The Seattle Seahawks’ birthday celebrations continue with linebacker Malcolm Smith, who turns 36 today.
Smith, who played on Pete Carroll’s defense in his first three seasons at USC, was reunited with his former college coach when the Seahawks selected him in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Malcolm Smith’s early Seahawks career
In his rookie season, Smith was named as the second-string weakside linebacker behind LeRoy Hill, making 16 tackles and two QB hits over 12 games played. Smith had his best game of the season during a Week 10 matchup versus the Baltimore Ravens, recording four tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble to help Seattle to a 22-17 victory.
Smith’s promising performance in 2011 earned him additional playing time in 2012, as he appeared in every regular season game, starting three of them. His first start of the season came in Week 13, when Carroll elevated Smith to the starting lineup to replace an injured Hill. Smith proved to be a valuable presence in the game, notching a pair of tackles in a 23-17 overtime victory against the Chicago Bears. His first NFL touchdown came on a special teams fumble recovery in a 58-0 mauling of the Arizona Cardinals.
This momentum continued into the final weeks of the regular season, as Smith notched a season-high five tackles in a pivotal 42-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16.
With Smith’s help, the 2012 Seahawks defense allowed just 15.3 points per game, the lowest total in the league that season. Seattle won 11 games for the first time since 2005, earning the NFC’s fifth seed in the playoffs. Overall, Smith had 22 tackles in 16 regular season games and three in each of the Seahawks’ two postseason games.
The Super Bowl season
2013 was perhaps Smith’s best season in Seattle, as he was named the starting weakside linebacker to open the year. Despite being out with a hamstring injury in Week 3, Smith appeared in 15 regular season games, tallying at least seven tackles in three separate games. Overall, Smith finished his age-24 season with 54 tackles, two interceptions, a pick six, and a sack, helping the high-powered Legion of Boom defense to the top of the league.
The 13-3 Seahawks earned the NFC’s top seed in the playoffs, hosting the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional round. In the teams’ second postseason meeting in four years, Seattle held New Orleans off the board until the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 15 points in a 23-15 win. Smith had five solo tackles and nine overall, playing his part in sending the Seahawks to the conference championship for the first time in eight years.
Seattle and San Francisco battled for the lead all night in the NFC Championship, with neither side leading by more than two scores at any point. With the Seahawks leading 23-17, the 49ers drove down to Seattle’s 18-yard line to try and score a game-winning touchdown. With the game on the line, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw the ball towards Michael Crabtree, but the pass was tipped by Richard Sherman and caught by Smith. Smith’s interception secured the Seahawks’ win, allowing the team to move on to Super Bowl XLVIII.
At MetLife Stadium for Super Bowl Sunday, Seattle faced the Denver Broncos, the AFC’s top seed and the owners of the NFL’s best offense in 2013. The Seahawks led 15-0 a few minutes into the second quarter thanks in part due to a Cliff Avril safety and a rushing touchdown by Marshawn Lynch. With under four minutes to go in the first half, Smith intercepted Peyton Manning’s pass to Knowshon Moreno, returning the ball to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown to increase Seattle’s lead to 22-0.
Smith then recovered a Demaryius Thomas fumble in the third quarter, setting up the Seahawks’ second offensive touchdown drive of the night. Seattle prevailed by a score of 43-8, becoming the first team to score 40 points in the Super Bowl since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did so 11 years earlier.
Still can’t believe it’s been 10 years since the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl (Feb 2nd 2014). The greatest defense of all-time really showed up against Peyton Manning.
This video shows it:
– Safety on the first play of the game.- Kam Chancellor INT- Malcolm Smith PICK 6… pic.twitter.com/KYGENgZtaR
— Seattle ON Tap (@SeattleONTap) February 2, 2024
Along with Kam Chancellor and Bobby Wagner, Smith was one of three Seattle defenders with 10 tackles in the game, and capped off his performance with the aforementioned fumble recovery and pick six. For his efforts, Smith was named Super Bowl MVP, becoming the first linebacker to win the award since Ray Lewis earned the honor 13 years prior in Super Bowl XXXV.
Smith was not part of Seattle’s starting LB trio to begin 2014, with Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner, and K. J. Wright serving as the team’s starting linebackers to open the year. Carroll promoted Smith as one of the team’s starters in Week 7, who tallied a season-high 10 tackles while filling in for the injured Wagner. Smith would appear in 14 games for the Seahawks that year, finishing his fourth season with 38 tackles.
Seattle had another strong finish in 2014, earning the NFC’s top seed for the second straight year. Smith had at least one tackle in each of the Seahawks’ first two playoff games, but was held off the stat sheet in Seattle’s 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
What happened to Malcolm Smith after leaving the Seahawks?
2014 would ultimately be Smith’s final season with the Seahawks, as the linebacker signed with the Oakland Raiders for his age-26 campaign. In Oakland, Smith reunited with Ken Norton Jr., who had been brought on as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator after 11 years as Pete Carroll’s linebackers coach.
Smith then went to the other side of the Bay and signed with the 49ers for 2017, but spent the entire season on injured reserve. After recovering from a torn pectoral muscle, Smith spent the next four years with San Francisco, Jacksonville, Dallas, and Cleveland, eventually retiring following his second season with the Browns.
Seahawks fans fondly remember Smith’s time in Seattle and the role he played on the Legion of Boom, and especially for his big game in Super Bowl XLVIII. Between MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL, Smith is one of just two players to win a postseason MVP award for a Seattle team, the other being SuperSonics shooting guard Dennis Johnson, who was named 1979 NBA Finals MVP. Needless to say, Smith has a special place in Seattle sports lore.
Happy birthday, Malcolm!
