Seattle, WA
Salk: Seattle Seahawks coach Macdonald's career really starts now
It’s five games into Mike Macdonald’s career as Seattle Seahawks coach, and in some ways, it feels like it’s just about to start. But for real this time.
What Seattle Seahawks’ D has been missing in back-to-back losses
You’re probably thinking that sounds insane and I know why. His coaching tenure began when he signed his contract, met the media, and hired his staff. He had to design and communicate his vision, scheme and language. He worked with general manager John Schneider to acquire the types of players he needed. He spoke to the team, ran training camp, got his first preseason and regular season wins and losses. All those moments were important, all fraught with peril, all handled with aplomb by the youngest head coach in the league.
We celebrated his initial accomplishments. He comes off as such a smart guy and his team seemed to respond immediately to his style. We witnessed more communication and discipline than we had become accustomed to seeing. And three games into his career – no, three wins into his career – everything was as smooth as could be. So smooth that even a loss in Detroit barely counted as friction. It was easy to write off, what with the quality of opponent, the number of injured defenders, and the offensive success.
But losing at home to the Giants broke the spell.
The Giants don’t have a good quarterback. They aren’t loaded with talent and they were missing two of their top weapons. This wasn’t written into the script.
Which is exactly why I think Macdonald’s career truly starts now. We often hear how NFL coordinators like to script the first 15 plays of each game before reacting from there. Well, he’s past the first 15 and now it’s time to adjust.
You may hear some Seahawks fans grumble. You might know one or two who has “lost confidence.” The truth is that doesn’t really matter. Fans can (over)react each week without affecting much of anything. But this is Macdonald’s first big test with his players. They have to respect the way he handles the challenge of a losing streak.
We knew there would be fits and starts to this season. That is how it goes for most NFL teams and certainly for rookie coaches. Macdonald wasn’t hired because of his experience or just to make an immediate impact. This was a long-term investment. By his own admission, he is still learning and experiencing things for the first time. What we’ve come to understand is that he is careful to learn from those experiences, and that should serve him well as his career progresses.
But how he handles his first losing streak is a huge thing. Losing is part of life in sports, but it tests completely different muscles than most anything else. We’ve seen it break competitors who never learned how to process it. We’ve seen purportedly solid locker rooms come apart at the seams. We’ve seen coaches lose command of the ship.
To suggest that is all on the table after two losses is ridiculous. Macdonald will get to learn from mistakes along the way and I’d be willing to bet he has an exceptionally long leash. But this will be his first chance to answer some very important questions.
• Can he remain consistent? If there is one thing you hear players (and employees) complain about, it is inconsistency in their boss. People want their leader to be the same person in all situations so that their world is predictable. Predictability breeds comfort. And consistency breeds confidence.
• Can he walk the fine line between making adjustments and sticking with his principles? Macdonald spoke this week about the difference between principles (which are ironclad) and methods (which are more malleable). I have no doubt he understands the difference and will behave accordingly. But the challenge is to project that to the players who must know he has solutions but isn’t panicking. You want to adapt; you don’t want to abandon ship.
• How do the players handle his accountability? Three weeks into the season, ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported on some of Macdonald’s early efforts to instill a level of accountability. We heard about how he “chewed out” players who failed the conditioning test, and then “brought up the issue in front of the rest of the team.” He demands accountability and he wants to be the enforcer.
That style can be immensely effective, especially as a 180-degree change from what preceded it. This locker room likely needed some tough talk. But how will it be received after a couple of losses? Macdonald seems to be just as tough on himself as he is on his players, and that should give him the credibility to press forward in his own style. But this is new territory. Losing tests that credibility and that accountability.
The Mike Macdonald era began last winter and the groundwork for everything he wants to accomplish has clearly been laid since the day he was hired. Now we get to find out how solidly he built the foundation. Because the first tremors of pressure are just starting to roll through.
How he handles it will matter. Whether the Seahawks win will likely matter more. As we know, nothing relieves pressure like a win. And he has a chance for the biggest one of his young career on Thursday night.
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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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FIFE, Wash. – A portion of southbound I-5 will be closed overnight in Fife Friday and Saturday night, according to WSDOT.
The Washington State Department of Transportation says the purpose of the closure is to install a new electronic sign and will need two nights to do it.
Crews will close southbound I-5 from 54th Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road starting at 11 p.m. Friday night until 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Closures will resume Saturday night starting at 11 p.m. as well, and lanes will reopen Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.
WSDOT says the closure will include the 54th Avenue ramps to southbound I-5.
Detours for weekend I-5 closure in Fife, WA
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The Source: Information in this story comes from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
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