O’Connell and the Seahawks are Super Bowl bound
1/26/2026 2:39:00 PM | Football
Former Montana Grizzly and Kalispell native Patrick O'Connell and the Seattle Seahawks have punched their ticket to pro football's pinnacle.
The two-time UM All-American and current Seahawk linebacker helped Seattle defeat the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 on Sunday night in the NFC Championship game to advance to Super Bowl LX where they will face the New England Patriots on Feb. 8 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
"We're obviously excited for Pat to get a chance to play in the Super Bowl. We're always ecstatic when a former Grizzly gets that opportunity to play on football's biggest stage," said head coach Bobby Hauck.
"We've had a multitude of players go on to the NFL. As a former walk-on in our program Pat is another great example of what you can achieve at Montana if you come here and work hard."
O'Connell now enters an elite group of former Grizzlies to appear in a Super Bowl as one of just six players and four coaches in modern program history to compete for the game's ultimate prize.
He is now the first Montanan to suit up for the Super Bowl since 2014 when, coincidentally, Brock Coyle played for the very same Seahawks against the very same Patriots, even wearing the very same No. 52 jersey.
Coyle, a Bozeman native, was part of back-to-back Super Bowls with Seattle, beating Denver in 2013 and falling to New England in 2014. Jimmy Farris was on the Patriots roster when they beat the Rams in 2002, Helena native Blaine McElmurry played for the Packers in the 1998 Super Bowl, Raul Allegre earned two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants in 1987 and 1990, and Doug Betters played in two Super Bowls for Miami in 1982 and 1985.
Former Grizzly coaches to lead a team to the Super Bowl include Colt Anderson who was on Cincinnati's staff in 2022, Tim Hauck who won a ring with Philadelphia in 2018, Ken Flajole who won three Super Bowls with Philadelphia and Kansas City, and Marty Mornhinweg who won the 1997 Super Bowl with Green Bay.
Following a standout preseason campaign where he led the Seahawks in tackles, O'Connell worked his way from the practice squad into the active roster for the third-straight year in November. He was later named one of three Seahawk team captains on week 14 ahead of a 37-9 win over Atlanta.
Since then, he has totaled 19 tackles (8 solo) and one sack for the Seahawks wile seeing many of his reps on special teams, playing a key role in big plays like Rashid Shaheed's kickoff return for a touchdown in Seattle's win over San Francisco in the divisional championship.
O'Connell came to Montana as a walk-on in 2018 and was named Scout Team Player of the Year soon after. He went on to log 242 total tackles and 45 tackles for loss (one of the top four totals in program history) as a Grizzly, was a two-time team defensive MVP, a two-time All-Big Sky pick, a two-time All-American, and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award.
He is one of an astounding nine former Big Sky Conference players that will participate in this year's Super Bowl as a member of an active, IR, or practice roster. They include Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington), Rashid Shaheed (Weber State), and Ty Okada (Montana State) for the Seahawks. Efton Chism (Eastern Washington), Elijah Ponder (Cal Poly), Marte Mapu (Sac State), Christian Ellis (Idaho), and Lan Larison (UC Davis) are all with the Patriots.
There are a total of 17 former FCS players on Super Bowl LX rosters including the Big Sky players listed above, and four that have further ties with Montana. For Seattle they include offensive linemen Grey Zabel and Jalen Sundell who played for NDSU against UM in 2023, and running back Jacardia Wright who played for Missouri State in Missoula in 2024. New England's FCS players include Julian Ashby, a long snapper for Furman who played against the Griz in 2023.
Montana has a deep history of sending former players to the professional ranks, with 162 players and 57 draftees moving on to play in the pros since 1922. The next class of potential future Grizzly pros will showcase their abilities for scouts at UM's Pro Day in early April. The 2026 NFL Draft is set for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The two-time UM All-American and current Seahawk linebacker helped Seattle defeat the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 on Sunday night in the NFC Championship game to advance to Super Bowl LX where they will face the New England Patriots on Feb. 8 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
"We're obviously excited for Pat to get a chance to play in the Super Bowl. We're always ecstatic when a former Grizzly gets that opportunity to play on football's biggest stage," said head coach Bobby Hauck.
"We've had a multitude of players go on to the NFL. As a former walk-on in our program Pat is another great example of what you can achieve at Montana if you come here and work hard."
O'Connell now enters an elite group of former Grizzlies to appear in a Super Bowl as one of just six players and four coaches in modern program history to compete for the game's ultimate prize.
He is now the first Montanan to suit up for the Super Bowl since 2014 when, coincidentally, Brock Coyle played for the very same Seahawks against the very same Patriots, even wearing the very same No. 52 jersey.
Coyle, a Bozeman native, was part of back-to-back Super Bowls with Seattle, beating Denver in 2013 and falling to New England in 2014. Jimmy Farris was on the Patriots roster when they beat the Rams in 2002, Helena native Blaine McElmurry played for the Packers in the 1998 Super Bowl, Raul Allegre earned two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants in 1987 and 1990, and Doug Betters played in two Super Bowls for Miami in 1982 and 1985.
Former Grizzly coaches to lead a team to the Super Bowl include Colt Anderson who was on Cincinnati's staff in 2022, Tim Hauck who won a ring with Philadelphia in 2018, Ken Flajole who won three Super Bowls with Philadelphia and Kansas City, and Marty Mornhinweg who won the 1997 Super Bowl with Green Bay.
Following a standout preseason campaign where he led the Seahawks in tackles, O'Connell worked his way from the practice squad into the active roster for the third-straight year in November. He was later named one of three Seahawk team captains on week 14 ahead of a 37-9 win over Atlanta.
Since then, he has totaled 19 tackles (8 solo) and one sack for the Seahawks wile seeing many of his reps on special teams, playing a key role in big plays like Rashid Shaheed's kickoff return for a touchdown in Seattle's win over San Francisco in the divisional championship.
O'Connell came to Montana as a walk-on in 2018 and was named Scout Team Player of the Year soon after. He went on to log 242 total tackles and 45 tackles for loss (one of the top four totals in program history) as a Grizzly, was a two-time team defensive MVP, a two-time All-Big Sky pick, a two-time All-American, and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award.
He is one of an astounding nine former Big Sky Conference players that will participate in this year's Super Bowl as a member of an active, IR, or practice roster. They include Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington), Rashid Shaheed (Weber State), and Ty Okada (Montana State) for the Seahawks. Efton Chism (Eastern Washington), Elijah Ponder (Cal Poly), Marte Mapu (Sac State), Christian Ellis (Idaho), and Lan Larison (UC Davis) are all with the Patriots.
There are a total of 17 former FCS players on Super Bowl LX rosters including the Big Sky players listed above, and four that have further ties with Montana. For Seattle they include offensive linemen Grey Zabel and Jalen Sundell who played for NDSU against UM in 2023, and running back Jacardia Wright who played for Missouri State in Missoula in 2024. New England's FCS players include Julian Ashby, a long snapper for Furman who played against the Griz in 2023.
Montana has a deep history of sending former players to the professional ranks, with 162 players and 57 draftees moving on to play in the pros since 1922. The next class of potential future Grizzly pros will showcase their abilities for scouts at UM's Pro Day in early April. The 2026 NFL Draft is set for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
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