5 first-time head coaches the Seahawks should consider in 2024
By Lee Vowell
Pete Carroll has been the most successful head coach in Seattle Seahawks history. He has led the team to its only Super Bowl victory and he got back to another one. But those are closer to a decade ago than something that recently happened.
Eventually, all coaches are replaced, though. Even Bill Belichick may no longer be the head coach of the New England Patriots next year. After Pete Carroll has been the coach in Seattle since 2010, maybe he is not capable of helping make the changes - third-down offense and defense, for instance - that need to be made.
Carroll is the Vice President of Football Operations for the Seahawks, though. Unless he chooses to, he isn't going away from the organization. He might even have a say in who the next head coach for the Seahawks is. And if Seattle chooses a first-time head coach, they might choose one of the five guys that follow.
Five first-time head coaches that could be great fits for the Seattle Seahawks
1. Mike Macdonald, Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator
Macdonald has been coaching for a decade but is still only 36 years old. He has been an NFL defensive coordinator for two seasons now, but he clearly has an idea of what he is doing. He coached linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens for three years from 2018 and 2020 and was part of a defensive scheme that produced the least amount of yards-per-game (307.8) over those three seasons. Macdonald then left to be the University of Michigan DC for 2021 and then returned to the Ravens in 2022.
Last year, the Ravens were number three in points allowed (18.5) and in 2023 they are third but have allowed fewer points (16.1). Baltimore, unlike Seattle, also knows how to get stops on third down as they allowed 34.9 percent conversions (fourth in the league) and in 2023 they are sixth but about the same number as last year (35.2). Baltimore is also third is red zone percentage (37.9).
The biggest question might be if Seattle wants to hire another defensive-minded coach. If Pete Carroll has input (and he should) as he also serves as the Vice President of Football Operations then hiring another DC as head coach makes sense. Macdonald might make a chance at the offensive coordinator position, however.