What a difference two seasons make. At the end of the 2023 season, the Seattle Seahawks seemed stuck in mediocrity with no way out. Pete Carroll was still the head coach and in charge of the roster. Then, stunningly, he was relieved of his duties. A few weeks later, Seattle hired Mike Macdonald.
No guarantee existed that Macdonald would be a great head coach as he had never done that specific job before at any level. He was a brilliant defensive coach, but greatness on one side of the ball doesn't always translate to excellence overall.
But Mike Macdonald, in two seasons, has gone 24-10, and now has his team as the top seed in the NFC, and home-field advantage for as long as Seattle stays alive in the postseason until the Super Bowl. But Macdonald hasn't just won through his defense, but the culture he has helped reset. Linebacker Ernest Jones IV knows it.
Ernest Jones says all there is to know about Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald
Speaking to reporters after Seattle defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18, 13-3, Jones said, "We're here today as (the) number one seed because of Mike. Not just the way he calls it, but the community that he's building in that locker room. We play for each other. We fight for each other."
The community building is massively important, but not overly discussed by national NFL analysts. Pete Carroll was able to reset the culture of the organization when he was hired in 2010, but things had gotten stale by the end of 2023. Fortunately, general manager John Schneider was still with the team and helped to hire Macdonald. Together, they would once again reset the team's culture.
One key is that, like Carroll, Macdonald treats his players as if they are human beings, which, of course, they are. This is the opposite of how Bill Belichick handled his New England Patriots teams, and few players would say they had fun under Belichick.
Mike Macdonald is proving that an organization can still achieve a high level of success without acting as if the players are robots to be used for the coach's whims. The Seattle Seahawks players buying into what Macdonald is teaching and creating is a major reason for the team's success in 2025.
Of course, Macdonald is also arguably the greatest defensive coach in the NFL. He was when he was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, and he is as the head coach of the Seahawks. Couple that with his ability to build a team community, and Seattle might just have a Super Bowl winner soon.