, it's because there is one, at least there has been for 13 years running after the Seahawks win over the Patriots in Super Bowl 60 with a 29-13 victory.
It's hard to ignore the Michigan football ties to the Seahawks. Mike Macdonald, the Seattle head coach, was the Wolverines' defensive coordinator during the 2021 season, when Michigan won the first of three consecutive Big Ten titles after beating Ohio State for the first time since 2011.
Macdonald worked for John Harbaugh and the Ravens for two seasons as DC, before taking the Seattle job, and in his second season with the Seahawks, they are Super Bowl champions.
Two of his assistants, special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and Chris Partridge, an outside linebackers coach, also played roles in the championship, particularly Harbaugh, who put together arguably the best special teams unit in the NFL.
Former Michigan players help Seattle, too
On the field, some former Michigan football players had their moment in the sun, too. Well, one did at least, as former tight end AJ Barner scored the first touchdown of the game. The one-time Indiana transfer, who joined the Wolverines for the 2023 season and was on the national championship team before getting drafted by the Seahawks, hauled in a fourth-quarter touchdown to give Seattle a 19-0 lead.
Barner, who caught 52 passes for 561yards this season, had four receptions for 54 yards in the Super Bowl with a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Barner is one of three former Wolverines on the Seattle roster, along with Mike Morris and Olu Oluwatimi.