Seattle Seahawks Make Baltimore Ravens DC Mike Macdonald Next Head Coach

The Seattle Seahawks will try to reestablish an elite defensive tradition with their next head coach. The Seahawks officially announced the hiring of Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald early Wednesday evening.

Welcome home, Coach! 🏡 pic.twitter.com/T3MRslmYJG
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) February 1, 2024

It's been a rapid rise up the coaching ranks for Macdonald. He joined the Ravens as an intern back in 2014 and served in a variety of positions until 2021. After one year as the defensive coordinator for Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines, Macdonald rejoined the Ravens in the same position in 2022. He immediately becomes the youngest head coach in the league at 37 years old.

Macdonald brings an unimpeachably elite track record as a defensive coach to the Seahawks: his Ravens allowed a league-best 16.5 points per game in 2023 and even held the Kansas City Chiefs to just 17 points (including zero in the second half) of the AFC Championship game. Moreover, the Ravens finished in the top 10 for yards allowed in eight of his nine seasons with the team.

Pete Carroll built the Seahawks into a contender and Super Bowl champion with a historic defense that allowed the fewest points in the league for an NFL record four straight seasons from 2012 to 2015, but that was a long time ago. The Seahawks that have taken the field in recent years could benefit from replicating the Ravens' defensive consistency: they've finished 22nd or worse in yards allowed in each of the past five seasons.

Macdonald is the perfect choice for the Seahawks if they want to mimic their glory years by building a stifling, punishing defense; whether the offense has the necessary tools and talent to hold up its end of the bargain remains to be seen. The offense regressed in quarterback Geno Smith's second year as a starter, falling from ninth in points scored in 2022 to 17th in 2023. Smith will probably get another chance to lead the offense in 2024, but a down year could leave the Seahawks looking for a new franchise quarterback in 2025.