SEATTLE — The Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald have agreed to a deal to make him their subsequent head coach, sources informed ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
Macdonald is receiving a six-year contract, sources informed Schefter.
The Seahawks moved to rent Macdonald after assembly with him for a second time Wednesday, a day after their preliminary interview in Baltimore.
Macdonald, 36, turns into the NFL’s youngest head coach and brings to Seattle a repute as one of many league’s brightest defensive minds, having led the Ravens to No. 1 in factors allowed, sacks and takeaways in 2023, his second season as Baltimore’s coordinator.
Seahawks management, together with basic supervisor John Schneider, met with Macdonald for the primary time Tuesday. A day earlier, Seattle held a second, in-person interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who later informed the Seahawks and the Washington Commanders — the final two groups that had head-coaching vacancies — that he was remaining in Detroit, sources informed Schefter.
W-LPlayoffMike Macdonald, ’22-23??Chuck Pagano, ‘1153-433-3Rex Ryan, ’05-0861-664-2Mike Nolan, ’02-0418-370-0Marvin Lewis, ’96-01131-122-30-7– ESPN Stats & Info
In changing 72-year-old Pete Carroll with 36-year-old Macdonald, the Seahawks are going from the NFL’s oldest head coach to its youngest. Macdonald is 16 months youthful than Jerod Mayo, who was employed by the New England Patriots earlier this month to succeed Invoice Belichick.
Macdonald was one of the vital focused head-coaching candidates this yr. He interviewed with six groups for his or her vacancies: the Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers and Commanders.
To interchange Macdonald as defensive coordinator, the Ravens have many choices on their present employees to advertise. Assistant head coach and line of defense coach Anthony Weaver, defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson, inside linebackers coach Zachary Orr and defensive cross recreation coordinator Chris Hewitt are all candidates in Baltimore after interviewing for defensive coordinator positions with different NFL groups this offseason.
Orr additionally is taken into account a candidate to turn out to be the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, a supply informed ESPN. Orr, a former NFL linebacker, spent the previous two seasons working with Macdonald in Baltimore.
Macdonald bought his begin within the NFL as a training intern with the Ravens in 2014 after 4 seasons teaching on the College of Georgia, his alma mater. He spent seven seasons on Baltimore’s employees throughout his first stint with the workforce, additionally serving as a defensive assistant (2015-16), defensive backs coach (2017) and linebackers coach (2018-20) below John Harbaugh earlier than Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, employed Macdonald to be the College of Michigan’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Macdonald returned to Baltimore to coordinate the Ravens’ protection in 2022. Over Macdonald’s two seasons in that position, Baltimore has allowed the second-fewest factors (17.5) and the sixth-fewest yards (312.8) per recreation whereas rating first in ESPN’s defensive effectivity metric. In 2023, the Ravens turned the primary workforce in NFL historical past to guide the league in fewest factors allowed (16.5), most sacks (60) and most takeaways (tied for first at 31) in the identical season.
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“I feel [Macdonald is] one of the best candidate on the market proper now,” Ravens Professional Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen mentioned this previous season. “I do not assume anyone does it like him. No person cares like him. No person will do what he does. He won’t relaxation till he has the whole lot proper. Whoever will get him, if he leaves, they’re getting one of the best candidate on the market. The man is all-around simply one of the best individual I’ve ever been round, coach-wise [and] person-wise. He actually cares and really cares in regards to the gamers, the folks across the group and the followers.”
Macdonald was born in Boston and attended highschool in Roswell, Georgia, the place his soccer profession was lower brief by accidents. He didn’t play school soccer, graduating summa cum laude with a finance diploma from UGA in 2010. Whereas serving as safeties coach and defensive high quality management coach for the Bulldogs, Macdonald earned his grasp’s diploma in sports activities administration from UGA, graduating with a 4.0 GPA in 2013.
Macdonald will turn out to be the eighth full-time head coach in Seahawks historical past. His hiring comes precisely three weeks after Carroll’s 14-year run in Seattle ended with workforce proprietor Jody Allen saying that Carroll would not coach the workforce, as a substitute transferring right into a yet-to-be-determined advisory position inside the group. Carroll had last say over personnel choices, energy that now belongs to Schneider.
Whereas Schneider led the seek for Carroll’s substitute, he mentioned Allen — who assumed management of the workforce when her brother, Paul Allen, died in 2018 — would have “rather a lot” of say over the rent. Schneider additionally mentioned Allen gave him a “clear” and “concise” directive to take care of the group’s “optimistic tradition, the whole lot that is been created right here.”
The Seahawks carried out preliminary interviews with a reported 9 candidates and held second, in-person interviews with most of them: New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Dallas Cowboys DC Dan Quinn, Carolina Panthers DC Ejiro Evero, Johnson and Macdonald.
The Seahawks didn’t conduct an preliminary interview with Macdonald through the Ravens’ playoff bye week, which meant they needed to wait till the Ravens’ season ended to fulfill with him. For that motive, his title flew below the radar as a Seahawks candidate for a lot of their search till gaining steam throughout Baltimore’s run to the AFC title recreation, which they misplaced to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs regardless of holding Patrick Mahomes to solely 17 factors.
The primary order of enterprise for Macdonald will likely be assembling a training employees. After transferring on from Carroll, the Seahawks gave his assistants permission to interview for different jobs. A number of have already been employed elsewhere, together with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron (to turn out to be the Chicago Bears’ OC) and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt (to turn out to be the Philadelphia Eagles’ line of defense coach), who weren’t anticipated to be retained in these roles by Seattle’s subsequent coach.
The Seahawks additionally should decide this winter on whether or not to proceed with Geno Smith as their beginning quarterback in 2023. Smith’s $12.7 million base wage for subsequent season will turn out to be absolutely assured on Feb. 16 if he is nonetheless on their roster then.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.