The Seattle Seahawks are willing to wait to interview Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald for their vacant head coaching position, according to multiple media reports, but they can't do so until the Ravens lose.
Baltimore hosts the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, and a Ravens victory would make Macdonald unavailable until after the Super Bowl.
It's a scenario that the Indianapolis Colts followed last season with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, whom they hired as head coach after the Super Bowl.
Macdonald, 36, interviewed this winter with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders. Only the Commanders and Seahawks still have head coaching vacancies.
The Seahawks have scheduled second interviews with New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive coordinators Ejiro Evero of the Panthers, Patrick Graham of the Las Vegas Raiders and Dan Quinn of the Dallas Cowboys, according to reports.
Others interviewed at least once, according to reports, are offensive coordinators Ben Johnson of the Detroit Lions, Bobby Slowick of the Houston Texans and Frank Smith of the Miami Dolphins.
Seattle fired Pete Carroll, the head coach since 2010, following a 9-8 season.
Macdonald oversees a Ravens defense that led the NFL in allowing only 16.5 points per game in the regular season. Baltimore had a first-round playoff bye, then defeated the Houston Texans 34-10 on Jan. 20 to reach the conference title game.
He rejoined the Ravens as defensive coordinator in 2022 after spending the 2021 season as the University of Michigan's DC. Previously, Macdonald was with Baltimore starting in 2014, serving as a defensive coaching intern (2014), defensive assistant (2015-16), defensive backs coach (2017) and linebackers coach (2018-20).
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