Seattle, WA
Klatt: Why Seattle Seahawks' Macdonald isn't just a defensive guru
Mike Macdonald has been one of the NFL’s top storylines this week after guiding the Seattle Seahawks to a 3-0 start.
‘We put our track shoes on’: How Seahawks’ defense rebounded
In doing so, the 37-year-old Macdonald became the first Seahawks coach in franchise history to begin his career with three straight wins. He also became the NFL’s first rookie head coach to start 3-0 since 2015.
At the center of Seattle’s early success has been a revamped defense under Macdonald, who is calling the plays on defense. The Seahawks rank among the league’s best in numerous categories, including first in yards allowed per play, second in yards allowed per game and fourth in points allowed per game.
That only further adds to Macdonald’s reputation as a defensive mastermind following his immense success the past two seasons as the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator. But as FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt explained Tuesday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, there’s much more to Macdonald than just his defensive brilliance.
Klatt got to know Macdonald back when he was the Michigan Wolverines’ defensive coordinator in 2021. From conversations he had with Macdonald, Klatt was very impressed by how he approached his defensive play-calling from a holistic, team-wide perspective.
“He was such a bright guy and thought about the game in such a complementary fashion,” Klatt said. “And I remember thinking he was going to be a very solid head coach, and the reason is that he didn’t just think about defense. He thought about the way to call a game that was in complement with the rest of the team.”
As an example, Klatt shared an anecdote about how Macdonald would pick his spots to be aggressive on defense – and why he liked to do so after a Michigan scoring drive.
“He would wait for a moment, (often in) the third quarter, and he would say to himself, ‘This is my time to go and be aggressive. I’m not going to be aggressive all the time, but this is the opportunity, because if I force a three-and-out now, I put a tired defense back on the field, and our odds of creating points are going to be much higher. And then if we get a two-score lead with our offense and the way that our defense plays, that’s basically the game,’” Klatt said.
“And so he would understand these finite moments within games where he was going to change up – whether it’s his schematics or his aggressive nature – in order to give his overarching team a better chance to win. And I have never had a conversation like that, specifically with a defensive coordinator, in relation to the overall game and team. And I just remember thinking to myself, ‘This guy’s gonna make a great head coach.’”
Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, a colleague of Klatt as a FOX analyst, agreed with Klatt’s assessment that Macdonald views the game differently than most head coaches who double as either an offensive or defensive coordinator.
“I do not feel like Mike Macdonald is a defensive-minded head coach,” Huard said. “I feel like Mike Macdonald is a complementary, football-minded head coach. He’s not calling the signals because of what he wants to accomplish defensively. He’s doing everything in the aspect of a team.
“And that is unique for defensive guys. The ones that I played for in my life, that was not the way (they were) wired. … That is not typically how defensive guys have been brought up through the years.”
Listen to the full conversation with Joel Klatt at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
More on Seattle Seahawks
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• How Huard expects a Seahawks reunion with veteran OT to play out
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• How real is Seahawks’ defensive dominance? 10 stats that stand out
• Why Rayshawn Jenkins was a player the Seattle Seahawks wanted
Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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