Seattle Seahawks' Mike Macdonald Reflects on Coaching Journey

Mike Macdonald walked a long and winding road to become the Seattle Seahawks' head coach.

Jul 27, 2024; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald signs autographs after training camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald didn't get to where he is now by accident.

Macdonald, the youngest head coach in the league at 37 years old, had a brief playing career in high school, but didn't see it as a long-term future. Instead, he decided to focus on what gave him an advantage: his amazing football IQ.

"In order for me to have success when I was playing, which didn't happen often, I felt like I needed an edge, so I was always intrigued by being ahead of the game," Macdonald said, per John Boyle of Seahawks.com. "That's what drew me into just coaching initially."

The Boston native went to the University of Georgia expecting to work in finance, but a bit of good fortune put him on a different path. Xarvia Smith, Macdonald's coach at Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia, was starting a new job at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, just a short drive away from UGA.

"When I got to college, I was searching for a purpose and, as God does, He put my high school coach back into my life, and I just felt a pull," Macdonald said. "It went from being an X's and O's guy, thinking X's and O's was the attraction to, now you can be a part of a team, and you can make people better, and see growth, and be a part of something bigger than yourself while also doing all the strategy, and the breakdowns, and all that type of stuff, so it just was something that I felt like I needed to pursue."

Smith would then give Macdonald his official start in coaching as a linebackers coach and running backs coach at Cedar Shoals. Soon after, he started as a graduate assistant at UGA, working closely with then Bulldogs defensive coordinator and current New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham.

"I don't know if you really predict [being an NFL head coach] because that's all timing and things like that, but I've always felt like I had a good evaluation of people," Grantham said. "And I think it starts with good people and then from there, guys that are intelligent and are hard workers and then really got a passion for the sport. And he's one of the better ones that I've had an opportunity to hire and be around."

In 2014, Macdonald broke into the NFL as a coaching intern for the Baltimore Ravens, the same team he would spend nine seasons with across two separate stints. It was a long and fruitful run in Baltimore, but after the Ravens lost the AFC Championship Game last season, he had some decisions to make. He ended up choosing to come to Seattle for several reasons, and he's very happy with that decision.

"It's just the spirit, the optimism," Macdonald said of Seahawks fans. "You can tell it matters. It's just cool because that's something that we can have in the city. You have to keep reminding yourself, OK, this is our place. This is our home."