Mike Macdonald's Defense With Seattle Seahawks Hinges on Players, Not Scheme

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is an exceptional defensive coach, but he didn't reinvent the wheel. The mentality and connection of his players are the most important pieces.

Aug 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stands on the sideline during the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Macdonald has been renowned as a defensive mastermind who employs a complicated, versatile scheme that is taking the NFL by storm. But it’s not that deep, according to the Seattle Seahawks head coach.

The mentality of the defense and its players is more important than the scheme.

“I think the X’s and O’s, man, they’re overrated,” Macdonald told local reporters after practice on Thursday. “It’s about how you play. It’s about how the 11 people on the field can work as one. There’s only so many things you can do with 11 guys out there. There’s only so many [defensive backs] you can put on the field. There’s only so many people who can get on the line of scrimmage. There’s only so many coverage structures.”

Versatility has been the theme through training camp when discussing Macdonald’s defense. It was the same way when he was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. That area is certainly a factor.

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams said early in camp he was lining up at six different spots along Seattle’s defensive line, and that will likely be the case for many of the Seahawks’ trench men. What may be being overblown, however, is Macdonald employing a new style of defense that the league hasn’t seen before.

The personnel (and use of it), communication between the players and play calling is what has allowed Macdonald’s defenses to excel.

“We’re not reinventing anything new,” he said. “People that watch our tape, we didn’t reinvent defense. It’s a style of play that hopefully we can recreate here, and that’s our plan.”

To expound on Williams’ comments, The Film Room’s Brett Kollman described Macdonald’s blitz install strategy as using “pressure stations,” which essentially teaches any defensive lineman to rush from any spot on the defensive front in any single blitz. They can run any blitz package from any personnel alignment. Thus, everyone along the line must know every part of that pressure design.

This is just one of the many strategies Macdonald uses to differentiate his defense, in addition to other ways of disguising coverages and simulating pressure, but the play up front got its roots from simple zone blitz schemes.

Macdonald's techniques are also inspired by former Seahawks defensive coach Jim Johnson — also the defensive coordinator with the Eagles when Macdonald’s former head coach, John Harbaugh, was the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach there from 1998–2007.

Johnson was Seattle’s linebackers coach in 1998 when the Seahawks scored 10 defensive touchdowns (including eight interception return scores), the most in NFL history. In 10 seasons as Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator, Johnson’s units were top-5 in the league in points allowed five times.

Macdonald is a direct descendent of that coaching tree, beginning work under Harbaugh as a coaching intern with the Ravens in 2014.

Dec 11, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald reacts on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

“A lot of our zone pressure schemes are rooted in Coach Johnson’s schemes,” Macdonald said. “I don’t want to start ranking zone blitz guys, but I mean, his stuff has stood the test of time and [has] done it at a high level … He’s someone that you just have so much respect for. His defenses are special, man. So, it’s cool that it kind of all comes full circle back here in Seattle.”

Let’s be clear: Macdonald is a very good defensive coach. He’s learned from some of the best and has applied his own tweaks to what was already an effective blueprint.

But the core of his success has been in how he coaches and connects his players — emphasizing communication and everybody knowing each other’s roles. The scheme is just the icing on the cake. His pedigree isn’t discredited by not “creating” a new style of defense.

The way Macdonald operates is actually more future-proof than designing an innovative scheme. A scheme can be studied and countered over time, while a style of coaching and play calling is far more difficult to plan for game to game.

The players have to buy in and embrace the style of play. If they don't, the Seahawks' defense will only be as strong as their weakest link.

“We’re looking for anything, any little marginal thing that’s going to help us win. We’re always trying to push the envelope,” Macdonald added. “We feel like we want people chasing us. So [it] kind of gets you the mentality of we’re not copying anybody. It’s going to be our style of play. It’s going to be our team, our way of doing things.”