Rams' Rival Seahawks Hire Rising Star Head Coach
The Los Angeles Rams’ path to an NFC West title just got more difficult.
On Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks hired Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
Macdonald was the highest-coveted defensive mind of the 2024 coaching carousel. Seattle emerged as a late contender for the former defensive coordinator and, with two interviews in the 24 hours before the hire, locked in their guy.
Los Angeles has had to deal with superstar head coaches from two divisional rivals since 2017 when San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan found his way to the West Coast and Pete Carroll presided over the Seahawks.
Seattle would struggle to find a more well-regarded replacement for Carroll.
Macdonald most recently oversaw a defense that held the Kansas City Chiefs to just 17 points in the AFC Championship Game. It would be a losing effort but didn’t dull the shine of Macdonald’s season.
The Ravens' defense ranked second in expected points added per play and sixth in success rate. It held San Francisco to just 19 points in a blowout victory and held the Houston Texans to 10 points in the AFC Divisional Round.
Macdonald has earned league-wide praise for a defense that consistently put its players in position to win and remained flexible enough to contain seemingly every offense it faced. Even against unique offenses, like the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore was well-prepared.
As for Los Angeles, the road to the top of the NFC West will be made more difficult by Macdonald’s hire. Few defensive minds are well-equipped to stop the zone-based offenses that Shanahan and Rams head coach Sean McVay orchestrate.
However, the Rams almost got the best of Macdonald this season. In Week 14, the Ravens needed an extra quarter to beat Los Angeles, 37-31. It was the second-most points Baltimore allowed all season.
Hiring Macdonald likely extends Seattle’s window as a fringe playoff team that has the potency to compete with anyone. If anything it should set fans up for some chess matches of epic proportions.
