SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks have hired Mike Macdonald as its new head coach on Wednesday, the team announced on Wednesday evening.
Macdonald was the highly sought-after defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens before he accepted the head coaching job in Seattle. Macdonald interviewed with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Tennesee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders this offseason.
The Seahawks are giving Macdonald a six-year contract, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero reported citing sources.
The 36-year-old will become the Seahawks' ninth coach in franchise history.
"What an honor," Macdonald said in a release posted to the Seahawks website. "We are super excited to be here. Just getting to know John and the rest of the folks, the reputation of this place, what drew us here was the people. That's why we're here, to bring a championship back to Seattle and the 12s.
"We're going to have a lot of fun, we're going to work our tails off, and it's going to be an incredible ride. We're going to be here for a long time and we're going to win a lot of football games."
In 2022, the Ravens led the National Football League (NFL) in points allowed (16.5 per game) and takeaways (31). Only five teams allowed fewer yards per game than Macdonald's defensive unit.
Macdonald spent seven seasons in Baltimore as the linebackers coach (2018-20), defensive backs coach (2017), defensive assistant (2015-16) and defensive coaching intern (2014). The 36-year-old defensive tactician left the Ravens organization for one year to be the defensive coordinator with the Michigan Wolverines in 2021.
Macdonald will replace longtime coach Pete Caroll, who agreed to part ways with the Seahawks on Jan. 10.
Carroll left the franchise as the winningest coach in Seahawks history. In his tenure, Carroll won a Super Bowl in 2013 against the Denver Broncos, made another Super Bowl in 2014 and won 137 regular season games.
The Seahawks made the playoffs in 10 seasons under Carroll, but have missed the postseason in two of the last three years. In 2023, the Seahawks finished 9-8 but missed out on the playoffs to the Green Bay Packers.
Seattle chose Macdonald out of several candidates for the job, including Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.