TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University football program continues to make an outsized impact on the biggest stage, with an alumnus coaching in four of the last five Super Bowls and five of the last nine.

This Sunday Michael Byrne '09 is the latest Lute to stand under the bright lights, serving as an offensive assistant for the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
 
In his first season with the Seahawks, Byrne has helped engineer a potent offense that ranks third in the NFL in scoring (28.4 points per game), sixth in yards per play (5.9), and seventh in total offense (351.4 yards per game) for a franchise that is gunning for just its second Super Bowl title and first since the 2013 season.

Byrne is just the latest example of PLU's Super Bowl coaching pipeline, following in the footsteps of Ken Flajole. Flajole made four trips to the Super Bowl as an NFL assistant, winning Super Bowls LVII and LVIII as an outside linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs while also winning Super Bowl LII as a linebackers coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. Flajole played at PLU in 1975-1976, and coached PLU as a defensive line and linebackers coach during the 1977 and 1978 seasons. PLU's Distinguished Alumnus in Sport in 2023, Flajole made four Super Bowl appearances between his stints with the Chiefs and Eagles and coached in the NFL from 1998 to 2023. 

  For Byrne the path to the Super Bowl has been a winding one that has taken him to two colleges as a student-athlete, coaching stops at all three NCAA divisions, and virtually every level of football. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native began his collegiate career at Iona College in New York before transferring to PLU. He would go on to be a two-year starter for the Lutes, throwing for 1,948 yards as a senior and earning All-Northwest Conference accolades in 2008.

Byrne started his coaching journey as the assistant quarterback and wide receiver coach for the Lutes during the offseason after his senior year. He would spend the next couple of years in Texas, winning a Big 12 South title with Cotton Bowl and Texas Bowl appearances at Texas A&M University, a Lone Star Conference title at Division II West Texas A&M University, and success in the high pressure Texas prep football scene with Vandegrift High School and Rudder High School. 
 
Byrne returned to Luteville as an assistant coach prior to the 2019 season, serving under current Head Coach Brant McAdams. He spent the 2019 campaign as a defensive assistant before moving to offense in 2020 as a quarterbacks coach. His final season for PLU in 2021 was as the director of football analytics. Byrne worked as an analyst for Pro Football Focus before making the jump onto an NFL staff last season as an offensive assistant with Klint Kubiak at the New Orleans Saints. 
 
Byrne was already a familiar face for Kubiak when he was hired with the Saints, both serving on the coaching staff of the Aggies under then Head Coach Mike Sherman in 2010 and 2011. Byrne would be on the move again over the offseason, returning to the Pacific Northwest after Kubiak accepted the offensive coordinator job with the Seahawks. 
 
"Having Mike on staff was an outstanding experience. His football IQ stood out most during his time in our program—he consistently asked great questions and pushed to develop a deeper understanding of systems and situations. Seeing him coaching in the Super Bowl feels less like a surprise and more like a natural extension of who he's been since he entered the profession," said PLU Head Coach Brant McAdams. 
 
"PLU football has always approached the game as more than football. It's about serving others and helping people develop through commitment, pursuit, and resilience. For decades, PLU has taught players and coaches to lead themselves, invest in their relationships, see all the possibilities and look for ways to help others reach their goals. When you build that kind of foundation, success at any level, even at Super Bowl magnitude, becomes a natural outcome, while the purpose of developing people never changes."

The Seahawks meet the AFC Champion New England Patriots on Sunday in Santa Clara at 3:30 p.m. For Lute fans can watch Byrne and all the action broadcast nationally on NBC.