Mike Macdonald drops major hints about where Seahawks are headed this offseason

With Macdonald and Grubb reportedly having philosophical differences when it came to running the offense, the decision on a new offensive coordinator will be interesting. It appeared that Macdonald and Grubb weren't a cohesive unit from the jump last season, as the hiring was one that general manager John Schneider pushed for, not Macdonald, even though he claims to have been "100 percent involved" in that hiring.

The offense struggled mightily in 2024, and Macdonald wasted no time moving on from Grubb after only one season.

Mike Macdonald gives 12s a hint about where the Seahawks are heading in the offseason

On January 7, in his end-of-season press conference, Macdonald addressed the offense and many other topics from the past season. He discussed the team's decision to part ways with Grubb and explained the need to restructure the offensive scheme to be the team they wanted to be. However, many more hints were dropped as Macdonald faced the media for the final time this season. Here are my takeaways from his very informative presser.

Mike Macdonald wants a physical, balanced offense

"We want our offense to be a physical unit...play complementary football...let our quarterback play fast". Mike Macdonald undoubtedly was unhappy with how much Seattle passed the ball, and how little they ran the football. If I were a defensive-minded head coach, I'd be frustrated too. Far too often, Seattle went three and out after three straight passing plays, only for there to be no time taken off the clock, and the defense suddenly back out on the field.

A "physical unit" that plays "complementary football" would be one that establishes the run. The fact Seattle rostered both Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, plus a flashy third back in Kenny McIntosh, and could never get the ground game going is an indictment on the offensive coordinator. Grubb, who looked to establish the pass first, then go to the run as a tendency-breaker, did not run a physical nor complementary unit.

When you think of a physical, complementary unit, you think of teams like the Detroit Lions, who were able to light it up in the air, but only while they were gashing defenses with the run game. Detroit running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, aptly nicknamed "Sonic and Knuckles" were a vicious one-two punch for Detroit, who finished sixth in rushing offense that led to the second-best passing offense in the league.

Seattle, who wants to build a very similar offense, recently interviewed Detroit's offensive line coach, Hank Fraley, who had a large role in orchestrating Detroit's dynamic offense.

Macdonald stressed the importance of adjusting the offense to personnel

It was one of the most obvious issues in 2024. Grubb continued to call deep five-step drops while receivers ran long-developing routes, but the offensive line wasn't good enough for that. It felt like any time Geno Smith dropped back for more than a second or two, he was always under pressure to the point where he had to take a sack or let the ball rip before the routes developed. Because he never had enough time, mistakes were made.

When Macdonald said, "Who's going to take the field for us?" when responding to how an offensive coordinator could make the offense more physical, I thought it could mean a couple of things. Firstly, the players obviously dictate how the offense runs. You could have the best playcaller in the league, but if the players can't execute, it's moot.

However, another message I took from this is how the coaches utilize those players and adjust to the personnel's strengths and weaknesses. With a young, below-average offensive line, a good coordinator will work around that to avoid exposing any weakness. Sending Smith on five-step drops as he waits for routes that will take 3+ seconds to develop exposes a weak offensive line.

However, a coordinator who can creatively get the ball out of the quarterback's hand quickly and efficiently can mask a weak offensive line. Even a play-action pass, getting the defense out of alignment, would serve well for a weak unit up front.

That likely means Seattle is looking for an offensive coordinator who has proven to be able to work around a below-average line yet still call a productive offense. Perhaps someone like former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator and interim head coach Thomas Brown, who, late in the season, was able to get the most out of Caleb Williams and the offense behind a pitiful offensive line.

The Seahawks are not considering any in-house promotions for the OC job

When Macdonald was asked if any in-house coaches were being considered for the offensive coordinator position, he quickly put that to rest with a "right now, no" answer. This is both reassuring and concerning at the same time. It's reassuring because we know Seattle is looking to revamp the offense with a new mind. But it's also concerning that nobody in the building is seen as good enough to call the plays for the team.

This eliminates the possibility of someone like Scott Huff (offensive line coach) or Kennedy Polamalu (RB coach) from even interviewing for the position. Another tidbit from Macdonald in this presser in regard to the in-house coaches signified that more may be on the way out. Macdonald emphasized that he and the front office want to give whichever coordinator they hire the privilege of building his own coaching staff, including bringing in more outside coaches.

While Macdonald remained professional and gave the offense and its coaches their flowers for an offense that had its moments in 2024, all signs point towards a completely new offensive coaching staff. Again, this is encouraging for those who want to see vast improvement, but also concerning because it insinuates there were some bad hires. Either way, Macdonald hints the offensive coaching staff will likely change quite a bit this off-season.

