Six months after the Seattle Seahawks hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the second time in franchise history, Richard Sherman was struck by the team's post-Super Bowl vibe. As he chopped it up with Mike Macdonald at the start of an Aug. 10 training camp practice, the retired cornerback wanted to know how the third-year head coach got his players to lock back in.

"How did you get these guys so -- this is such a hungry-ass team," asked Sherman, who starred for the Super Bowl XLVIII-champion Seahawks and still lives in the Seattle area. "We were still hungry after the first one, but you still felt like this dude got paid, this dude's starting to feel himself, this dude's pissed off he's not getting enough money."

Macdonald answered in typical self-effacing fashion, complete with a contemplative pause. "Umm, I don't know," he said. "It's just what we do, you know?" But that's easier said than done, Sherman said. The 40-second exchange illustrated one of the challenges Super Bowl winners face, and why the Seahawks are equipped to handle it as they try to become only the 10th repeat champions in NFL history and only the third this century.

That quest begins Wednesday (8:20 p.m., NBC), when they open their 2026 season against the New England Patriots at Lumen Field. But other roadblocks await. The Seahawks lost four key players in free agency from the team that beat New England in Super Bowl LX, including the game's MVP in running back Kenneth Walker III and cornerback Riq Woolen. With Klint Kubiak getting poached as well, quarterback Sam Darnold and the offense will be relying on a first-time coordinator in Brian Fleury. Meanwhile, the division-rival Los Angeles Rams loaded up this offseason on their way to becoming betting favorites to win the NFC West and Super Bowl LXI.

Those are more than just champagne problems that the champs will have to navigate. But the feeling inside team headquarters is that, as Macdonald has put it, not "an ounce of complacency" has been evident. "We're more focused than ever," veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. "A lot of people always try to bring up the Super Bowl and all that, but literally nobody talks about it. We don't bring it up. We just worry about the day that we're in, the present that we're in, and we just attack the day."