'Leap of Faith': Seahawks, Coach Mike Macdonald Betting On Each Other
RENTON, Wash. - Approaching the third week of his first coaching search as general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, John Schneider decided to employ a different tactic hoping to expedite the process finding a replacement for Pete Carroll.
Only a few hours before NFL Championship weekend kicked off on Sunday, Schneider had all eyes on him during a church service as he pursued some divine intervention, praying for the opportunity to interview two coveted candidates whose current teams still were battling for a berth to the Super Bowl. Among those, Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald remained on his radar after watching the Seahawks take a beating in a 37-3 loss in Baltimore last season.
Fast forwarding four days later, Schneider's prayers were answered with Detroit and Baltimore both going down on Sunday, opening the door for him to eventually take a "leap of faith" tabbing Macdonald as Carroll's successor. Though as he admitted in the new coach's introductory press conference on Thursday, he had to make sure to offer his apologies for rooting against his now former team first.
"People were probably looking at me like 'Wow, that guy really has been sinning a lot or something,'" Schneider joked, drawing laughs from a crowded VMAC auditorium. "That guy's praying his tail off because I wanted the Ravens to lose and the Lions to lose. It was probably kind of creepy for Mike, but we've been blessed to be around a lot of talented people throughout the NFL and lots of connections and it was really cool to be able to do all the research on Mike."
Presented as the ninth head coach of the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, Mike Macdonald will look to translate his immense success as a coordinator into pursuing championships with his new team.
Introducing Macdonald as the future of the franchise in his opening statement, Schneider and the Seahawks will now enter uncharted territory after the energetic, gum-chewing Carroll paraded the sidelines for 14 seasons. Going from the NFL's oldest coach to the youngest at 36 years of age, they will be entrusting a first-time head coach to be able to steer the organization back towards competing for NFC West titles and deep playoff runs.
But following a lengthy coaching search that included second interviews with five other candidates, Schneider couldn't have been more enamored by Macdonald, whose resume stood out compared to the rest of the field both in regard to the dominance of his defenses and the coaches he learned under.
Moving up the coaching ladder rather quickly, Macdonald started his NFL coaching journey as an intern for the Ravens in 2014, eventually earning promotions to linebacker and secondary coach on John Harbaugh's staff. Presented with his first opportunity to be a defensive coordinator, he joined Jim Harbaugh's staff in Michigan in 2021, becoming a rare coach to develop under both of the renowned brothers.
After helping the Wolverines earn a berth into the College Football Playoff, Macdonald's path went full circle as the Ravens brought him back to replace Wink Martindale as defensive coordinator. Instantly transforming them into the one of the fiercest defenses in the league, they finished third in points allowed in 2022 before making history as the first team in NFL history to rank first in scoring defense, turnovers, and sacks this past season.
Having seen that ferocious unit featuring four All-Pro selections first-hand back in October, coupled with a shared vision for what they wanted to achieve in Seattle, Schneider put on a full court press on Macdonald this week, interviewing him twice in a 24-hour period before offering him the coaching gig on Wednesday.
Though Macdonald and his wife kept an open mind and other teams expressed interest, including the Commanders, he and Schneider developed a strong chemistry immediately and that connection made it an easy decision for him to accept the job.
"When we started talking about vision and how we wanted to play, and the direction with how I'd like to take the team and how that paralleled what they saw, it just became very clear that was the thing you were looking for, so it made sense at that point," Macdonald said.
Coming from the Harbaugh tree - or trees in this case - Macdonald checked off all of the boxes Schneider, chair Jody Allen, and others involved in the hiring process desired. He came up through a well-respected Ravens organization that has a strong culture and a tradition of winning similar to the Seahawks, he has coached a number of position groups along the way with great mentors guiding him, and his well-earned reputation came to life during interviews.
Classifying him as a "learning networker" rather than a "climbing networker," Schneider indicated it was easy to see why Macdonald had ascended up the coaching ranks so rapidly to now land his first head coaching job.
"The product is the product. He's done it. You've seen it," Schneider said of Macdonald, once again referencing the beating Baltimore handed Seattle last season. "That's why he was assistant coach of the year."
Without any past track record as a head coach at any level, Schneider acknowledged that the Seahawks may have taken a bit riskier road choosing Macdonald rather than hiring a coach such as Dan Quinn with previous experience elsewhere. Already in the process of building a staff, finding quality assistants will be imperative to chances of success taking over for the legendary Carroll.
Beyond staff choices, the duo of Schneider and Macdonald also must tackle a number of pressing roster and personnel decisions as free agency looms next month. Among the major choices that must be made, Seattle has to figure out which pending free agents to try to re-sign while also looking at outside options that may be better fits for a new scheme, including potentially plucking a few of his former players from Baltimore to help ease the transition.
But while time will tell in regard to how Macdonald acclimates to his new role with many new responsibilities and how the roster shakes out in the next few months, the Boston native and his wife already feel at home in their new surroundings. Inheriting a talented roster and joining a franchise with winning pedigree under the direction of Schneider, he's eager to reward the Seahawks for their faith in him to be the coach who leads them back to the NFL's elite.
"I understand where this organization wants to go and I feel like we're aligned on how we want to get there and I'm just juiced to go do it. There's gonna be no secret scheme or secret plays that are going to get us there faster. It's going to take a lot of hard work by finding the right people, doing it the right way, treating people the right way, I want everybody in the building to feel like they are part of this mission. We've got one day at a time and it's that simple."
