Can the Seahawks’ new coach Michael Macdonald slow down the 49ers’ and Rams’ powerful offenses?

Can the Seahawks’ new coach Michael Macdonald slow down the 49ers’ and Rams’ powerful offenses?

It is good to be patient. The Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald, was the Seattle Seahawks’ top target, but they had to wait until the playoffs were over to hire him.

Even though Seattle was one for the last teams to hire a new head coach, the Seahawks got what is likely the best candidate out of all of this year’s candidates.

It will be interesting to see if Macdonald can repeat the success that Pete Carroll had as head coach for 14 years, but his reputation should get team fans excited, especially since they play some of the best offensive minds within the NFL all the time.

It wouldn’t be fair to Macdonald or the players Seattle has now to expect him to come in and run the same defense as the Ravens in 2023, yet work well with what Macdonald did.

Safety for the Ravens Macdonald helped Kyle Hamilton become one of the best defensive supports in the league and one of the most feared center defenders in football.

This isn’t a direct comparison, but cornerback Devin Witherspoon can blitz in the same way that Hamilton can.

Sports Info Solutions says that Hamilton sacked the quarterback 34 times during the regular season, while Witherspoon did it only 28 times.

Both players had three sacks by the end of the season. Witherspoon knows how to be a good player in the slot, so Macdonald can keep using that as a defense.

Other Seahawks defensive players with potential include cornerback Tariq Woolen, edge rushers Boye Mafe as well as Derick Hall, and defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, who was a big-name free agent last year.

The Seahawks’ defense has some talented players, but as a whole, they didn’t do very well. Next Gen Stats from the NFL says that the Seahawks were ranked 27th in expected points allowed each dropback (0.01) and 31st within expected points allowed each rushing attempt as of 2018.

This produced one of the worst teams in football, consequently it’s time to find out how much of that was due to the players and how much was due to the scheme and coaching.

The Seahawks ought to see a big improvement in their defense if Macdonald is as good as he looks.

Getting the defense going in the right way again is very important in a division where Seattle has to play Sean McVay as well as Kyle Shanahan four times through the season.

As long as those two remain in charge of their teams, the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will be able to score. As a counterpunch, it makes sense to hire one of the best defensive minds in football.

Against the Rams and 49ers, the Seahawks went 0-4 in 2023 because they couldn’t play defense or get off the field. Their only game where they didn’t score more than 28 points was a 17-16 loss to the Rams in Week 11.

It should be possible for the Seahawks to make the playoffs next season if Macdonald can be a big help to their defense. Even more so if Macdonald hires a great offensive coordinator, the offense must be ready to go.

Geno Smith is a good quarterback who continues to be good for the Seahawks. Their trio of wide receivers is dangerous, and their running backfield and offensive line are still young but are continuing to grow.

For someone who has never been a head coach before, this job must have seemed great. With a quarterback along with passing game that are both experienced, Macdonald will be able to focus on what he does best, which is defense.

To look at it, the Seahawks made a great hire here. Even though they still have to draft and sign free agents to make the team what it will be, it looks like Seattle found the right person by waiting until the Ravens to finish their season.