Mike Macdonald era starts as Seahawks open training camp

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Mike Macdonald started and ended his first training camp practice as a head coach of the Seattle Seahawks with the fans.

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Before kicking off Seattle Seahawks training camp on Wednesday, Macdonald engaged the crowd sitting on the grass berm overlooking the team’s waterside practice fields, waving his arms to fire up the crowd.

And two hours later, he headed back over to the same area to sign autographs for those who hung around till the end.

“You can’t take the smile off your face to be in this setting, in this organization, this city, these fans, our guys, just a special day. It’s awesome and a great start with the guys,” Macdonald said.

While a new era in Seattle has been underway since last January when Pete Carroll was let go following 14 seasons in charge and Macdonald was hired as the youngest coach in the league, it really kicked into gear with the start of training camp and the 6 1/2-week runup to the season opener on Sept. 8 at home against Denver.

Macdonald is the face of how the Seahawks move ahead, given the keys to the franchise but asked to do so following in the footsteps of the most successful coach ever to come through Seattle. While the Seahawks tailed off toward the end of Carroll’s tenure, they still won five division titles, two NFC championship and the only Super Bowl in team history under his watch.

That’s the goal for Macdonald, to get Seattle back into that conversation among the elite teams in the NFL. But that’s down the road. For now, the focus is on the day-to-day of running his first camp.

“Before practice if felt a little different coming out here and you’re like, ‘Wow, OK, I’m responsible for what is going on out here.’ It’s pretty cool,” Macdonald said.

What Macdonald saw on his first day was mostly what he expected. There was the welcome sight of linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker on the field after both were sidelined for most of the offseason program with injuries. There were pinpoint passes from Geno Smith and a couple of highlight catches by DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

But there were also a few new wrinkles. The music wasn’t quite as loud as the past. Fans were asked to put their phones away during practice. With an entirely new coach staff working together, Macdonald and several of his coordinators and assistants wore headsets to communicate through part of practice, an idea presented by offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

“It’s something we’re testing out right now. I think it’s probably going to stick around and it’s just another opportunity for us to really sharpen our operation,” Macdonald said.

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