The Bears knew they screwed up in the 2017 NFL draft, trading up to the No. 2 pick to draft Mitch Trubisky.
After four years in Chicago, his time as quarterback was up, and the Bears took to searching for a new one.
Fast forward to the 2021 NFL draft. Nobody knew if the Bears were going to take a quarterback or bolster their terrible offensive line.
They sat low in the draft, selecting at the No. 20 spot in the first round.
Macdonald, 36, becomes the NFL’s youngest head coach and brings to Seattle a reputation as one of the league’s brightest defensive minds, having led the Ravens to No. 1 in points allowed, sacks and takeaways in 2023, his second season as Baltimore’s coordinator.
Seahawks leadership, including Schneider, met with Macdonald for the first time Tuesday.
A day earlier, Seattle held a second, in-person interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who later told the Seahawks and the Washington Commanders — the last two teams that had head-coaching vacancies — that he was remaining in Detroit, sources told Schefter.
In replacing 72-year-old Pete Carroll with 36-year-old Macdonald, the Seahawks are going from the NFL’s oldest head coach to its youngest.
Macdonald is 16 months younger than Jerod Mayo, who was hired by the New England Patriots earlier this month to succeed Bill Belichick.
Macdonald was one of the most targeted head-coaching candidates this year.
He interviewed with six teams for their vacancies: the Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers and Commanders.
