The Seahawks are in uncharted waters, working through the 2024 offseason with a new head coach for the first time since 2010.
Having spent the last month and a half settling into his role amid the chaos of free agency and draft preparation, new Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald has taken his task of leading the transition into a new era of Seahawks football in stride, even if it’s been new territory for him.
“I think it’s going well. Obviously there’s no manual for this type of responsibility,” he said in an interview with NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero at the Annual League Meeting on Saturday. "We have a plan in place, but you’re just trying to do your best day by day and stack days, and now we look back five or six weeks, I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress. But there’s just so much work still to do."
With change naturally comes comparison to the “before,” and Macdonald has spoken at length about following Pete Carroll, who helmed the Seahawks for 14 years and won a Super Bowl in Seattle before parting ways with the organization after the 2023 season.
Knowing that he’s taking over for a coach that had such success is just another motivation for Macdonald, though, as he said that he recognizes the importance forging his own path as a leader, finding what defines his teams and how to produce sustained success as a franchise.
“(Carroll’s) such an integral part of building this foundation, of who the Seahawks are, and that’s one of the reasons why it was so appealing for this opportunity. So it’s hard to separate those things,” Macdonald said. “However, like I said in my press conference, the only person that’s unique to me is me, so that’s the person I’m going to be. I have my way of seeing things and what I believe in, and a lot of that is aligned with what he believes in, from what I understand. However, this team needs to take on its own identity, just like any team, any year, and I’m the one to lead that charge. So it’ll be in our vision, and we’ll move forward."
So what does define the 2024 Seahawks? According to Macdonald, the players on this year’s squad all embody a deep want to prove themselves, a characteristic which their new head coach both values and shares.
“I think we’re hungry, I think we’re a determined group, I think we have a lot of people on our team, both players and coaches, that have a lot to prove,” he said. “And I’m excited about that, so it starts now, definitely starts April 8 when the guys get in the building and we can kind of start getting after it.”
No man might represent that approach better than Macdonald’s new quarterback, Geno Smith, who has defined what it means to fight for himself over his career and through his two resurgent years as the Seattle signal-caller.
“That resonates with a lot of our stories, having gone through a lot of trials and tribulations and finding his stride here in the last few years,” Macdonald said. “And then going against him, obviously his track record the last couple years and the stats he’s been able to put up, his poise, his leadership, obviously his capability throwing the football, and our relationship is just getting started to grow.”
There’s still months ahead before Macdonald officially takes the field as a head coach in a game for the first time, and a few weeks before his team will even start offseason workouts. But he’s already forging a distinct identity for his team that he believes will take them just as far as any on-field work.
“We’re building a cohesive, together unit, so schematically, all that stuff, it’s important, but it’s not what’s going to win us games," Macdonald said. "We’re going to be a united team, confident, and ready to roll.”