Seahawks GM John Schneider on Mike Macdonald: ‘That is the long run’

RENTON, Wash. — Throughout his search to search out Pete Carroll’s alternative as Seattle Seahawks head coach, normal supervisor John Schneider was struck by one thing he heard in a podcast on the subject of hiring.

The message, in accordance with Schneider, was that whatever the business, “it is all about who’s altering {the marketplace}.”

“And it simply hit me,” he mentioned. “Like, OK, once we’re interviewing all these folks, who’s going to alter {the marketplace}?”

That was among the many the reason why Schneider tabbed Mike Macdonald for the job, calling the previous Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator “a disruptor” whereas citing his top-ranked unit in 2023 as proof. And it is why Schneider was prepared to attend so long as he did only for a chance to interview Macdonald for a primary time earlier than making him the NFL’s youngest head coach at age 36.

“That is the long run proper right here, that is the place it is going,” Schneider mentioned Thursday, seated subsequent to Macdonald throughout his introductory press convention at Seahawks headquarters. “I believe you are going to study in attending to know Mike that he is a particular dude.”

Macdonald, who was born in Boston and moved to the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, Georgia at age 6, known as it a “leap of religion” for him and his spouse to take the Seahawks job having each grown up again east.

“Going by means of the method and assembly John and the management group, I believe the very first thing that basically popped to me was the parallels of the group that I have been working for for 10 years and the place I’ve actually grown into the particular person and the person and the coach that I’m as we speak,” he mentioned, referring to the Ravens. “And that was extraordinarily interesting to me. To listen to John discuss folks and the way vital that’s was the driving drive of why we need to be right here. It’s a leap of religion, however this can be a particular metropolis and this can be a nice soccer metropolis, man, and we have the most effective followers on the planet.

“I perceive the place this group desires to go and I really feel like we’re aligned on how we need to get there. I am simply juiced to go do it.”

Macdonald wore a gown hoodie beneath a blue sports activities coat that had a 12 pin mounted to its lapel. He needed to cobble collectively the outfit after frenetic few days that included interviews with the Washington Commanders and Seahawks following Baltimore’s loss within the AFC Championship Sport on Sunday.

The Seahawks have been additionally eying Ben Johnson for the job, having performed an preliminary interview just about with the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in the course of the first week of the playoffs. However as Schneider defined Thursday, administrative holdups following the choice to maneuver on from Carroll stored the Seahawks from chatting with Macdonald just about that week whereas Ravens have been on their first-round bye. Due to that, NFL guidelines prohibited them from an preliminary interview with Macdonald till after the Ravens’ season was over.

Schneider joked that he went church on the morning of the convention championship video games and was “praying his tail off” that the Ravens and Lions would lose, which they each did.

Schneider and the remainder of the Seahawks contingent flew to Detroit Monday afternoon for an interview with Johnson, who knowledgeable Seattle and the Commanders the next that he was staying with the Lions. The Seahawks flew to Baltimore Monday night to satisfy with Macdonald the subsequent morning.

“He crushed it,” Schneider mentioned. “We flew again right here and it was on.”

Macdonald thanked Seahawks proprietor Jody Allen for empowering Schneider and having the persistence to attend on him.

“Thanks for hanging in there,” he mentioned. “I used to be wishing that we must wait a pair extra weeks but it surely did occur quick, however [we] felt prefer it was a first-class operation. Her funding on this metropolis and the way a lot she cares about this group grew to become very apparent to me, and that was very interesting.”

Would Schneider have waited two extra weeks had Baltimore made it to the Tremendous Bowl?

“The popularity was actually robust,” he mentioned. “So I can not inform like 100%, however the popularity was so robust [and] we did not should get there. I haven’t got to reply that query as a result of we did not should get there.”

Throughout the wait to satisfy Macdonald, Schneider gathered intel on him from a number of league sources, together with others who had interviewed him for head-coaching vacancies. He had already been impressed by what Macdonald’s protection did to Seattle in a 37-3 win over the Seahawks in November.

Once they lastly did meet face-to-face, Schneider grew to become satisfied that Macdonald was able to be a head coach.

“It was communication, management, readability,” he mentioned. “It jumps off with Mike. I had talked with a number of those that had interviewed him already, they usually have been like, ‘Wait till you look on this man’s eyes, man. He is there, he is current, he is on it.’ And he was, and everyone in that room felt it.”

Allen gave Schneider a directive to discover a coach who would preserve the Seahawks’ “constructive tradition.” Macdonald has by no means met Carroll – who agreed to maneuver into an unspecified advisory position with the group — however has admired him from afar.

“Pete has an awesome character, but it surely’s his and it is genuine to who he’s as an individual,” he mentioned. “I believe that is why the gamers resonate with him and why he has such an awesome popularity and his monitor report is what it’s. I’ve a special character and you will get to know me, however my plan is to be myself each day and also you’re simply going to get me.”

Macdonald had no replace on how his teaching employees is coming collectively aside from to say he and Schneider have already began the method.

A report from Professional Soccer Discuss on Thursday mentioned Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who adopted Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa from the College of Washington, is a candidate for the Seahawks’ OC job. Grubb has not coached within the NFL, although Macdonald mentioned NFL play-calling expertise will not be close to the highest of his listing of necessities for the position.

“We’re in search of the precise particular person to return in right here and construct this factor, so we wish somebody that is open-minded, that has a development mindset, that may join with their gamers and construct a system that is distinctive to the Seattle Seahawks, that is going to be stay a very long time and he’ll be the one spear-heading it,” he mentioned.

As for his protection, Macdonald plans to name performs initially after which finally hand over these duties to a defensive coordinator “when it turns into apparent that another person is able to go and we see it the identical manner.” Ravens linebacker coach Zachary Orr was a candidate to turn into Macdonald’s DC in Seattle, a supply informed ESPN, however he was promoted to that job in Baltimore.

No matter who’s coordinating his protection, Macdonald mentioned it is going to proceed to be adaptable and that it will not essentially mirror what he ran with the Ravens.

“The spirit of how we play and the ideas of how we play, what you have seen on the tape in Baltimore, would be the similar,” he mentioned. “However I can not assure you the schematics would be the similar right here as a result of we’re undecided what we’re good at but.”

Schneider and Macdonald have a choice to make this offseason on whether or not to proceed with quarterback Geno Smith, who’s beneath contract for 2 extra seasons and $47.5 million. That features a $12.7 million base wage for subsequent season that may turn into totally assured if he is nonetheless on the roster on Feb. 16.

Backup Drew Lock is scheduled to be a free agent.

“We have performed towards Geno,” Macdonald mentioned. “He is a very good participant I am fairly certain he is on the Professional Bowl proper now. However we’ll construct it across the quarterback. You have to. Similar to we mentioned on protection, we constructed a system across the gamers on protection. We’ll construct it across the gamers on offense and an important participant is the QB.

“So we’ll see how the entire state of affairs shakes out over time, however excited to get to satisfy these guys … I talked to Geno briefly after our sport and informed him how a lot I respect him — not anticipating I would see him in six months or three months or nevertheless lengthy it has been.”