The Seattle Seahawks made a bold call when they hired Mike Macdonald to be their next head coach. While he had already earned his stripes in his second stint with the Baltimore Ravens, he was a 36-year-old who only had two years of experience as an NFL defensive coordinator.
Macdonald had some massive shoes to fill. As John Harbaugh's star pupil, he was going to take over a franchise and a football legend like Pete Carroll, after consecutive 9-8 seasons. It had been four years since the team's last playoff win.
He responded by winning ten games as a rookie head coach, and even though the team failed to make the playoffs again, it was clear that they had made the right decision. Now, one year later, he's one win away from joining a very exclusive club.
Seattle Seahawks' Mike Macdonald's Super Bowl win will put him in privileged company
With a win in Super Bowl LX, Macdonald will become just the sixth second-year head coach to win in his first trip to the Super Bowl. So far, only Tom Flores (Oakland Raiders, 1980), Joe Gibbs (Washington Redskins, 1982), Brian Billick (Baltimore Ravens, 2000), Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers, 2008), and Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles, 2017) have done so.
Notably, of that very select group, only Joe Gibbs managed to win more than one Super Bowl, so Coach Macdonald will have to put in the work to avoid peaking early and then settling for ancient glories.
That's not to say that the Seahawks will cruise past the Patriots. Mike Vrabel's team gave up the fourth-fewest points per game this season (18.8), all while scoring the second-most (28.8). Still, comparing both rosters and schedules, it's not shocking to see oddsmakers favor the NFC side by more than a field goal.
Mike Macdonald didn't need much time to establish himself among the elite coaches in the game. He's an outstanding defensive play-caller, and he's clearly aligned with GM John Schneider's vision for that unit. That type of synergy between the front office and the coaching staff often leads to success. It sounds obvious, but most teams in the league can't seem to get it right.
The league is changing, and teams that don't adapt are failing to keep up. Younger head coaches are taking over with new and fresh twists to old concepts, and teams like the Seahawks are living proof that hiring the right guy can get any organization back in the fast lane to contention.