For every Baltimore Ravens fan who has grown sick of head coach John Harbaugh’s inability to get back to the Super Bowl, the instant classic between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football in Week 16 may have seemed like a bit of a gut punch.
That’s because on one side of the field, former Ravens defensive coordinator and current Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was taking a star turn in a thrilling, 38-37 overtime win to improve to 12-3 overall.
With the Ravens sitting at a precarious 7-7 after a season of frustrating starts and stops, you didn’t have to look far to find Ravens fans wishing the 38-year-old Macdonald was their head coach instead of Harbaugh, who is in his 18th season as head coach of the Ravens and won a Super Bowl following the 2012 season.
“One of the biggest what ifs in Ravens history,” Locked on Ravens’ Kevin Oestricher wrote on X. “What if Mike Macdonald never went to the Seahawks?”
“Shoutout Mike Macdonald man,” The Ravens Realm wrote on X. “People were doubting that he’d do anything as a head coach. Sitting at 12-3 with the #1 seed. Ravens messed up bad.”
Macdonald Becoming Coaching Star in NFL
Macdonald spent the decade before he was hired as Seattle’s head coach before the 2024 season working for either current Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh or John Harbaugh.
He was a Ravens assistant from 2014 to 2020, starting as an intern and working his way up to a defensive position coach for defensive backs and linebackers before spending 2021 as the University of Michigan’s defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh.
After guiding the Wolverines’ defense to a Big Ten title and the College Football Playoff, Macdonald returned for 2 seasons, including a virtuoso defensive effort in 2023 where the Ravens held opponents to 17 points or less in their final 6 regular season and postseason games, including an AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Macdonald went 10-7 in his first season as head coach of the Seahawks in 2024 but missed the playoffs — not something that will be a problem this year.
Praise From All Corners Following Gutsy Win
The TNF win over the Rams had the NFL and sports world buzzing, becoming the weekly “Game of the Year” in quick fashion.
And guess what? People who love the Ravens really love Macdonald. That’s despite John Harbaugh making the playoffs 6 out of the last 7 seasons and with a very real chance to make it again this year.
“Harbaugh just doesn’t know when it’s time to hang it up … We had it bro,” Ravens fan account Oweh’s Burner wrote on X.
“Ravens have made their fair share of mistakes over the years, but letting Mike Macdonald leave has to be at the top of the list,” Ravens fan Baltimore MJD wrote on X. “He’s already one of the best coaches in the NFL and has turned Seattle into a potential #1 seed in the best division in football with Sam Darnold at QB… ”
“Mike MacDonald leaving was when the SB window closed for the Ravens,” Ravens fan Justin BTW wrote on X.
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