Mike Macdonald was not happy with himself at the start of his Seattle Seahawks tenure in 2024. He was not meeting his own expectations, and that led to other issues, according to what the coach said on a recent episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger. Thankfully, things got much better for the coach and his team.
The head coach told Bensinger, in part, "I was not a great leader my first year. It sucks to say that, but I just fell short in so many different ways — like in awareness and in trust and in communication style. Just wasn’t the best version of myself. Yeah, it’s not easy to say that, but it’s the truth."
Macdonald clearly has the right to feel how he wants to about himself, as obviously, no one knows him better. His own expectations about himself are going to be different from what others would believe about him.
Mike Macdonald gets honest about the struggles in his first season with the Seattle Seahawks
General manager John Schneider certainly knew what he was doing in hiring the first-time head coach after Seattle relieved longtime head coach Pete Carroll of his duties. Macdonald had been a fantastic defensive coordinator, but whether he could be a great leader of an entire team was a question no one could have known the answer to.
Macdonald added, "I’ve never felt like that in my life. I was sick. I’d go home, I’d get in bed, and I wouldn’t get out. I’d get in bed as soon as I got home; I wouldn’t get out of bed until I went to work. I’d be late going into work...I wouldn’t get out of bed all weekend. I’d just sit in bed. It was crazy...Yeah, that was probably the toughest, most difficult stretch of my life, honestly — that first few months."
Many coaches wouldn't want to show that kind of vulnerability. Admitting weakness is not something many are comfortable doing, especially in the world of sports. The obvious is that everyone suffers from doubt at some point, but some fans and those on social media will look less favorably on a player or coach who says they are struggling mentally.
The best part was that Mike Macdonald was able to right himself, and many aren't able to do so. His expression of depression may be helpful to some, proving that no matter whether one has a lot of money or no money, what one thinks of oneself is often far too harsh.
Of course, success helps, especially in the realm of what one is paid to do. To many, Macdonald will only ever be a football coach. To his family and friends, that is probably the least part of who Macdonald is as a person. His value goes well beyond football as a human being, of course.
It is easy now, though, to forget that midway through his first season with the Seattle Seahawks (2024), the team was only 4-5. The team would finish 10-7 and barely miss the playoffs. In 2025, Seattle went 17-3, including three wins in the playoffs, one being the Super Bowl.
But beyond all those wins on the field, Mike Macdonald had to get himself right. He appears to have done so after gaining the self-awareness of what he was doing wrong as a human being. The Seahawks are better off for that, but more importantly, so is the person and his family.
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