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

• Rost: What we know and don’t know through three games
• How Huard expects a Seahawks reunion with veteran OT to play out
• DK Metcalf at his best? Three ways Huard says he’s grown
• How real is Seahawks’ defensive dominance? 10 stats that stand out
• Why Rayshawn Jenkins was a player the Seattle Seahawks wanted

Follow @CameronVanTil

The Lions (2-1) take on the Seattle Seahawks (3-0) in a must-see Monday night showdown in Week 4.

The Seahawks, top 10 in both points for (24.3 per game) and points against (14.3/game), are coming off a 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, Detroit is coming off a 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Both teams are dealing with multiple injuries going into the primetime tilt. 

Seattle is working through injuries to running back Kenneth Walker (oblique), defensive end Leonard Williams (ribs) and rookie defensive tackle Byron Walker (hamstring), each of whom is up in the air for Monday night. However, it is believed that linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who’s missed the first three games of the season with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, will be able to give it a go. It’d be a big boost to Seattle’s defense, as Nwosu led the Seahawks with 9.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 26 quarterback hits a season ago.

Meanwhile, the Lions will be without defensive end Marcus Davenport (torn triceps) and linebacker Derrick Barnes (knee) for Monday night, both of whom were placed on injured reserve Tuesday. Davenport’s injury has been reported to be season-ending, while Barnes will miss a significant amount of time.

Along with those significant blows, Detroit is also dealing with injuries to center Frank Ragnow (torn pectoral muscle), defensive back Brian Branch (concussion) tight end Sam LaPorta (low-ankle sprain), defensive tackle Alim McNeill (shoulder), Alex Anzalone (concussion), Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) and Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring).

With the rash of injuries, Lions head man Dan Campbell is once again deploying his “next man up” approach.

“You have a 69-man roster, because every one of those guys is going to have to help you at some point or another, and we’re developing those guys as well as the young players that are on the roster, the vet squad, all that,” Campbell told reporters this week. “So, these guys know, man, it’s next man up, and we don’t bat an eye. We acknowledge there’s some good players that could be down, but this is your opportunity now.”

Seattle possesses numerous playmakers on both sides of the ball. 

Offensively, the NFC West division leaders are notably equipped with wide receiver DK Metcalf, who is coming off two consecutive 100-plus-yard receiving games. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gives Detroit’s injury-riddled secondary fits on Monday. 

Plus, in the backfield, the Seahawks could have both Zach Charbonnet and Walker for this Week 4 affair. Charbonnet is coming off a career-best performance, with 18 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3 against Miami. Walker, meanwhile, could be in line to play for the first time since Week 1, when he rushed 20 times for 103 yards and a score.

And on the defensive side of the ball, the Seahawks possess a variety of high-impact players. For starters, they feature the game’s best safety in Julian Love, who’s recorded an interception and earned a league-best (for safeties) 90.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus through three weeks. Lions signal-caller Jared Goff will need to be cognizant of where he’s at on the field at all times Monday. Plus, he’ll need to be readily aware of where Seattle cornerback Tariq Woolen is lined up. Woolen has racked up an interception, a team-high three passes defensed and an 80.8 overall grade from PFF through three games. Additionally, he has nine picks to his name in 36 career NFL games.

It won’t be easy for Goff and the Lions, which have dropped six straight games to the Seahawks (including the teams’ wild-card playoff matchup in 2016), to beat Seattle on Monday night. Yet, at this present juncture, I’ll give Campbell’s squad a 54 percent chance to defend home field and capture the Week 4 win.

They say “a win is a win” in the NFL. That’s true. There are no media polls or committees behind closed doors deciding who is ranked high enough to make the playoffs. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is, “Did you win the game?”

Thus far, the Seahawks have done nothing but win under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Seattle currently sits at 3-0, a full two games clear of the next closest team in the NFC West (all three division rivals sit at 1-2). Seattle is one of just five undefeated teams left across the NFL. With tons of weirdness and upsets sprinkled throughout the league, you can’t take any win for granted. As the saying goes, it’s any given Sunday.

There is no such thing as an easy win in the NFL. Even the worst team still has a handful of the best football players on the planet. Still, there are some who wonder how much they should read into Seattle’s undefeated start.

USA TODAY’s Nate Davis doesn’t seem to be a believer quite yet. In his most recent power rankings, he has Seattle 15th despite being 3-0. He claims they’ve “feasted on a trio of teams each sporting a single win,” suggesting their schedule has been fluffy thus far.

Pro Football Focus displays even more skepticism, ranking the Seahawks 17th. They even went as far as ranking the 1-2 Miami Dolphins ahead of Seattle, despite the drubbing Seattle handed the Dolphins last Sunday.

They broke down Seattle’s strength of schedule, ranking the three games thus far as being the 29th-rated strength of schedule in the NFL. According to PFF, only the Browns, Lions and Bills have faced an easier opening three games.

It’s fair to wonder how much of Seattle’s success, especially on defense, is due to the lackluster offenses they’ve faced. They opened the season hosting Bo Nix in his first ever NFL start and rightfully feasted on the very green rookie. The Patriots have a decent running attack and Jacoby Brissett isn’t a rookie, but he’s certainly a few tiers below the cream of the crop. And of course, the Dolphins were out-gunned without Tua Tagovailoa and were down to their third string signal caller by the time the clock expired.

It’s hard to say what this Seahawks defense has done so far is all fool’s gold. This is an uber-talented group that appears to be well coached. They rank second in team DVOA on defense. They look more disciplined and aggressive.

Even though the schedule may have been lighter than other teams, you can’t fault the Seahawks for that. They simply play the schedule in front of them. They can’t help what happens to their opponents before they take the field for battle.

That being said, that narrative is going away very quickly. PFF ranks Seattle’s remaining schedule as the third-toughest in the league.

We are about to find out quickly whether or not the Seahawks are truly for real. That starts, of course, this Monday night in Detroit. The Lions at home are no picnic. In fact, they’ve been whatever the opposite of a picnic is. It’s something close to an actual lion’s den. If Seattle can hold their own on the national stage against a powerful Lions team, the skeptics will have no choice but to pay them their due respect.

Also on the schedule are some of the league’s best quarterbacks. They still face Brock Purdy’s 49ers, Matthew Stafford’s Rams, and Kyler Murray’s Cardinals twice each. They must play on the road against a feisty Falcons team with Kirk Cousins. They host Josh Allen and the Bills in late October. They travel across the country to play Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago all have potentially problematic offenses as well.

The good news is, if people calling the Seahawks “fool’s gold” online has you hot and bothered, the true Seahawks will be revealed in the coming weeks. They play both the Lions and 49ers over the next 14 days. One way or another, the real Seahawks will stand up very soon. Unless, they are already standing.