RENTON, Wash. — Mike Macdonald called it “a gift from the football gods.”

He did so in a clip distributed on social media, while addressing his team before the beginning of Seahawks training camp. While holding a pen, a notebook and a PowerPoint clicker, the 39-year-old coach faced rows of filled seats in the Virginia Mason Athletic Center’s massive auditorium.

And cameras. Lots of cameras, filming from the aisles.

The cameras captured content for HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which has been embedded with the team throughout training camp. Such a spotlight, of course, could be deemed a distraction, stealing focus from the Seahawks’ ultimate goal. Or a spy spilling secrets of Seattle’s success. Or a wild card tweaking critical routines and chemistry.

But Macdonald went with a different word:

Gift.

“I am one of the most awkward guys in the history of America,” Macdonald readily admitted. “I used to worry all the time about, ‘What are they going to think of me? I don’t want to say the wrong thing.’ Screw it. It doesn’t matter.

“All I’m worried about is creating the best football team we can possibly create. And I want to make sure we’re us all the time. That’s all I care about. (“Hard Knocks”) is a gift because it reminds us to be us, every time you stray away.”

It is a gift.

For fans, most of all.

Because this offseason, it’s easier than ever to understand Macdonald’s magic. Beyond system or scheme, his authenticity is his superpower.

The Massachusetts native arrived in Renton with a reputation as a defensive wunderkind, after a rapid rise with the Baltimore Ravens and the University of Michigan. He was hired to modernize and maximize a Seahawks defense that had sunk to 30th in the NFL in yards allowed in 2023.

You don’t need HBO Max to know what Macdonald has done. In just his second season, the Seahawks earned their second Super Bowl victory and led the NFL in scoring defense. Leonard Williams, Ernest Jones IV, Devon Witherspoon, DeMarcus Lawrence, Nick Emmanwori, Byron Murphy II and more formed the core of a rebuilt behemoth.

Macdonald’s proficiency as a game-planner and play-caller is as advertised. But when he was hired, Seahawks general manager John Schneider couldn’t be sure how Macdonald — who hadn’t been a head coach on any level — would cultivate a culture and lead a locker room.

On “Hard Knocks,” those are the things that impress me most. It’s Macdonald calmly telling fullback Brady Russell that his trash talk with teammate Derick Hall crossed a line. It’s the advice for Emmanwori on how to digest outside attention and attack his rehab. It’s the no-nonsense, mid-practice admonishment of Hall, who came dangerously close to quarterback Sam Darnold on a powerful pass rush. It’s the deft feel for what a play or player or moment requires.

Heck, it’s Macdonald smiling while he watches a video of his son dancing to the Hokey Pokey. It’s the Seahawks’ cerebral, occasionally corny leader shouting, “Yes! America!” while the U.S. Navy Blue Angels bless practice with an impromptu aerial show.

He may be “one of the most awkward guys in the history of America.” But Macdonald’s magic is in owning and embracing exactly who he is. There is no artifice, no showman, no public persona. He never tried to be predecessor Pete Carroll or former colleague John Harbaugh or anyone else. Whether he’s critical or complimentary, he’s authentically himself, which his players can appreciate.

“I told him when he first got here, ‘I’m thankful. I know what you’re going to bring to the team. I know what you do, and I’m going to be the guy here for you,’” Witherspoon said Monday after signing a contract extension to become the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. “It means everything to me, man, just to continue to build with him and learn from him. The way he game plans, to be involved with that, it just means everything to me, man. I know I got his back. I know he’s got my back. It means everything to me.”

His players know this means everything to Macdonald, too. That was apparent Saturday night after the Seahawks committed eight penalties and managed 156 total yards in an underwhelming 17-7 preseason loss to the Dallas Cowboys inside Lumen Field.

It didn’t matter that Seattle’s starters didn’t play, or that the preseason opener doubles as a celebrated scrimmage. Macdonald was disappointed in the details — how the Seahawks substituted, how they called and finished plays, how players took the line, how they motioned and shifted and communicated. His standard was absolute, his disappointment palpable.

This, too, tells you plenty about Macdonald. It’s never just a practice or a preseason game.

“Honestly, there’s a great opportunity for us to understand what Seahawks football is and what it isn’t and what it’s going to take to play for us,” Macdonald said Monday, reflecting on the loss. “We had some great meetings this morning. It’s good for our team. We needed to see those things (we can improve on). I think we’re going to grow from it.”

The awkwardly authentic, relentlessly motivated Macdonald will make sure of it.

Because it’s not a problem. It’s an opportunity.

It’s not a distraction. It’s a gift.

____

© 2026 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.