As meticulous as Mike Macdonald is — “nerdy,” he himself admits —the new coach prepared for everything he could conceive before his first game in charge.
Except this.
He could not fathom Marshawn Lynch giving him a shoulder rub on the sideline in the middle of his first Seahawks game.
With 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the first quarter of Seattle’s opener against Denver at Lumen Field Sunday, Macdonald was preparing to call a defensive play. It was the start of the Broncos’ fourth possession. The game was tied at 3.
Lynch was visiting Sunday, along with former Super Bowl-champion teammates Doug Baldwin and Kam Chancellor plus Hall-of-Famer Steve Largent for the team’s throwback game.
Lynch, the franchise’s retired, iconic, one-of-one running back, walked up to Macdonald along the edge of the field.
Lynch began rubbing the bottom of the intense coach’s neck and top of his shoulders. Then he joked with Macdonald.
The stunned Macdonald gave what appeared to be a nervous, if not forced, smile. Then he laughed.