The Seattle Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl for the first time in over a decade, and a guy who played a big role in helping them get there is head coach Mike Macdonald. In just his second season in charge of the Seahawks, Macdonald has helped turn the franchise around, and now, they are just one game away from being crowned the champion of the 2025 campaign.
Much like the Seahawks’ rise to the top of the NFL, Macdonald’s coaching career has been filled with many twists and turns that few would have expected would lead to this spot. In fact, if it weren’t for a major career decision made back in 2014, there’s a decent chance that Macdonald would not find himself as Seattle’s head coach.
Mike Macdonald Almost Quit Coaching Football in 2014
Macdonald initially began his football coaching career in 2008 with Cedar Shoals High School, working as a linebackers coach and running backs coach for two seasons. He eventually found his way to the Georgia Bulldogs in 2010, and he spent four years with them. After the 2013 campaign, though, Macdonald found himself at a crossroads.
After finishing up his master’s degree in sport management at Georgia, Macdonald didn’t have an immediate opportunity to continue coaching. A job offer to work as an accountant at KPMG, one of the top accounting firms in the world, was sitting on the table for him, and Macdonald’s doubts about his future as a football coach led him to seriously consider taking that job.
Instead, Macdonald latched on with the Baltimore Ravens as a coaching intern, and he eventually earned a full-time role on John Harbaugh’s staff. Macdonald continued to work his way up the ranks, and that led to him finding his way to the Seahawks as their head coach. Looking back at his decision to continue pursuing a career in coaching, Macdonald said it was an easy call to join the Ravens’ staff, although he did admit he wondered whether things would work out for him.
“With all due respect to KPMG, it was a pretty easy decision to go work in the NFL for the Ravens,” Macdonald said. “I was at that point in my career where I started to have some doubt of, ‘Hey, maybe is this thing for me? Is this where I’m supposed to go?’ Didn’t really feel right in the moment. When God gave me this opportunity, it made a lot of sense.”
Mike Macdonald, Seahawks Are One Win Away from a Super Bowl Championship
GettyRENTON, WASHINGTON – MAY 03: Head coach Mike Macdonald of the Seattle Seahawks watches a workout during Seattle Seahawks rookie minicamp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center on May 03, 2024 in Renton, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
There’s no such thing as a clear-cut path to success in the NFL, and Macdonald is proof of that. Had things broken a different way for him, there’s a decent shot he wouldn’t even be working in the NFL, let alone working as the Seahawks’ head coach. And yet, everything fell into place for him to land in the situation he currently finds himself in.
Macdonald has won over Seattle in a short amount of time, but he can solidify his legacy with the team by leading them to victory in Super Bowl LX. Taking down the New England Patriots isn’t going to be an easy task for the Seahawks, though, and it’s clear this game is going to be a battle. Kickoff for Super Bowl LX is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Mike Macdonald Reveals How He Nearly Didn’t Become Seahawks’ Head Coach