The Seahawks made some massive changes to their organization this offseason. While the roster went through some significant turnover, the real difference is on the sidelines, where Seattle moved on from Pete Carroll as head coach after 14 years and hired Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to replace him. Whatever the Seahawks have done to their roster, that was the biggest move of the year – and most experts approve.
Seth Walder at ESPN just came out with letter grades for all 32 teams around the NFL for their moves this offseason. Seattle got a solid B grade from him on the strength of a proven schematic upgrade in Macdonald.
“The most significant change for Seattle was at head coach, as the team moved on from Pete Carroll and hired Macdonald in his stead. Predicting coaching performance is tricky business I usually avoid, but if I’m picking a new head coach, one attribute I absolutely want is someone who has shown they can generate schematic success. Macdonald fits that bill.”
In retrospect Pete Carroll may have been a better motivational coach than he was on the Xs and Os. While the culture he built is worth preserving as much as possible, this team had clearly peaked schematically under Carroll’s direction – regardless of the coordinator changes. Macdonald’s presence alone should make this Seahawks defense respectable again in 2024, and it might even be one of the league’s best the following year if what he did in Baltimore is any indication.
On the other side of the ball new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is also highly-touted for his work at the University of Washington, where he ran a balanced, aggressive and Pro style kind of scheme successfully. If Grubb and Scott Huff can find a way to minimize what is probably going to be a mediocre-at-best offensive line, this team is going to be very tough to beat.
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