By all accounts, new Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is a bit of a nerd, or at least a football nerd. That's how Macdonald's players have been describing him all offseason, including a "definitely a corny guy" tag from safety K'Von Wallace earlier this week. However, these labels always come in a positive and glowing kind of way.
It's clear this team appreciates just how well Macdonald understands the modern game and you can literally see the excitement blazing in their eyes when they talk about this coming season and what they're doing to do under Macdonald and new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
It may not be as cool as former head coach Pete Carroll's free-wheeling, spontaneous and relentlessly optimistic kind of approach, but nerds know their business. That makes Macdonald a sneaky-interesting candidate to win Coach of the Year this coming season.
At least that's what the betting analysts at Fox Sports think. In their preview of the 2024 campaign they called the Seahawks a sleeper-type playoff team, have them going over 8.5 wins and Macdonald winning the COY award at +2000, or 20/1. Here's a portion of what they had to say about the new regime in Seattle going into the regular season.
"I love the Mike MacDonald hire, and I expect him to make a few more +EV/EPA decisions than his predecessor did as head coach... The schedule should allow for a 2-0 start as Seattle opens with Denver and New England, teams that will be starting either a rookie or stop-gap quarterback. Byron Murphy should be a force in MacDonald’s defense. There’s a lot to like here as a sleeper-type playoff team."
Betting against a sportsbook is probably a fool's errand for anyone who isn't a professional gambler, but it's hard not to be intrigued by those odds knowing what we know about Macdonald's mensa-level football IQ.
The division rival San Francisco 49ers are probably still too far ahead in the talent department for Macdonald and company to catch up this year. However, we fully expect the Seahawks to be able to compete with any other contender in the NFC.
