Despite encouraging start Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald gets below-average ranking

If the Seattle Seahawks are who we think they are, they're going to be the surprise darkhorse team to beat in NFC this year. On the other hand, if they're more like the version that the national media is expecting, they'll be lucky to win even eight games in 2025.

New starting quarterback Sam Darnold is consistently being underrated in quarterback rankings and the Seahawks are constantly insulted in league-wise power rankings, and head coach Mike Macdonald is apparently not immune to the slander either, apparently. According to Pro Football Network, Macdonald is only the 19th best coach in the game right now, despite an admittedly promising start to his pro career.

PFN on ranking Seahaws coach Mike Macdonald 19th

"Mike Macdonald might have flown a bit under the radar in his first season as an NFL head coach, but he quietly delivered an encouraging start to his tenure with the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle narrowly missed the playoffs, but this team exceeded expectations in its first year under Macdonald. After a rocky 4-5 start, Macdonald’s squad rallied to a 6-2 finish, which is a testament to his leadership and adaptability..."

And yet, Macdonald is still ranked lower than Mike McDaniel, who won just eight games last season in Miami. He's also lower than Kevin Stefanski, who won a grand total of three with the Browns. Macdonald's Seahawks also finished with a better record than Zac Taylor's Bengals and the same number of wins as DeMeco Ryans' Texans and Todd Bowles' Buccaneers, who had better rosters.

At the very least Macdonald should rank ahead of those five and finish 14th in any respectable head coach list, but it's to be expected when the word "quietly" is attached to a rookie head coach winning 10 games in a division that also features two of the top 10 head coaches in the league.

If Macdonald's team played in any other time zone or in a bigger market, everyone from Darnold to Seattle's defense to Kenneth f'n Walker the IIII would be getting more respect in these national rankings.

Put it on the bulletin board with the others.