How Do Mike Macdonald, Pete Carroll Compare After First 8 Games Leading Seahawks?

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is halfway through his first season with the team. How does the team's trajectory compare to the 2010 season?

Connor Benintendi | Oct 28, 2024

Sep 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stands on the sideline during the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Since beginning his first-ever head coaching tenure 3-0, Mike Macdonald's Seattle Seahawks team has dropped four of their last five games and are coming off their most lopsided loss of the season in a 31-10 home defeat against the Buffalo Bills.

There is no longer an official halfway point to the season for NFL teams since a 17th game was added to the schedule in 2021, but eight games into the campaign is about as close as it gets. Currently, the Seahawks have split their first half of the season and sit at 4-4.

Especially after a loss as difficult as Sunday's, a first-year head coach — and his staff — will receive the majority of the blame. It's even tougher when, in Macdonald's case, he replaced the most prolific coach in Seahawks history who brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Seattle for the first time.

But how does Macdonald's resume stack up to Pete Carroll's over their first eight games as Seattle's head coach? Should Macdonald be on the hot seat if the team can't turn this season around, or does he deserve more time to see if he could become the team's next long-term head coach?

Here's a look at the 2024 season and roster Macdonald inherited compared to the 2010 season — Carroll's first leading the Seahawks.

2024

First 8 games: 4-4

Final 9 games: TBD

Average points scored: 23.8 (13th)

Average points against: 24.4 (19th)

Team record previous 3 seasons: 7-10 (2021), 9-8 (2022), 9-8 (2023)

Average age of roster: 26.3

Average NFL experience of roster: 3.3 years

Former Pro Bowlers on roster: 10

(P Michael Dickson, WR Tyler Lockett, WR DK Metcalf, S Julian Love, K Jason Myers, QB Geno Smith, LG Laken Tomlinson, DL Leonard Williams, CB Devon Witherspoon, CB Riq Woolen)

Former All-Pros on roster: 3

(P Michael Dickson, WR Tyler Lockett, WR DK Metcalf)

2010

Nov 14, 2010; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (right) and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) react during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 36-18. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

First 8 games: 4-4

Final 8 games (before addition of 17th game): 3-5

Full season average points scored: 19.4 (23rd)

Full season average points against: 25.4 (25th)

Team record previous 3 seasons: 10-6 (2007), 4-12 (2008), 5-11 (2009)

Average age of roster: 27

Average NFL experience of roster: 3.9 years

Former Pro Bowlers on roster: 7

(QB Matt Hasselbeck, RB Marshawn Lynch, K Olindo Mare, S Lawyer Milloy, LB Lofa Tatupu, CB Marcus Trufant, RB Leon Washington)

Former All-Pros on roster: 4

(K Olindo Mare, S Lawyer Milloy, LB Lofa Tatupu, RB Leon Washington)

Future Pro Bowlers on roster: 9

(S Kam Chancellor, RB Justin Forsett, RB Marshawn Lynch, LT Russell Okung, FB Michael Robinson, WR Golden Tate, S Earl Thomas III, C Max Unger, RB Leon Washington)

Future All-Pros on roster: 5

(S Kam Chancellor, RB Marshawn Lynch, S Earl Thomas III, C Max Unger, RB Leon Washington)

Analysis: Are expectations too high in Year 1?

One thing should be made abundantly clear: Regardless of all the figures listed above, Carroll inherited the Seahawks at an indisputably darker time in franchise history. Mike Holmgren took the team to its first Super Bowl in 2005 and left after posting a 4-12 record in 2008 — the franchise's worst season since 1992 (2-14) and still its lowest win total since.

Jim Mora, the defensive backs coach under Holmgren, took over in 2009 and was only given one season to try and turn things around. Seattle finished 5-11. Carroll brought an entirely new philosophy that focused on empowering the players and their unique personalities. That, coupled with his innovative defensive scheme, brought the team two more wins than Mora in Carroll's first season while he and general manager John Schneider began a string of some of the best draft classes the franchise has ever seen.

But none of those players are around anymore, and Carroll and Schneider became far less effective at drafting blue-chip talent in recent years. That resulted in the team finishing with a losing record in 2021 for the first time since 2011 — Carroll's second season with Seattle. Two middling seasons with little improvement prompted to team to move on from Carroll.

Only three players Seattle drafted before 2021 are still on the team and have only played for the Seahawks: Punter Michael Dickson and wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Sure, Macdonald inherited some talented young pieces, but there's no getting around how abysmal some of the team's drafts were from 2013–21.

Oct 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, left, talks with wide receiver DK Metcalf, right during in pregame warmups against the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The biggest current difference between this team and the roster Carroll inherited in 2010 remains unknown because it is yet to be determined: How many of Seattle's current players will become All-Pro-caliber players? Is the talent currently on the team, or do Macdonald and Schneider need a few good drafts to tune the roster to where they want it?

After all, Carroll was 4-4 in his first eight games as Seattle's head coach and was even worse in the back half of the season. The team lucked into a playoff spot playing in a putrid NFC West and beat the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints via the most earthshaking play in team history. They missed the playoffs the following year after finishing 7-9 again.

Considering the Seahawks had a winning record the last two seasons, it's understandable to expect further growth. But a step back while the team adopts a new culture, scheme (on both sides of the ball) and finds the players that fit the building might not happen immediately. Like Macdonald, Carroll was a defensive-minded coach and still allowed the seventh most points per game of any team in the NFL his first season. There will be growing pains.

New head coaches in the NFL are too often given the shortest of leashes and doomed to purgatory as the franchise is reset over and over. Short-term disappointment after a crushing mid-season loss is understandable, but before you overreact, remember this: Carroll and the Seahawks were outscored a combined 74-10 in Weeks 8 and 9 of the 2010 season to fall to 4-4.

Imagine the ire at that time. Three seasons later Carroll was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. That may or may not be in the cards for Macdonald, but it's way too early to be certain.