The Seattle Seahawks have hired Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach.
Macdonald, who has emerged as one of the league’s most highly-regarded defensive minds, will become the youngest head coach in the NFL at the age of 36 as he fills the job vacated by Pete Carroll.
“What an honour,” Macdonald said. “We are super excited to be here. Just getting to know [general manager] John (Schneider) and the rest of the folks, the reputation of this place, what drew us here was the people. That’s why we’re here, to bring a championship back to Seattle and the 12s.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun, we’re going to work our tails off, and it’s going to be an incredible ride. We’re going to be here for a long time, and we’re going to win a lot of football games.”
Macdonald helped the Ravens earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2023, with his defense finishing first in scoring defense (16.5 points per game) and sixth in the NFL in total defense (301.4 yards per game).
Baltimore’s season ended on Sunday with a 17-10 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Macdonald’s arrival comes following the end of Carroll’s 14-year tenure in which he became the winningest coach in franchise history at 137-89-1 while leading Seattle to victory at Super Bowl XLVIII.
“We want to keep our positive culture,” Schneider said. “Everything that’s been created here, everything in this building. There are so many special people in this building. It’s amazing to be on the phone with all of these agents and people that are interested in this position, and to be able to explain to them like, Hey. There’s a foundation here and it’s incredible.'”
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Seattle finished 25th in scoring defense (23.6 points per game) and 30th in total defense (371.4 yards per game) while missing the playoffs in 2023.
Macdonald also interviewed this winter with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders.
He just completed his second season as the defensive coordinator for the Ravens, having held the same position at the University of Michigan in 2021 following seven seasons on the Ravens’ coaching staff (2014-20).
Seattle defensive end Mike Morris, who played under Macdonald at Michigan, said his new head coach is “going to bring that same fire from Michigan” to the Seahawks.
“I was so happy,” Morris said Wednesday. “I know the guy we’re going to get, and I know everything that he put into Michigan and everything he put into the defense at Michigan and everything that he’s going to put in to now.”
The Wolverines won the Big Ten championship in 2021 and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Morris lauded Macdonald’s qualities that make him a “player’s coach”.
“How personable he is, attention to detail, how much of a player’s coach he is, involving the players in the schemes. I’m very excited to see what we’re going to get out of him,” Morris said.
Watch Super Bowl LVIII from Las Vegas live on Sky Sports on Sunday February 11, with build-up from 10pm ahead of kickoff at 11.30pm; Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter will be joined in the studio by former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins