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    Who Is the Seattle Seahawks Head Coach?

    In January 2024, the Seattle Seahawks replaced Pete Carroll as their head after his 13-year tenure with the team. Who is Seattle's new head coach?

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    In January 2024, the Seattle Seahawks replaced Pete Carroll as their head coach after his 13-year tenure with the team. Who is Seattle’s new head coach, and how has he fared thus far? Here’s everything you need to know about the Seahawks’ new leader.

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    Who Is the Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks?

    Mike Macdonald is currently the Seahawks head coach. Previously, he served as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator and he was arguably the top defensive-minded head coaching candidate on the 2024 hiring circuit.

    Macdonald is only 36 years old, making him the youngest active head coach in the NFL.

    After spending the 2021 campaign as the University of Michigan’s defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh, Macdonald joined John Harbaugh as the Ravens’ defensive play-caller in 2022, replacing Wink Martindale.

    Baltimore’s defense was terrific under Macdonald, which led to head-coaching buzz. Here’s where the Ravens’ defense ranked in several critical categories in 2023:

    • Points per game: 16.5 (first)
    • Points per drive: 1.35 (first)
    • Yards per play: 4.6 (first)
    • DVOA: -23.3% (first)
    • EPA per play: 0.069 (sixth)
    • Scoring rate allowed: 28.7% (third)
    • Turnover rate: 14.4% (fifth)
    • Sacks: 60 (first)

    The numbers are impressive, but how Macdonald managed Baltimore’s defense might have been even more indicative of his potential as a head coach.

    Macdonald helped guide elite talents like LB Roquan Smith and S Kyle Hamilton to first-team All-Pro campaigns. But he also got a career-best season out of veteran pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. Kyle Van Noy wasn’t signed until September but still garnered a role.

    Macdonald coaxed contributions from journeyman defenders like Ronald Darby and Arthur Maulet, and worked around injuries to significant pieces such as CB Marlon Humphrey and S Marcus Williams. He also helped defensive tackle Justin Madubuike have a breakout season in 2023, which helped him land a four-year, $98 million deal this past offseason.

    “Mike Macdonald allows us to just be ourselves at the end of the day,” Smith said earlier this year. “He gives us such a unique plan [to] dissect offenses like no other. Like he’s a mad scientist in a sense, and then [he] gives it to us in a way that we understand it.”

    Last season, the Seahawks’ defense ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every metric, which is why they zeroed in on a defensive-minded coach. They struggled equally against the pass and the run, allowed more first downs (380) than any team in the NFL, and gave up a score on 40.4% of opposing drives, the fifth-worst rate in the league.

    While it’s still early in Macdonald’s tenure, the Seahawks are 3-2 and there has already been significant improvement on the defensive side of the ball. Seattle has forced the second-most fumbles in the NFL (seven), and they have allowed the 12th-fewest passing yards thus far. Also, they are allowing the 17th-fewest points per game (22.8). The run defense has struggled, but they are also missing quite a few players in their front line.

    One NFL decision-maker involved in 2024 head coaching searches told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that Macdonald gave the best interview and labeled Seattle’s new head coach a “defensive Sean McVay.” Macdonald’s offensive coordinator hire, Ryan Grubb, is also working out well.

    It certainly seems like the Seahawks made a great hire.

    Who Was the Head Coach Before Mike Macdonald?

    Prior to Macdonald, here’s a list of every other head coach in the Seahawks’ franchise history.

    • Jack Patera, 1976-1982
    • Mike McCormack, 1982
    • Chuck Knox, 1983-1991
    • Tom Flores, 1992-1994
    • Dennis Erickson, 1995-1998
    • Mike Holmgren, 1999-2008
    • Jim Mora, 2009
    • Pete Carroll, 2010-2023

    Macdonald replaced Carroll, who led Seattle to its lone Super Bowl victory in 2013.

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