Salk: Seahawks’ Macdonald just may be the ‘Shanahan tree killer’

Did Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald end the Kyle Shanahan era in San Francisco?

That question sounds pretty silly when you consider that the 49ers are tied with the Seahawks at just a game out of first place in the NFC West, and that the Niners whooped the Hawks at Lumen Field just last month. But if you spent some time listening to sports radio in the Bay Area this week after the Seahawks beat the 49ers in Santa Clara, you would get the distinct impression that it’s time for a change in leadership.

Shanahan isn’t the right guy … the Niners are toast … he’s just an offensive coordinator … their roster is old and injury-riddled … he can’t maximize his weapons …

You get the idea.

That sure seems like an overreaction to me. Shanahan has been pretty successful and is still considered one of the top offensive minds of his generation. If he became available, more than half the league could immediately upgrade by replacing their current coach with him. Plus, his team is 5-5 despite feeling the effects of age, salary cap casualties, injuries, and the pressures of trying to get back to the precipice they were on last season when they reached the Super Bowl. With seven games left to play, the 49ers would still be my favorite to win the division, and I don’t think anyone would be excited to see them in the playoffs.

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No, the Shanahan era didn’t end on Sunday. But could it have been the beginning of the end? Now that’s a distinct possibility.

Mike Macdonald was brought to Seattle because of his brain. He may develop into a great leader and culture-builder, but those qualities were relative unknowns when he was hired to replace Pete Carroll. The only certainty was that he had established himself as one of the top defensive minds in the game as Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator. And that sure seemed extra-appealing given the presence of Shanahan and another member of the same coaching tree, the Rams’ Sean McVay, in the division.

As a coordinator, Macdonald had had success against those schemes. NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal went so far as to call him the “Shanahan tree killer” in an interview with Bump and Stacy weeks before he was even hired here in Seattle.

In the last two games, the Seahawks’ defense has given up a total of 30 points in regulation against those two offenses – 13 to the Rams and then 17 to the Niners. Now, those numbers are a little skewed by not including an interception return for a touchdown and an overtime score, so don’t try to do the math in your head. But this defense played two of the best games we’ve seen against those offenses in years.

According to new Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV, the formula is pretty simple: take away the explosive plays and punish everything in front of you. That sounds almost exactly like the philosophy Pete Carroll used to espouse, but this was successful. In Santa Clara, the Seahawks allowed just one play over 20 yards in the entire game. If they can repeat that, they’ll dominate this matchup moving forward.

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Beating a team once or even establishing a blueprint to take them down would not ordinarily signal the beginning of the end. After all, this is a week-to-week league, and a matchup-driven one as well. But the case of Kyle Shanahan is a little unique because he too was hired for his brain.

Shanahan is one of the top offensive minds in the sport. But I’m not convinced his leadership and head coaching skills are on par with his play design and play-calling prowess. Unlike McVay, who has a commanding presence and a deft touch with his in-game decisions, Shanahan is gruff and can rub many the wrong way. He has also been forced to deal with a series of locker room issues that seem to reflect some of the frustration from losing two Super Bowls and his style of leadership.

The point here is that Shanahan can’t afford to have his offense figured out, especially by a team on the rise in his division. Without that offense, he’s likely not a head coach. It would be like taking away Mariano Rivera’s cutter – once you figure it out, he doesn’t have anything else that makes him successful. So if Macdonald has shown the league how to take down this offense, it very well could be the beginning of the end. Especially because San Francisco’s team is getting older, is riddled with significant injuries, and is about to have to make some brutal salary cap decisions as players want to get paid. That will sure be exaggerated by the upcoming decision on quarterback Brock Purdy. Either they’ll have to give him a $45 million raise or they’ll be trying to find someone new to pilot this ship. Regardless, change is coming.

The last two games have been a positive step for Macdonald and the Seahawks. The defense in particular has looked a whole lot like the dominant unit we expected him to command. If that continues and it frustrates the offenses in this division, we should expect some pretty good times ahead here in Seattle. With consequences about 800 miles to the south.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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