RENTON, Wash. — John Schneider pled for help from a higher power.
That is how much the general manager of the Seattle Seahawks wanted to speak with Mike Macdonald, the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, regarding the team’s open head coach position. Schneider so spent some time at mass on January 28, hoping for a Ravens loss as Macdonald’s Ravens were getting ready to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Because of NFL regulations regarding coaching hires during the playoffs, Macdonald could only be interviewed by the Seahawks following a Ravens defeat.
“This is heathen s—,” Schneider said with a laugh during a recent sit-down with The Athletic.
Schneider’s prayers were heard, though, as the Chiefs defeated the Ravens, and Macdonald was interviewed by the Seahawks on Tuesday in Baltimore.
They hired him a day later.
“He absolutely crushed his interview,” Schneider said. “The first part of it, two hours felt like 20 minutes. It was just a really clear, purposeful, great plan. He nailed it.”
Schneider had spent weeks getting ready for Macdonald, and the coach lived up to the hype. For Macdonald, getting the job was the reward for years of hard work and several near-misses. His coaching career had very much ended before it had really begun. Macdonald persisted nevertheless.
Now guiding the Seahawks in the post-Pete Carroll era, the 37-year-old is the NFL’s youngest head coach. And Macdonald, the man who bet on himself, has won big. Macdonald once had to take out a $20,000 loan in order to barely make ends meet while pursuing his aspirations.
The best kind of mistake
The coach of Macdonald’s high school team, Xarvia Smith, was hired by Cedar Shoals High in Athens while she was a finance major at the University of Georgia. Smith persuaded Macdonald to go on as the ninth-grade team’s defensive coordinator.
“Six games, five shutouts,” Macdonald beamed last week from the Seahawks indoor practice facility.
Macdonald cherished every aspect of it, including the pride evenings prior to games, floor cleaning, field maintenance, and putting out helmets in traffic to solicit money for the team’s overhead. As he made his way from class to practice, he found a genuine passion for the game in himself. He led his team to yet another defensive masterwork before coming back to campus to tell his pals how great he was.
With a summa cum laude degree in hand, Macdonald was headed for a prosperous corporate career. But when Macdonald considered his professional options, football tugged at his emotions.
“It was like, hey, you know what, if I’m 40 years old one day, and I didn’t pursue this thing, I’d be kicking myself,” Macdonald said. “And if I do it, I’ve got an education I can fall back on if this doesn’t work out, but this is something I feel really strongly about.”
Macdonald claimed he “weaseled” his way into the coaching staff of the Georgia football team by hanging around the facilities and attempting to capitalize on the fact that the school is home to one of the most prestigious programs in the nation.
In the end, Macdonald was able to join the squad in 2010 as a voluntary graduate assistant under the direction of then-coach Mark Richt. At that point, much to his anxious father’s dismay, Macdonald obtained the $20,000 loan, which he intended to utilize to pay for necessities.
But the loan proved to be a prudent investment.
The Ravens invited Macdonald to interview for Ozzie Newsome’s 20-20-20 Club a few years later, when he was general manager. For twentysomethings, it was a scouting internship program that paid $20,000 a year for “20”-hour workdays.
During his interview with a highly qualified group that comprised Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz, and current Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, Macdonald made a good impression. But he was not hired.
Later on, he identified a glaring interview error that most certainly ruined his candidacy.
“I told Hortiz I still wanted to coach,” Macdonald said, “and that wasn’t the right thing to say in a scouting interview. He politely told me, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’”
In hindsight?
“The best thing that ever happened to me,” Macdonald acknowledged.
Rather, Macdonald spent his last year as a graduate assistant returning to Georgia in 2013. As his time as a coach was nearing to an end, Macdonald interviewed for a position in KPMG’s consulting division after realizing he had no chance of continuing in the role.
He could pay off his debts with the good money. After Macdonald signed the offer letter, John Harbaugh, the coach of the Ravens, called. On the coaching side, he was beginning his own internship program.
“I had to call our KPMG recruiter and tell them to go pound sand,” Macdonald laughed.
Macdonald grabbed hold of his chance. He started his rapid rise as a defensive assistant on coordinator Dean Pees’ staff after one year as an intern. In order to continue honing his trade, he worked as the defensive backs coach for the Ravens in 2017 and as the linebackers coach from 2018 to 2020 (under new DC Wink Martindale).
“It was a fun process,” Macdonald said. “You’ve been sitting on all this football you’ve been learning for four years (at Georgia), and finally someone was like, ‘Hey, what do you know? What have you learned?’ It was really cool. They’re actually interested in my development. That’s something we’re trying to build here (with the Seahawks), trying to grow our young coaches into roles, and those are going to be our guys for years to come.”
As Jim Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator, Macdonald departed for Michigan in 2021 and returned to the Ravens in 2022–2023 to serve as their defensive coordinator. The Ravens made NFL history last season by leading the league in takeaways, sacks, and points allowed. After Macdonald forced his way into the head coaching conversation, their divisional-round thrashing of the Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud felt like a formality.
However, Schneider and the Seahawks were left in suspense by each exhibition game.
No looking back
The Seahawks lost the opportunity to interview Macdonald early in the hunt because they had to think before settling on Carroll.
However, Macdonald conducted interviews with the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons. Reuniting with Raheem Morris was ideal for the Falcons, but offensive-minded head coach was what the Panthers (Dave Canales) and Titans (Brian Callahan) desired.
Because the Seahawks had Macdonald on their short list from the beginning, they completed the background work while they waited. Macdonald was highly praised by Schneider’s buddies with the Falcons, Panthers, and Titans. Dan Morgan, the general manager of the Panthers, who worked under Schneider in Seattle from 2010 to 2017, stated that Macdonald and Schneider would be a great fit.
The Seahawks appreciated Macdonald’s leadership of the Ravens’ defense as well as the way Michigan’s players developed during his tenure at Ann Arbor. In Week 9, the Ravens also defeated the Seahawks, 37-3, giving them a close-up look at Macdonald.
They knew they had found their man when they were able to finally meet.
“There will be a time for (reflection). I just don’t know when that’s going to happen,” Macdonald said. “But I definitely just feel very fortunate and very blessed. To do this job the right way, you’ve got to serve your team. You’ve got to be thinking about how you can help those people. That’s what has helped create these opportunities, being able to affect the people around you in a positive way. People realize that over time, and that’s when those opportunities are created.”
Macdonald had the option to stay safe and get into business. He had the option to stay away from the loan’s risk. He had the option to stray from the course, lose his moral integrity, and start scouting. He had the option to remain with KPMG.
Remember, though, that Macdonald did not want to reach 40 and consider all the possibilities.
Macdonald will never have to shoulder that load.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
