Seahawks Free to Interview Mike Macdonald After Ravens Lose AFC Championship

Choosing to wait things out after missing a window for an initial interview, a loss by the Baltimore Ravens has opened the door for the Seattle Seahawks to meet with defensive guru Mike Macdonald about their head coaching vacancy.

Thanks to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs pulling off a 17-10 upset in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks will finally be able to schedule an interview with Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald in coming days.

Since making the decision to change coaches by moving Pete Carroll into an advisory role with the organization, Macdonald has consistently been linked to the vacancy. However, due to the Seahawks waiting three days after the regular season ended before announcing the move, they have not had a chance to speak with him as the Ravens advanced past the Divisional Round and wouldn't have been able to do so until after the Super Bowl if they won on Sunday.

Seattle didn't begin interviews until January 17, a week after opting to move on from Carroll, and teams weren't allowed to interview coaches from teams with a bye week after Friday, January 12 due to revised NFL rules. Without getting a request in, that prevented the two sides from meeting up.

The #Seahawks plan to interview #Ravens DC Mike Macdonald for HC this week if Baltimore loses, sources say. If the Ravens win, Seattle has to wait. And SEA seems willing to do so -- a la Shane Steichen last year.

This and more in my coaching notebook: https://t.co/Vlf8tKuinC

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 28, 2024

But as NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning, Macdonald has remained on Seattle's radar with interest in interviewing him whenever Baltimore's season concluded. Now that the team has been bounced from the postseason, per league rules, general manager John Schneider and chair Jody Allen should be able to request a meeting immediately and schedule to speak with him as early as Monday.

One of the NFL's best young defensive coaches, the 36-year old Macdonald started his coaching career as an intern with the Ravens before climbing the ladder as a defensive backs and linebacker coach over seven seasons with the franchise. After a single season as defensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, he replaced Wink Martindale in the same role in Baltimore.

With Macdonald at the controls, Baltimore returned to the ranks of the defensive elite. In his first season as an NFL coordinator, the Ravens finished third in scoring defense and ninth in takeaways. This season, they were even better guiding the team to the top seed in the AFC, allowing a league-low 16.5 points per game while finishing first in sacks and turnovers generated.

Up to this point, the Seahawks have been patient with their first coaching search since 2010, reportedly interviewing eight candidates. Among those, five prospective coaches were scheduled for a second interview, including Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

From that group, only one coach - former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris - has accepted another job. The Falcons hired Morris as their new head coach on Friday, signing him to a five-year contract as a replacement for Arthur Smith.

Ranking Seahawks Second Head Coach Interview Candidates

Coming out of championship weekend, as reported by Rapoport, the Seahawks are expected to visit with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Macdonald this week. In the case of Johnson, even if Detroit defeats San Francisco, the team will be able to speak with him starting on Monday since they had an initial interview with him earlier this month.

Since five of the seven teams with head coaching openings have already made a hire, Schneider and Allen won't have to rush into a decision. But with the chance to interview two of their perceived top candidates this week, the process to name Carroll's successor should be accelerated and it's possible the critical decision could be made at some point in the next few days.