Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald says 'don't buy the smoke' Sean McVay is selling

Mike Macdonald needs to be the new Pete Carroll. More specifically, he needs to be the Carroll of 2010. The new head coach must reset the culture a bit for the Seattle Seahawks, especially in terms of getting the defense to think much more aggressively. If he can do that sooner than later, Seattle will get back to the playoffs very soon.

Macdonald certainly does not have an easy job, however. The NFC West is loaded with high-level offensive-minded head coaches. While Seattle's defense has struggled the last few years, even a coach as good as Macdonald might not be able to fix the issue for a full season.

That hasn't stopped Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay from unleashing glowing praise about Seattle's new coach to whoever would listen this offseason. Macdonald's former team, the Baltimore Ravens, defeated the Rams in 2023 37-31 in overtime, but LA still picked up 410 total yards against Macdonald's defense.

Rams head coach Sean McVay has some high praise for new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald

In other words, just because Macdonald has been a great defensive coordinator in the NFL, his defenses might not shut down McVay's offenses consistently. Los Angeles is going to be a thorn in Seattle's side for years to come, most likely.

Still, McVay said on The Athletic Football Show about Macdonald, "I thought they did a great job of playing coverages where you're like, 'I don't know what the (heck) I'm going against,' because of the way they're teaching guys...You felt like you were playing against 13 players sometimes...They were such a well-coordinated and a well-executed defense from the players to the coaches."

High praise from one of the best coaches in the league. More importantly, those are very nice words from a coach that Macdonald is going to have to face at least twice a season for the foreseeable future. Is McVay being truthful or is he possibly trying to butter Macdonald up a bit? Seattle's coach has an idea.

When asked about what McVay said during a post-practice press conference this week, Macdonald jokingly said, "I don't believe a word that he's saying. Don't buy the smoke, man. That's a trap. We've got a lot of respect for all the coaches in our division...Definitely have our hands full, but we're up for the challenge."

The frustrating part for 12s might be that the Seahawks' defense isn't quite ready for prime time in 2024. Even when Macdonald took over as the Ravens defensive coordinator in 2022, the unit did not become truly great until 2023. Seattle might be improved this year, but not much better until next season.

Patience is difficult for most fans. We want things to happen right away whether that is realistic or not. Hopefully, Macdonald's defense will be a lot better this season, but it might only be slightly improved.

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