Second-year cornerback Devon Witherspoon is the undisputed future of the Seattle Seahawks’ defense. As such, it’s important to find a coach that works well with him.

Luckily, new head coach Mike Macdonald fits the bill. The young, defensive-minded coach has built a strong relationship with his players in the months since his hiring, and ahead of the season opener on Sunday, it appears his bond with Witherspoon is among the strongest of any player.

“I’ve enjoyed it a lot,” Witherspoon told reporters Thursday. “Me and Coach [Mike Macdonald] get along very well. I ask all the questions I need to. He gives me all the details, whatever I need. The relationship, as far as you can ask those questions, the way he asked and he can explain it to me in a way that I can understand it. I think that’s what makes our bond special.” 

A cornerstone of that relationship is Macdonald involving Witherspoon in game planning, a process they hope pays off come game day.

“We always think about it different ways so we can get to something,” Witherspoon said. “Say, if we’ve seen something on film and they might pick up on it, what we would say, ‘If they do this we could switch it,’ and ‘Run it this way,’ and stuff like that. We always come up with different schemes just in case a team get a tendency on us so we could just switch it up.”

Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick in last year’s draft, had a great rookie season with 79 total tackles, 16 passes defensed and an interception he returned 97 yards for a touchdown. The Illinois product finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, though many believe he should’ve won the award.

Now with Macdonald’s fresh perspective, WItherspoon expects a big year not only for himself, but for the team as a whole.

“I think that’s very important because a lot of players learn in specific ways, everybody doesn’t learn the same,” Witherspoon said. “You’ve got to be able to talk to your players one-by-one, each differently.

“One way may be a visual learner or a walkthrough learner. Everybody has got their own flavor that they like to do. For him to be able to break it down in a meeting and then be able to go out and walk through just to show us both sides of it is very dope. Then that’s easy for us because we can learn better.” 

The Seattle Seahawks open the 2024 NFL season and the Mike Macdonald era on Sunday when they welcome the Denver Broncos to Lumen Field.

Brock Huard: Two Seahawks poised for big leaps in 2024

Want to know how to watch the game? Hear the radio broadcast? Curious what the uniform matchup will be? We’ve got all the details that you need to know here to be ready for Sunday.

Week 1: Seattle Seahawks vs Denver Broncos

• When: 1:05 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8

• TV broadcast: CBS (KIRO 7 in Seattle)
• TV announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Adam Archuleta (analyst)

• Seahawks Radio broadcast: Seattle Sports 710 AM, KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
• Seahawks Radio streaming: Seattle Sports app, KIRO Newsradio app, official Seahawks app
• Seahawks Radio announcers: Steve Raible (play-by-play), Dave Wyman (analyst) and Jen Mueller (sideline)

If you are more than 100 miles from Seattle, click here to find the nearest Seahawks Radio Network affiliate. For details on streaming Seahawks Radio Network broadcasts, click here.

Pregame and postgame

• Seahawks Radio Pregame starts at 10 a.m. Sunday
• Seahawks Radio Postgame airs for three hours after the game.
• Pregame/halftime/postgame analysts: Michael Bumpus, Ray Roberts, Brian Walters, Paul Moyer

Uniform matchup

• Seahawks: 1990s-era throwbacks (blue jerseys, silver pants and helmets)

Takin’ it back to the old school.

We’ll be rocking the Throwbacks for Week 1.
📰 » https://t.co/JVQqEzYq8E pic.twitter.com/pWRSvgRWIg

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 2, 2024

• Broncos: Summit white jerseys

🏈🔜 pic.twitter.com/VPEsMHQQke

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 4, 2024

Looking ahead

• Week 2: The Seahawks will visit the New England Patriots in a 10 a.m. game on Sunday, Sept. 15 that will air on FOX.

More Seattle Seahawks coverage

• Big Ray Roberts takes stock of Seahawks’ right guard battle
• What makes Seahawks under-the-radar candidates for big season
• Macdonald drawing praise as Seahawks coach, but test starts Sunday
• Three thoughts from Daniel Jeremiah about the Seahawks’ offense
• How NFL experts view the Seahawks as they begin a new era

The Seattle Symphony, whose last music director stormed out two years ago in a flurry of emails, has found someone to take over next year.

The new music director will be Xian Zhang, 51, music director of the inconspicuous New Jersey Symphony for the past nine seasons. She gets a five-year contract in Seattle, where the potential is greater than New Jersey.

From the PR guff:

“Today we are witnessing history being made with the appointment of Xian Zhang as the Music Director of the Seattle Symphony,” said Seattle Symphony President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “Her passionate musicianship is inspiring, her technique is clear and precise and the resulting performances captivate our audiences in heart and soul. Xian was among the first conductors to return to the stage with our orchestra during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she has forged strong bonds here in Seattle. In fact, her concerts rank among the highest-attended performances since audiences have returned to Benaroya Hall. As Seattle has grown into an important world city and gateway to the Pacific, Xian’s diverse expertise across Asian, Oceanian, European and American orchestras and music schools — from Beijing to New York, Melbourne to Milan — makes her the perfect choice to lead the orchestra in this new era. I am excited by the possibilities and personally could not be happier to gain such a wonderful colleague for our organization. I want to thank the Seattle Symphony search committee, musicians, staff and audiences, who all played a crucial role in this process, a we welcome Xian and her family to the Pacific Northwest. What seemed like a dream a few months ago has now become a reality. Welcome, Xian Zhang!”