Tyler Lockett noticed something different as he glanced to his right in the Seattle Seahawks facility now that Mike Macdonald is leading the team as head coach.
The basketball hoop, which used to be a hub of activity in the team auditorium during the previous regime, is gone. “It felt strange because I walked over to get a basketball and realized it wasn’t there,” said Seattle quarterback Geno Smith on Wednesday.
With Pete Carroll’s departure after 14 seasons, during which Seattle went 9-8 and missed the playoffs last season, there have been numerous changes at the Seahawks facility.
While the absence of the basketball hoop is just one example, it represents the broader shift under Macdonald, who is taking on his first NFL head coaching role and is the league’s youngest head coach.
This week, Seattle started its offseason program, benefiting from an early start due to the coaching transition from Carroll to Macdonald after the season. For returning players, it marked their first formal interaction with Macdonald beyond introductory phone calls and texts during the offseason downtime.
“I’m enthusiastic because I believe we have a solid group here. I think John hired the right people,” safety Julian Love expressed. “I think we have a foundation to build upon with the current guys we have.”
Macdonald was chosen as Carroll’s replacement in late January after gaining recognition as a top head coaching candidate for his work as the defensive coordinator in Baltimore.
Transitioning from Carroll, the oldest coach in the league, to Macdonald is a significant change for many of Seattle’s veterans. Some of them had only played under Carroll in the NFL.
“I’ve only had three or four coaches my entire life from high school until now,” said Lockett, who restructured his contract to remain in Seattle this offseason. “So it feels strange, but it’s also a new opportunity. There’s a lot to learn from him.”
For Smith, Carroll’s departure was very personal. Carroll had supported Smith to become a starter again and allowed him to compete for the position after Russell Wilson was traded to Denver in the 2022 offseason.
Smith attended Carroll’s goodbye press conference and described it as a “sad moment,” witnessing Carroll being let go. However, Smith expressed excitement about the direction Macdonald wants to take the team and the opportunity to collaborate with new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
“From what I’ve observed so far, he has a vision, he has a plan, and he has already shared it with us as a team,” Smith said about Macdonald. “It’s our responsibility to support him, and it’s his job to help us achieve our goals.”
