Seahawks GM John Schneider had his prayers answered with Mike Macdonald hire

There needed to be a change at the top of the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. Pete Carroll had been a highly successful coach for 14 years. The issue was that the last three seasons were not his best. Plus, let's be honest. Carroll was the oldest head coach in the NFL and no team would look upon him as a long-term option.

That is meant as no great disrespect to Carroll, the best coach in Seahawks franchise history. That is simply reality and a sad one. Just because Carroll was aging did not mean he was a bad coach suddenly. At the same time, he did not seem to adapt and adjust as well as he once did. That might not have anything to do with his age but his coaching acumen.

Seattle had reached a sort of mediocrity in the last few years. Back-to-back 9-8 seasons, making the playoffs in one of those seasons, were fine but it also felt as if Seattle was not going to suddenly be on the precipice of greatness. Nearly any team might make a change if they thought the future would be better with a newer coach with a better vision.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider hoped for a Mike Macdonald loss in 2023

General manager John Schneider surely thought this. After Seattle's front office had decided to move on from Carroll, the team clearly needed a new coach. Schneider's hope was that Mike Macdonald would be the guy. So much so that he felt like a "heathen" for hoping Macdonald's former team, the Baltimore Ravens, might lose so that Schneider could interview Macdonald for the open head coaching position.

In a recent talk with The Athletic (subscription required), Schneider said of his wait for Macdonald, "his is heathen s**t."

And then once Macdonald interviewed with the Seahawks, Schneider was blown away. He said, "He absolutely crushed his interview. The first part of it, two hours felt like 20 minutes. It was just a really clear, purposeful, great plan. He nailed it."

Now Macdonald only has to prove the faith that Schneider has in him. The team signed the new head coach to a staggering six-year deal even though Macdonald had never been a head coach before. He had been a successful defensive coordinator but there is no guarantee of head coaching success.

Training camp seems to be off to a solid start for Macdonald, but 12s will learn a lot more once the real games begin, of course. Even Macdonald has talked about the things he has never faced before. Still, there is no lack of confidence from the coach and he knows what he wants from his defense. An improved defense based on a Macdonald scheme might be enough to push Seattle back into the playoffs and then be a danger once there.

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