Grading Mike Macdonald's first half-season with the Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks and Mike Macdonald have had a weird year so far. The team got a break in Week 3 by playing the Tua Tagovailoa-less Miami Dolphins and also played Bo Nix in his first game with the Denver Broncos. If Seattle played either of those teams currently, would they win? That seems unlikely.

The team started 3-0 but have since lost five of six games and entered their bye week in last place in the NFC West. The other teams in the division appear to be ascending, especially the Arizona Cardinals, who have not allowed a touchdown at home in three games. The good part for Seattle is it is not too late to turn their season around.

They have five losses, sure, but every other division team has four. The question is whether, over the bye week, Macdonald can fix a lot of the team's issues. The defense has been inconsistent - probably good enough to defeat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9 but atrocious against the Buffalo Bills in Week 8 - and the run defense overall has once again been poor. Even worse, penalties have been a worse problem under Macdonald than they were under Pete Carroll in 2023.

Grading Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald midway through the 2024 season

Macdonald was supposed to bring a measure of discipline, but the team is getting penalized a league-high 8.3 times a game. Last season, the team averaged 6.5 penalties a game. Things are not getting better as the season grows old because, over the last three games, the team is averaging 9.3 penalties a game. That is far too much, and as 12s know, many of the flags seemingly come at the worst times.

One might argue that if the Seahawks had hired a more experienced head coach to replace Pete Carroll last offseason, the team would have been better off this season. Macdonald, just like any first-year head coach, is still figuring things out to some degree. Even the small things, such as when to throw the challenge flag, have not been smooth.

Macdonald has done that last bit only once and that came in Week 9 when it was clear the call was correct on the field. Macdonald wasted a timeout in the poor decision to challenge.

The offensive struggles in recent games should not be blamed completely on Macdonald. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, in his first NFL season, has watched as his unit has imploded at times due to bad snaps, bad penalties, bad red zone offense, and, in Week 9, terrible interceptions by quarterback Geno Smith. Unlike most losses, Seattle's offense was the big issue in the team's last game.

Macdonald was supposed to improve the defense immediately, but that has not happened. The Seahawks allow 5.5 yards per play this season (18th in the league) and that was how much they allowed last year, too. In the five games between Weeks 4 and 8, Seattle allowed at least 116 rushing yards a game with a high of 228.

Overall, Seattle is allowing one less yard per game rushing than in 2023 but allowing more yards per attempt (4.8 in 2024 and 4.6 in 2023). This implies there have been no real positive changes under Macdonald compared to Carroll.

This bye week might end up being Macdonald's most important of his coaching career. If he can make the small changes needed to improve the defense, Seattle could come out of its funk and get close to nine wins again. If the Seahawks fall completely flat in Week 11 against the San Francisco 49ers and follow that with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, 12s can assume the season is done.

Macdonald must prove his worth by next Week 11. He isn't going anywhere any time soon - he signed a six-year deal through 2029 - and hopefully, that means good things for the future. But 2024 has been a disappointment after a 3-0 start and without the defense being any better.

Grade: D

More Seahawks news and analysis: