Mike Macdonald is set to face many new challenges that come with being a first-year NFL head coach this season with the Seattle Seahawks.

Mike Macdonald era starts as Seattle Seahawks open training camp

On the first day of training camp, Macdonald and his staff were working to get ahead of some of those obstacles.

While the team worked its way down the field in scrimmage on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Macdonald and company communicated on the headsets they use on gamedays. The idea spawned from another first-year NFL coach with the team, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

“We’re just trying to do the best things, and it’s something that we’re testing out right now,” Macdonald said. “I think it’s probably gonna stick around, and it’s just another opportunity for us to really sharpen our operation.”

Macdonald also highlighted how it could be particularly helpful for situational game management, an aspect that can often be a challenge for a rookie head coach. That could be further compounded for the Seahawks this year while also breaking in an offensive coordinator that’s new at the NFL level. Although, Grubb has a strong track record of more than capably running offenses from his time at the college level, including two stellar seasons with the UW Huskies.

“It’s just another opportunity for us to really sharpen our operation, especially when you get into situational periods,” Macdonald said. “Me being able to go back and forth between calling the defense and then being (able to communicate) with Ryan Grubb during situation times and how we’re gonna handle the clock. So just maximize those reps is definitely the idea.”

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seahawks Injury Update: Latest on Abraham Lucas, more
• Seahawks, Julian Love agree on 3-year contract extension
• How Seahawks’ offense will differ under new OC Ryan Grubb
• Where Seahawks QB Geno Smith excels, where he’s improved
• Rost: Ranking the Seahawks who are under the most pressure
• Five questions as Seahawks’ training camp begins

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DES MOINES, Wash. – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has proposed a plan to send some misdemeanor offenders in Seattle to South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines.

According to a press release from the Mayor’s office, this pilot program would use 20 beds at SCORE which would cost between $1.5 to $3 million per year, allowing the City of Seattle to “more consistently book individuals who have engaged in misdemeanor criminal offenses”

Though SCORE would temporarily hold misdemeanor offenders for 24–48 hours under this Interlocal Agreement, groups like SEIU 925 are concerned about how people would get to SCORE and what happens to them at the facility.

“Our biggest fear is that our attorneys will not be able to access our clients and our clients will not be able to appear appropriately in court to have their cases adjudicated,” said Molly Gilbert, Chapter President of the union representing King County Public Defenders under SEIU 925.

When King County had a deal with SCORE, Gilbert says SCORE turned away social workers, attorneys trying to visit defendants and defense experts who tried to conduct evaluations.

“We had internet issues and then getting clients to court was a constant problem as well.” said Gilbert. “We had problems with in-person visits and remote visits, and we never found a solution before the county canceled its contract.”

Gilbert says concerns were raised over deaths that happened while King County used SCORE.

“There had been deaths that had not been reported to the county during the county’s contract with SCORE,” said Gilbert. “Additionally, it didn’t appear that SCORE was following the DOH and RCWs on how to report these unexpected fatalities, there were no reports submitted to the state and there were no public announcements of those deaths as well.”

Gilbert doesn’t believe Mayor Harrell’s agreement would work for Seattle Municipal Court, citing concerns with transportation and for clients held at SCORE that would potentially be released outside the facility.

“In the Seattle Municipal Court system, many of the people being arrested are homeless, so we are removing them entirely from the city where they live and removing them from a lot of the support services that they access,” said Gilbert.

Gilbert believes Seattle Municipal Court judges need to speak up about whether courtrooms can operate with people being sent to SCORE and that more analysis needs to be done on what happens after people are booked into SCORE.

According to Mayor Harrell’s office:

“The City will continuously assess the effectiveness of this program and reserves the right to terminate this program if it does not meet the needs and expectations of the City. SCORE jail beds used this year would be paid for with underspend from the King County jail contract and in 2025 would be paid for as part of the City’s general fund.”

For now, Mayor Harrell’s office says his legislation will be sent to City Council for approval, but it won’t go into effect until operational issues are addressed, and the City officially notifies SCORE.

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The Seattle Seahawks hit the practice field for the opening day of training camp Wednesday, and then head coach Mike Macdonald met with the media to provide insight and perspective on several topics.

However, some of the biggest news of the day for the team may be coming off the field, as NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that after releasing both Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams for cap reasons in March, the Hawks have reached an agreement to sign Julian Love to a three-year contract extension.

The three year, $36M deal, combined with the one season left on the original two year contract he inked in the spring of 2023, would keep Love in Seattle for four more seasons for a total of somewhere right around $44M.

Given the way the Hawks tend to structure their contract extensions, the move likely free up a small amount of cap space for the team, though with a new salary cap analyst in house, the amount freed up could be more substantial if John Schneider wants to get aggressive.