Ravens DC Mike Macdonald become Seahawks head coach

In a surprising turn of events, Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has been appointed as the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. This decision has sent shockwaves throughout the NFL community, as many had expected Macdonald to remain with the Ravens for several more seasons.

Macdonald's rise to prominence in the coaching world has been nothing short of remarkable. Starting his career as a low-level assistant, he quickly impressed his superiors with his work ethic and football acumen. He steadily climbed up the coaching ladder, eventually landing a job as the defensive coordinator for one of the league's most formidable defenses.

Macdonald, 36, will become the youngest head coach in the league and half the age of the man he's replacing — Pete Carroll who was let go after 14 seasons in charge in Seattle.

Macdonald spent the past two years running Baltimore’s defense, including this past season when the Ravens finished with the NFL’s best regular-season record and reached the AFC championship game before losing to Kansas City.

This will be the first head coaching position at any level for Macdonald. But he’s been surrounded by successful coaches as he moved up the ranks, starting with an extended run on the staff of John Harbaugh in Baltimore before spending a season on now-Chargers’ coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff in college at Michigan.

Macdonald has remained among Seattle's top targets since it parted ways with Pete Carroll in January. The team regarded the Ravens defensive coordinator so highly, the Seahawks were willing to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire him if his Ravens had reached the big game, per Rapoport. Thanks to Baltimore's loss to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game, the Seahawks are getting their man 11 days before Super Bowl LVIII kicks off.

There's one obvious difference between Carroll and Macdonald: age. The 36-year-old Macdonald is half the age of the 72-year-old Carroll, giving Seattle an option with a bright future and ideally, plenty of runway on his career timeline.

The first order of business for Macdonald will be assembling a coaching staff. After moving on from Carroll, the Seahawks gave his assistants permission to interview for other jobs. Several have already been hired elsewhere, including offensive coordinator Shane Waldron (to become the Chicago Bears' OC) and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt (to become the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive line coach), who weren't expected to be retained in those roles by Seattle's next coach.

The Seahawks also have to make a decision this winter on whether to proceed with Geno Smith as their starting quarterback in 2023. Smith's $12.7 million base salary for next season will become fully guaranteed on Feb. 16 if he's still on their roster then.

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 Sarah H

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