Grading each NFL head coaching hire so far this offseason
By John Buhler
Seattle Seahawks hired former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald
The Seattle Seahawks took their sweet time with this, but managed to make one of the better head-coaching hires of this offseason cycle. They ended up going with former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald shortly after his former team was eliminated from the postseason. Macdonald is a young 36 years old, but he stems from both Harbaugh coaching trees: Jim and John.
Is he too green for the job? I don't think that really matters, to be honest. What I like the most about this hiring by Seattle is they did not buy into the Dan Quinn hype. That would have been a recipe for disaster for both parties, as reaching into one's past is not a great way to solve any solution. It would have put Quinn in a familiar place, but is a pressure-filled spot. Macdonald should not feel any of this.
To me, the Seahawks landed a younger, up-and-coming defensive mind without all the baggage of a Quinn or another Pete Carroll disciple. Either the Seahawks re-invent themselves under Macdonald or they float off into irrelevancy somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. This feels like a low-risk, high-reward type of hiring, the kind that may work perfectly in the geographically isolated metropolis of Seattle.
Macdonald is a great coaching candidate, one that Jody Allen is not going to be ripped for hiring.
Grade: A