How did the first-year Seahawks coach fare compared to his fellow rookies?
In the 2024 season, eight franchises had a new head coach, the goal of this text is to evaluate how their seasons went. However, three of them, the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, and the Los Angeles Chargers, hired Raheem Morris, Dan Quinn, and Jim Harbaugh, respectively. All had previous experience as head coaches, so they will be excluded from the article.
Let’s go review the rookies, finishing up with Mike Macdonald!
Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans (3-14)
After several years as offensive coordinator for the Bengals, Callahan got his opportunity as head coach in Tennessee and change their offense. The Titans had a good draft and Callahan put together a good coaching staff, with his father Bill as offensive line coach and Dennard Wilson as defensive coordinator.
Being a coach on the offensive side of the ball, the year was very disappointing for Callahan. He had to change QBs a few times during the year, mostly due to Will Levis’ high turnover rate. Clearly neither Levis nor Mason Rudolph are the QBs who will run Callahan’s scheme well.
However, Wilson (who was part of the Ravens’ defensive coaching staff along with Macdonald) put together a strong defense that kept the Titans fighting against some very strong offenses. Of course, the fact that the offense turned the ball over so often exposed the defense and the losses came.
Callahan didn’t finish the year under threat of being fired. However, being the No. 1 overall pick will put a lot of pressure on him going into his second year.
Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders (4-13) *FIRED*
Pierce took over as interim head coach after Josh McDaniels was fired. After finishing 3-1 and playing well, Pierce was promoted to full-time head coach. Many players, including stars Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby, asked Mark Davis for this. Adams is now with the New York Jets, who are also looking for a new coach.
The Raiders trailed by double digits in 15 of 17 games, and three of their four wins came against teams that were 12-37 overall. Their running game, which Pierce promised when he was hired, finished last. They went winless in the division for the first time since before drafting big bust JaMarcus Russell. Their four wins was their fewest since 2018, with 13 losses including a 10-game winless streak.
Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots (4-13) *FIRED*
Of all the rookies, he was hired in a different way. The Patriots put a clause in his contract that would make him the new head coach after Bill Belichick left. A succession plan, similar to what the Seahawks did with Jim Mora (the result was just as bad). However, Robert Kraft’s certainty that Mayo would be the right name for the future of the franchise lasted only a year, and he was the first HC to be fired among the rookies.
Things started to get complicated after the Bye week. The Patriots suffered a 30-17 loss to the Cardinals and boos, along with chants of “Fire Mayo” came to the fore. In fact, linebacker Jahlani Tavai criticized the fans who booed Mayo and never apologized for those comments.
Mayo tried to show a different stance from his predecessor in terms of discipline and this did not work out very well on several occasions. For example, due to problems with fumbles, he said he would put running back Rhamondre Stevenson on the bench, “as punishment.” However, Stevenson continued as the starter in the next game.
Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers (5-12)
Given Canales’ ties to Seattle, he was the head coach I was rooting for the most. Canales received praise for his work with Geno Smith in 2022, which led to him becoming the Bucs’ OC. There, he followed up his good work with Baker Mayfield, which led to him landing the head coaching job.
No one in their right mind expected the Panthers to be contenders in their first year. However, the season was too much to handle and I think they thought long and hard about firing him. Bryce Young, the QB the Panthers gave up a lot of draft capital to acquire, was benched.
However, the time away helped Young. He returned to the starting lineup and the Panthers played some good games, including a 44-38 overtime win over the Falcons, helping knock their rivals out of the playoffs. They beat the Cardinals and played a fantastic game against the Chiefs, losing by just 3 points.
This gives Canales more hope for his fans in the 2025 season.
Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
Seattle had 10 wins, but only two against playoff teams. The Rams with a reserve team, and the Broncos in Week 1 in Bo Nix’s debut. These were also Seattle’s ONLY wins against teams with a positive record. Macdonald managed to recover the defense during the season (something difficult, especially for a HC in his first year). The main idea is to convert pressures into sacks in 2025.
Furthermore, the offense ended up being a problem for Seattle. Whether it was execution failures, a poorly organized OL or an offense without the necessary balance. Let’s see if he has more say in the choices of the offensive coaching staff, more aligned with his philosophy and Seattle can go further in 2025.
Forever a 12!