Why Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald Will Lead Seattle to the Playoffs

This offseason, the Seattle Seahawks may have landed the best head coaching candidate in former Baltimore Ravens DC Mike Macdonald. Macdonald is coming off two years as the Ravens DC where they finished top-three in points allowed, top-10 in yards against, and contributed to back-to-back playoff appearances in huge part to the strong defense they employed.

Where Macdonald really thrives in today’s NFL is that he’s been excellent at stopping the Shanahan scheme, where the Seahawks will have to play Kyle Shanahan and his disciple in Sean McVay twice a year. Last season, Macdonald’s defense held Shanahan disciples to an average of just under 19 PPG.

All the offenses above are some of the most elite in the NFL, so in order to hang with the best, you have to be able to stop the league’s best offenses in the NFL. Of course, Macdonald had an extremely talented defense with the Ravens, but his scheme put those players in the best positions to be successful.

Related

Seahawks CB Gushes Over New HC: ‘How He Builds Defenses is Not Natural or Normal’

Seattle’s top CB hasn’t been in the league for long, but he already knows that his new head coach is special.

Mike Macdonald should provide an instant upgrade to the Seahawks defense with new scheme and upgraded talent

The days of the Legion of Boom seem far gone. In 2023, the Seahawks’ defense finished 25th overall in points allowed, 30th in yards against, 21st against the pass, and 31st against the run. This was especially surprising in the passing game as the Seahawks had just drafted CB Devon Witherspoon to pair with a rookie breakout CB in Tariq Woolen.

Many thought those two, alongside Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as their starting safeties, would lead to one of the best secondaries in football.

Witherspoon shined as a rookie, but the rest of the secondary really struggled with Woolen taking a step-back in 2023. The Seahawks probably won’t look like the 2023 Ravens, but with a new defensive scheme developed by Macdonald and new DC/former Cowboys DL Coach Arden Durde, this defense should be much more consistent in 2024.

GM John Schneider helped address some of the Seahawks’ biggest needs in 2024: defensive line, safety, and linebacker. This team doesn’t need to be an elite defense in year one to be playing next January, but a middle-of-the-pack defense probably had them playing in the playoffs last year, and should be good enough once again this season.

2024 Offensive Resurgence

Following the 2022 season where the Seahawks were a top-10 offense in the NFL, they took a major step back in 2023

What helped the Seahawks make the playoffs in 2022 was mainly due to the emergence of QB Geno Smith, who helped the team finish ninth overall in points scored. Smith signed a three-year contract extension with the Seahawks prior to the 2023 season, so he has to produce like he did in 2022 or else the team may look to find themselves a younger QB in 2025 and beyond.

2023 can’t all be put on Smith’s shoulders, though. He suffered numerous injuries late in the season, leading him to miss two games and affecting his play. Not only should Smith be healthy in 2024, but his supporting cast should be better.

Following the 2023 season, the Seahawks really needed to bolster their offensive line, which they were able to do through the draft and free agency. They’re going to get an offensive refresh with new OC Ryan Grubb, who served as the OC at the University of Washington, leading their explosive offense to a National Championship Game.

Once again, this offense doesn’t need to be one of the league’s elite to make the playoffs, but with the OL help and new-look offense, this Seahawks’ offense should be far improved from how they looked in 2023.

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

Related

5 Players You Forgot Suited Up for the Seattle Seahawks

Jerry Rice with the Seattle Seahawks? It happened, and there are other Hall of Famers you may have forgotten who played in Seattle.