After waiting nearly the entirety of the NFL playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks found their next head coach: Mike Macdonald, former defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens and Michigan Wolverines. At 36 years old, Macdonald has become the youngest head coach in the league, a stark contrast from Pete Carroll (72) who was the oldest.
The trend in the league for years now has been to hire offensive-minded coaches to the top job. Many bright young offensive coordinators have been given head coaching jobs around the league due to how rules continue to shift in favor of that side of the ball.
But the Seahawks decided to zig when everyone zagged. This time, the sought-after hot coordinator this cycle was on the defensive side of the ball. While there are sure to those out there who wanted Seattle to pick an offensive coach, that was not where their biggest need was.
It is no secret the Seahawks defense has been among the worst in the NFL for several seasons now, and has seemingly regressed each year. After loading up with tantalizing young talent last offseason, Seattle did look improved to begin the 2023 campaign. But it quickly devolved into the mess we’ve sadly been familiar with for a while.
Hiring Macdonald was a clear indication the Seahawks organization are hellbent on finally fixing this side of the ball. Seattle’s offense has been fine, even if there are holes on the offensive line. What was needed was to make sure this defense is no longer starting seasons on pace for being historically terrible, or surrendering 400+ yards of offense to mediocre teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Macdonald’s defenses the last two years have put opposing offenses through a blender – particularly the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. If Seattle wants to compete with the best, they’ll need to beat the best, and they weren’t doing it with their current defense.
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