Seahawks Meeting With Mike Macdonald For Second Interview
For the second time in 24 hours, the Seattle Seahawks will meet with Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald about their head coaching vacancy, this time bringing him to the VMAC for an on-site visit.
Initially reported by NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero and confirmed to All Seahawks by multiple sources, after meeting with team brass in Baltimore on Tuesday, the Seahawks flew Macdonald into town for a second interview on Wednesday morning. While team chair Jody Allen and general manager John Schneider may simply be doing their due diligence, meeting twice in such a quick fashion indicates mutual interest in hashing out a deal.
Since Seattle decided to move on from long-time coach Pete Carroll on January 10, Macdonald has been a prioritized target by the organization as a potential successor. However, due to the timing of the coaching change and league rules, the team didn't get a request in to interview him early in the process and had to wait until Baltimore lost to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday before being able to speak with him.
Orchestrating one of the nastiest defenses in the NFL over the past two years, the Seattle Seahawks appear to have very strong interest in Mike Macdonald for their coaching vacancy.
© Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY
Now that the Ravens have finished playing for the season, Schneider and Allen appear to be applying a full court press on Macdonald with hopes of tabbing him as the Seahawks next head coach, and for good reason.
Rapidly ascending up the coaching ranks, the 36-year old Macdonald returned Baltimore to the NFL's elite defensively over the past two seasons. After spending a single year as defensive coordinator at Michigan, he returned to the franchise where he previously coached linebackers and defensive backs under the same title, transforming a struggling defense back into one of the league's premier units seemingly overnight.
In his first season at the controls, the Ravens jumped up to third in scoring defense and finished ninth in takeaways, helping the team make the playoffs despite star quarterback Lamar Jackson missing extensive time due to injury. This season, Baltimore's defense was even more stingy, ranking first in scoring defense allowing 16.5 points per game while also leading the league in turnovers created and sacks, smothering opponents on a weekly basis.
In the midst of week three conducting a coaching search, the Seahawks haven't been in a rush to make a hire up to this point and Macdonald is far from the first candidate to receive a second interview in this thorough process. But the decision to fly him cross country to the Pacific Northwest immediately after their first interview points to a hire potentially coming in the near future.
