In March 2024, defensive tackle Leonard Williams re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks. While getting the move done was a big priority for the team, from the outside it didn’t necessarily look like the decision would be a no-brainer for Williams.

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Following a midseason trade from the New York Giants, Williams had just 10 games under his belt with Seattle. And at the same time, the Seahawks were going through a massive transition, having just moved on from the legendary Pete Carroll and hiring Mike Macdonald to take his place in the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator’s first head coaching role.

Williams felt strongly enough about sticking with the Seahawks through the change, though, that he even flew back from a trip to Japan where he had planned to propose to his future wife in order to re-sign with the team.

Williams, who joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk for a conversation ahead of the Seahawks playing in the Super Bowl, shared that he made his decision to return to the Seahawks even though he didn’t personally know Macdonald beforehand.

“I knew of Mike. I’d never met him before, but he just had the No. 1 defense in the NFL so I clearly heard of him, watched his film, seen what type of coach he was,” Williams said. “And then also just seeing the direction of the NFL, going younger sometimes with head coaches that kind of have like new principles, new methods and things like that seems like the right way to go.”

The idea of playing for a defensive head coach appealed to Williams, and he quickly took a shine to Macdonald.

“I signed with them and met Mike. I was just really looking forward to where we were going to go,” Williams said. “… Having a defensive guy just made me like him even more. I love having a defensive head coach. They pay more attention to our side of the ball.”

What’s really impressed Williams, though, is Macdonald’s openness and desire to improve in his role.

“What I love so much about Mike is just his growth. His willingness to grow, his ability and want to just always chase ways to become better as a coach and for the organization,” Williams said. “Why I say that is because he was obviously a first-time head coach. You’ve seen that he didn’t have the experience a little bit at times his first year just in terms of speaking to the team and things of that nature. And then to start OTAs this year, he was up in front of the team, talking to the whole team and pretty much let us know that that’s an area he wanted to improve on.

“I think as a head coach, to show that type of vulnerability to the team kind of allows the rest of us to feel like we can all grow in areas and all be vulnerable with each other. And him setting that foundation as a head coach and just him growing, he’s an incredible leader.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams in the audio or video player in this post. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays live on Seattle Sports.

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