Mike Macdonald was a top coaching target for several teams this offseason, but ultimately, the Seattle Seahawks were the lucky team to secure his services.
Other teams interested in Macdonald included the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders. For NFL insider Adam Schefter, the fact that Macdonald chose to go to Seattle over all of those teams came as a bit of a shock.
“I was a little surprised, frankly – and we talked a little bit about it – that he wound up taking the Seattle job,” Schefter said on Seattle Sports’ “Wyman and Bob.” “… They didn’t really have any ties to this particular area, but yet they felt compelled to go out and choose the Seahawks.”
Since Schefter brought up personal ties, one may wonder what ties Macdonald had to other teams. Those personal ties don’t lie with him, but rather his wife Stephanie Macdonald.
Not only is Stephanie from the D.C. area (according to Schefter), but she previously worked for the Commanders franchise as a cheerleader. There’s also the fact that Washington is about as close to Baltimore as possible, and Macdonald himself is an East Coast guy from Boston.
Despite those personal ties to the nation’s capital, Seattle offered the best opportunity from a pure football perspective. The Seahawks had the best record of any team with a coaching vacancy this offseason, and the direction of the team was particularly compelling to Macdonald.
“We talked a little bit about that and the reason he did that was because he believed strongly in the general manager, John Schneider,” Schefter said. “It’s kind of amazing that somebody could uproot his life, his family’s life, in large part due to his conviction for the general manager, but that’s how strongly he felt about John Schneider and the job that he’s done there in Seattle. … Mike really believes in him and now we’ll see those two guys get to work and try to make this team better.”
Macdonald, who turns 37 later this month, is the youngest coach in the NFL today. Considering he was the mastermind behind the NFL’s best defense last season though, it’s safe to say the Seahawks have plenty of faith in him to get the job done.