Report: ‘Keep an eye on’ Ravens DC Mike Macdonald as the Seahawks’ head coach candidate

One of the secondary stories of Conference Championship weekend was how the results will affect the availability of two Seattle Seahawks head coaching prospects.

The Baltimore Ravens fell at home to the Kansas City Chiefs, making defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald available for interviews beginning this week. Seattle did not interview Macdonald during the Wild Card week timeframe, which was somewhat shortened by the Seahawks’ decision to keep Pete Carroll through Wednesday. It has been claimed that the Seahawks planned to interview Macdonald once Baltimore’s season ended.

“I want to give you a couple candidates for Seattle, who has not yet put in requests, to keep an eye on,” Rapoport told the crowd.

“Dan Quinn, who helped develop Seattle’s culture, which is so vital to the Seahawks, is definitely someone to watch. One of the top prospects could return to Seattle, but they will face some competition. And then there’s Mike Macdonald, the young, outstanding Ravens defensive coordinator, who is gaining a lot of attention across the league. He lacks experience, but he is extremely bright and someone offensive coordinators despise going up against.”

Macdonald has already had an interview with the Atlanta Falcons for the open head coaching position, and Mike, like Quinn, will be in high demand throughout the NFL.

It’s January 14, 2012. We are at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. With 14 seconds remaining, down three, and facing a third down, the 49ers need a touchdown to keep their playoff hopes alive – without going into overtime. Meanwhile, the Saints can end this with a takeaway and travel to the NFC Championship Game themselves. To understand how we got here and appreciate what this moment signifies, we must rewind.

Jack Patera, the first coach in franchise history, is the only head coach the Seahawks have ever employed with no prior head coaching experience in college or the NFL. If Macdonald is the one, he would be breaking with a long-standing history that has included several ownerships and general managers.

Of course, it’s still early, and I expect more names to emerge in the coming days.

Keep in mind that the Seahawks (and other clubs) are unable to formally interview Quinn until after the Wild Card weekend, although Macdonald has already interviewed for the Falcons position because to Baltimore’s first round bye.