Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald Reveals Plan: Follow Footsteps of 'Authentic' Harbaughs
RENTON, Wash. - Stepping up to the podium at the VMAC on January 16, mere days after making the difficult decision to move on from legendary coach Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider highlighted several factors that would impact the decision-making process pursuing a successor.
Among the criteria needing to be met before making a hire, at the directive of chair Jody Allen, Schneider desired a candidate who would be able to maintain the positive culture implemented under Carroll's watch for nearly 15 years. After interviewing nine prospective coaches during an extensive search over a three-week period, nobody checked off that box more impressively than Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who was offered and accepted the job on Wednesday.
Macdonald and harbaughs
Though Macdonald has never been a head coach previously at any level, Schneider wasn't deterred by his lack of experience, seeing him as a "marketplace changer" ready for the challenge of leading the Seahawks in large part due to the organization where he came from and the coaches who mentored him along the way.
"When you're hiring somebody, you look at the background. That means a lot," Schneider said. "You're talking about a great organization. You're talking about the Ravens and John Harbaugh, the Harbaughs, and then Jim and Michigan, I mean, fantastic."
All smiles during his introductory press conference, Mike Macdonald joins the Seattle Seahawks with an impressive resume learning from legendary coaches Jim and John Harbaugh.
When it comes to winning football games at both the NFL and college level, few have done it better than the Harbaugh brothers. In Baltimore, John Harbaugh has captured a Super Bowl title, 160 regular season victories, and 11 playoff berths. As for Jim Harbaugh, he faced off against his brother in Super Bowl XLVII with San Francisco and won 44 games in just four seasons with the franchise before leading his alma mater Michigan to a national championship last month.
Introduced as the Seahawks ninth head coach in franchise history on Thursday, Macdonald made sure to thank both of the Harbaughs and their families for the lasting impact they had on him as a coach, a husband, and a man during his opening statement.
"With the Ravens, the Harbaugh family, Jim, Coach Jack, Jackie, especially John and his wife Ingrid. Talk about taking a leap of faith in investing in a young buck like me back in the day and having the guts to give me opportunities over time and put his name on the line," Macdonald remarked. "His investment in me, John Harbs [Harbaugh], I really appreciate that, and obviously we've talked about it, but our relationship is very special to me, so thank you for your investment in my wife and I."
Quickly ascending up the coaching ranks, Macdonald received his first opportunity from John Harbaugh in 2014 when the Ravens brought him onboard as a coaching intern following four seasons on Georgia's staff. Impressed by his work ethic and football acumen, the organization elevated him to a full-time defensive assistant the following season and he climbed up the ladder rapidly, serving as both a linebackers coach and secondary coach on Harbaugh's staff.
With a burning desire to become a defensive coordinator, Macdonald's first shot finally came in 2021 courtesy of a familiar acquaintance. After Michigan finished a dreadful 95th in scoring defense the previous season, Jim Harbaugh came calling, offering him the chance to take over as play caller for the first time.
Running with his opportunity while maximizing on a talented roster, Macdonald orchestrated a remarkable 180-degree turnaround in Ann Arbor. Helping the Wolverines capture a Big Ten title and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, the team improved to eighth in scoring defense while allowing only 17.4 points per game, including holding a high-powered Ohio State offense to just 27 points in a victory over their bitter rivals from Columbus.
"That's big-time football. They were hungry to win," Macdonald said of his brief time at Michigan and how he will apply that experience to his new position in Seattle. "What I learned when I showed up is we had some awesome people in that building, some great players. They were hungry to win, and that was an awesome experience to bring people together, generate a common goal and just go chase it every day, and that's what we're going to do here."
Following the dismissal of long-time defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, the Ravens wasted little time bringing Macdonald back to Baltimore as his replacement and the move paid immediate dividends. Taking over a defense that had dipped to 19th in points allowed in 2021, they vaulted back into the top five in his first season as play caller while finishing in the top 10 in turnovers and sacks, returning to the postseason with 10 wins.
This past season, Macdonald's defense transformed into a historically dominant unit, becoming the first team in NFL history to rank first overall in scoring defense, turnovers, and sacks in the same season. Holding opponents to a paltry 16.5 points per game to lock up the top seed in the AFC, four Raven defenders received All-Pro recognition, including star linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.
Witnessing Baltimore's ruthless defense first-hand as Seattle took a 37-3 beating back in October, Macdonald emphatically jumped onto Schneider's radar as a potential candidate to replace Pete Carroll if the team decided to move on. Once a decision was officially made to make a coaching change last month, ownership and the front office waited patiently for the chance to speak with him about their vacancy as Baltimore advanced deep into the postseason.
Offering an appealing background coming from two storied football programs in the college ranks and NFL under two of the best coaches in the sport, Schneider didn't mess around closing the deal, interviewing Macdonald twice after the Ravens were eliminated last weekend and offering him the job as Carroll's successor on Wednesday.
With the ink still drying on his new contract as a first-time head coach, Macdonald made it clear he intends to apply the many lessons learned from John and Jim Harbaugh with the Seahawks, including staying within himself and opening up honest lines of communication with his players and everyone else within the organization to build strong relationships.
"Those guys are some of the most authentic, competitive people I've ever been around," Macdonald glowingly said of the Harbaughs. "And the players know when it's real, and they love their players, and they have their players' backs, and they're willing to do whatever it takes, put them in position to succeed. Sometimes it's tough love, but it's telling them the truth, being respectful. They go about it two completely different ways, but they end up in the same spot."
Taking the reins in the Pacific Northwest as the NFL's youngest coach at 36 years young, Macdonald will face an abundance of challenges moving from a coordinator position into the CEO of Seattle's football team. Along with planning to continue calling plays on defense, he will have to manage a full coaching staff for the first time and also will have to work collaboratively with Schneider to assemble the best roster possible with the goal of competing for championships.
But while Macdonald acknowledged those challenges that come with the territory of being a head coach, he thinks his on the job training working for the Harbaugh brothers had adequately prepared him for handling his expanded duties, including maintaining the culture built by Carroll. Handing him the keys after a whirlwind interview process, Schneider clearly agrees, having no shortage of confidence in him as the right man to lead the Seahawks into the future.
"We're going to have adversity,” he said. “What's the biggest one? I can't answer that. But I just know that if we're going to take the approach we have every day and attack it head on, then we'll be able to get through it. "