"Everybody" was at fault for Seattle's red zone turnovers

In what was a vindicating answer for the Geno supporters, Macdonald opened up about the turnovers, mainly interceptions, in the red zone in 2024. Macdonald did acknowledge that while there were some less-than-optimal decisions made by Smith in real-time, it was a product of a bad scheme. From "guys not being in the right spots" to putting too much on Smith's plate, it was ultimately a systemic failure by the offense, according to Macdonald.

If you read between the lines, Macdonald was essentially saying the play calls and the execution as a result of the play calls, were not good enough. Seattle's red zone woes were painfully obvious, but while many fans threw Geno Smith under the bus, their head coach believes it was more than that. The offense as a whole was not good enough, and it started with the coordinator.

It felt like, at times, the offense could march down the field at will, but once it passed the opponents' 20-yard line, the offense stalled. This feels like a large, frustrating issue for Macdonald as he talked about it. Firing Grubb was only the first step in alleviating this issue, but Seattle must get his replacement right.

Teams like Detroit and New Orleans were both very efficient in the red zone, and it's no coincidence both Hank Fraley and Saints' offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak are two of the names that have been interviewed by Seattle for the opening.

Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh's job is safe

The one part of this press conference that made me cringe was when Macdonald was asked about the special teams. Macdonald lamented that the special teams grew as a unit this season, especially when it came to taking care of the ball. Those who watched the Seahawks-Jets game in December likely disagree, but for now, it seems special teams are not one of Macdonald's worries.

Macdonald brought up Jay Harbaugh, who many fans want gone, and added Harbaugh "is a tremendous football coach." It's interesting that out of all of his assistants, Macdonald specifically went out of his way to compliment Harbaugh.

In a way, I can understand Macdonald's admiration of Harbaugh, whose unit did vastly clean up its game after that December nightmare in New York. However, I still feel like this is a unit that needs a deep clean this off-season. Encouragingly, Macdonald did address leaky coverage on kickoffs and the lack of explosive returns by Seattle.

Macdonald highlighted "how hard our guys play" when referring to the film he's watched on special teams. If you threw away and burned the Jets tape, the special teams did actually even out into one of the better special teams units in the league, by the numbers. However, it is interesting to think about the leniency given to Harbaugh as opposed to Grubb, who both were in their first years in their respective positions.

Ultimately, I believe Macdonald values coaches who share a philosophical vision with him. And as evident by the tone he uses when referring to each guy, it appears that Harbaugh and Macdonald have a better relationship with a shared vision, than Grubb ever did with Macdonald.

Neither DK Metcalf nor Riq Woolen will be traded this off-season

When discussing the offense and what Macdonald wanted to see more of in 2025, he immediately went to wide receiver DK Metcalf. Macdonald stressed that Seattle needed to find a way to get Metcalf more involved. Metcalf started 2024 on a tear, but Seattle failed to consistently get him the ball as the season progressed, and Macdonald is not happy about that.

The supposed Twitter GMs seem to love the idea of trading DK Metcalf. However, if Macdonald's press conference was any indication, Seattle has no plans of trading the star receiver. In fact, Macdonald wants to involve him even more in the offense in the future. Part of his offensive coordinator search certainly involves vetting candidates on how they can involve DK more in the offense.

Another player who has found himself in trade conversations with the media and fans is Riq Woolen, Seattle's top cornerback. Seattle fans seem to think Riq is a liability for the defense, but when asked about the defensive back, Macdonald raved about him. He called Riq a "unicorn" with a unique skillset, who had a "good season" in 2024, and most importantly, Macdonald said he was "excited about his future."

He did concede that to elevate his game to the next level, Woolen needs to "work on his consistency," but also added Woolen is "a great energy in the building" that the team is excited about moving forward.

Geno Smith is the Seahawks' quarterback

Like it or not, Geno Smith is the Seahawks' quarterback for 2025. Mike Macdonald was asked about Smith, to which he replied, "I feel like Geno is what's best for the team." And he's right. Geno Smith has been hooping behind a bottom-five offensive line and an offensive coordinator who really did not know what he was doing.

But don't take my word for it. Macdonald himself said, "We love him as our starting quarterback." Macdonald repeatedly emphasized that he wanted the quarterback in Seattle as their starter and essentially put to rest any speculation of the team moving on from the quarterback this off-season. Macdonald says while the quarterback moving forward is not his decision to make, he will still be involved in the process, and he wants Geno.

This does not mean Seattle won't draft a quarterback this year. Smith will be 35 by the time his contract expires next offseason, so it's not completely off the table. But considering how weak of a quarterback class this year's draft has, it's not likely they take one early. This is especially evident by the fact Macdonald is so high on Smith, and the fact Macdonald has been in "constant communication" regarding the next offensive coordinator.