A few times recently I’ve thought about what it’d be like if the Seahawks hadn’t fired Pete Carroll at the end of last season.

We’d be seeing the usual footage of an energetic Carroll, including creative social media clips of him throwing a football. We’d hear the same language we’ve been hearing for well over a decade. For many this would be familiar and comforting.

For some of us though, an increasing number I would suggest, change was absolutely necessary. Vital. There’s a palpable intrigue to this team with a complete overhaul of the staff that simply wouldn’t exist if Carroll had remained.

The results were speaking for themselves. One playoff win in seven seasons. Increasingly unthreatening at home. A defense that was consistently dreadful despite massive investment. The same problems emerging year after year with the same talk of needing to fix things, without any solutions emerging.

When the band-aid was finally ripped off, probably, if we’re being honest, a few years later than it should’ve been, there seemed to be a shared relief within the offices of the VMAC. Not because people didn’t respect Carroll, simply because it was absolutely clear a fresh start was required.

This sentiment was shared by Ian Rapoport earlier today, with the words ‘welcome and necessary’ used to describe the coaching changes, per sources ‘in the building’:

I don’t know if the Seahawks will be any good this year. Frankly, I’m not concerned about it. The 2024 season will not and should not be used in any future argument about whether the decision to fire Carroll was correct. Mike Macdonald is a rookie Head Coach. His two coordinators are new to their jobs. One of them hasn’t even coached in the NFL before. They deserve time and patience to work this out.

Even if they all fail, which clearly none of us hope is the case, it still can’t form an argument that the status quo should’ve remained. The Seahawks were absolutely right to move on, regardless of what happens next.

As it happens, all of the signs so far are encouraging for the new era. Macdonald mostly cut a cheery and personable figure during initial interviews and press conferences over the summer. I’ve found his training camp interviews to be different. There’s more of an edge and he seems driven and to the point. There’s a no-nonsense vibe which I appreciate. The Seahawks have been sloppy, mistake-riddled and spent several recent seasons trying to work things out on the fly. You can just tell from listening to Macdonald that things are going to be different. He seems detail orientated. He has an almost ‘adgitated perfectionist’ look to him. I think this is what the Seahawks needed as they moved on from the Carroll era.

I like how Brady Henderson noted recently that Macdonald let some of the younger players hear about it when they disobeyed instructions to sign autographs for fans after practise. If he’s going to be pissed off about that, I suspect he’s going to be equally discontent if the defensive scheme isn’t up to par by the start of the season.

I’m also aware from speaking to people at UW that Ryan Grubb is no shrinking violet. The Seahawks needed something different and they have it with their new set of leaders.

I also get the sense, as I’ve discussed in recent articles, that John Schneider feels that the prior staff didn’t make the most of the talent on the roster. The Seahawks have reshaped their team in recent years, with the Russell Wilson trade bringing an influx of young talent to Seattle. Very few of the players have turned from ‘good’ to ‘great’ though. We can all see that the group of ‘good’ players on this roster is larger than most in the NFL. However, for the Seahawks to become a true contender, they are going to need a handful to achieve greatness. With respect to Carroll and co, I think they’d shown they weren’t going to deliver that.

When Macdonald was appointed defensive coordinator in Baltimore in 2022 he inherited a defense ranked 28th per DVOA. It helped that they added talent such as Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton — but Macdonald also elevated the play of others, found value from cheap FA acquisitions and his scheme brought about a major change in fortunes. In his first year in the job their DVOA ranking jumped to 8th. Last year, they improved to 1st.

Coincidentally, Macdonald once again inherits the 28th best defense per DVOA in Seattle. With the players on the roster, especially a now loaded defensive line and a talented collection of cornerbacks, there’s no reason why a similar jump in ranking isn’t possible. As with the Ravens, I think it’s entirely possible the Seahawks could have a top-10 defense this year. By 2025, maybe they can even challenge to be the NFL’s best?

Regardless, there’s at least the opportunity now to believe it’s possible. That wasn’t the case with Carroll. Only the most devoted fan would think he could finally fix the defense. It’d be blind faith, unfortunately.

A big defensive jump this year will give the Seahawks a chance to be a competitive, rejuvenated team — on the path to contention if not actually reaching it in 2024. The key to bringing it all together will be the offense, where there are more questions. Can Grubb lead a NFL scheme and execute at a high level, given he’s never done it before? Is the offensive line going to be a problem? Can Geno Smith avoid the fluctuating form which has defined the three most significant seasons of his career?

What I would say is — there was little faith Shane Waldron would be able to answer these questions. Grubb proved to be a dynamic partner to Kalen DeBoer in college, so there’s at least a spark of intrigue to see how he gets on that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.

Week one can’t get here quickly enough. I want to see how this comes together and the early signs, at least based on what we’re hearing from training camp, are encouraging.