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The Baltimore Ravens season ended on Sunday, January 28, but they now enter scramble mode to replace one of their brightest coaches. ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on Wednesday, January 31, that Mike Macdonald would be leaving the Ravens to join the Seattle Seahawks as the head coach.
The Ravens will now join the hunt for a new defensive coordinator, but Schefter had news on that as well.
Schefter posted, “Now the Ravens need a new defensive coordinator and their defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson is one of the most in-demand candidates out there. He instantly becomes an option to become Mike Macdonald’s replacement.”
Wilson is the current defensive backs coach for the Ravens and has been in the league for 12 years according to the Ravens bio page. This was Wilson’s first year with the Ravens, but he has been all over the league.
“[Wilson] has played an important role in the development of several standout NFL DBs, including Jamal Adams, James Bradberry, Marcus Maye and Darius Slay,” his bio reads.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, “The #Packers requested to speak with #Ravens secondary coach Dennard Wilson for their vacant defensive coordinator job, source said. He’s also interviewing with the #Titans today for their DC job, and the #Rams and #Giants have talked to him, as well.”
The Packers have since hired Jeff Hafley to be their DC, but the Ravens’ coach still has plenty of opportunities.
Seahawks Poach Macdonald and They May Not Be Finished
Ravens’ fans knew Macdonald would be a hot commodity to other franchises, but they were hoping the talented coach would stick around for another year. Schefter shattered that hope when he posted, “A youth movement in Seattle: Seahawks are expected to hire Ravens’ defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach, league sources tell ESPN.”
Schefter also pointed out that Macdonald would now be the youngest coach in the NFL. Macdonald has been part of the Ravens since 2014 when, according to his bio, he started off as a “defensive coaching intern.”
He worked his way up to being the linebackers coach before leaving to join Jim Harbaugh in Michigan as their defensive coordinator in 2021. Macdonald rejoined the Ravens in 2022 and has built one of the most dominant defenses in the league over the last two years.
Under Macdonald, the Ravens defense ranked 3rd and 1st in points allowed in 2022 and 2023. Macdonald will now have to fill out his own coaching staff and he could try and lure Wilson away from the Ravens to join him.
The Ravens also have several defensive free agents (DT Justin Madubuike, LB Patrick Queen and safety Geno Stone) that experienced breakouts under Macdonald. There may be a danger that they could follow their former coach to the Seahawks as well.
Fans Are Not Happy With Loss of Macdonald
Macdonald was seen as a potential heir to head coach John Harbaugh for the head coaching position in Baltimore, so fans are not happy with the loss of their young coordinator.
Ravens Nation Live, a popular Baltimore fan account, posted, “Thank you for everything, Mike. You deserve that HC job, just disappointed it couldn’t be in Baltimore. Go be great in Seattle.”
Other fans were a little less diplomatic in theirs posts. One user wrote, “Kyle Van Noy & Jadeveon Clowney had career years in sacks under Mike Macdonald and the Ravens are moving forward with the head coach that looks confused on the sidelines 75 percent of the time.”
Another fan saw it as the incorrect choice between Harbaugh and Macdonald, “Ravens are an unserious franchise. To allow a talent like Mike Macdonald to walk away and allow John Harbaugh to stay after a decade of abysmal playoff results is a showing of incompetence.”
Even CB Marlon Humphrey joined in on the posts. He wrote, “I knew that locker room hug was the last one.”
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