Video: Mike Macdonald announced as Seahawks head coach

A new era has begun in Seattle.

It’s official! The Seattle Seahawks have their ninth head coach in franchise history.

Following an extensive two-week search, former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has been announced as the successor to Pete Carroll. At 36 years old, Macdonald is the youngest coach in the NFL, exactly have the age of the legendary Carroll, who still has the energy of a 36-year-old. I think Macdonald and Carroll should run a ceremonial 100-yard race just for the hell of it, but that’s not the point of this article.

Here are Macdonald’s first comments, courtesy of Seahawks.com:

“What an honor,” Macdonald said after he and his wife, Stephanie, were greeted by team employees upon their arrival at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. “We are super excited to be here. Just getting to know John and the rest of the folks, the reputation of this place, what drew us here was the people. That’s why we’re here, to bring a championship back to Seattle and the 12s.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun, we’re going to work our tails off, and it’s going to be an incredible ride. We’re going to be here for a long time, and we’re going to win a lot of football games.”

Macdonald is a first-time NFL head coach, the first time the Seahawks have made such a hire since inaugural coach Jack Patera back in 1976. He’s considered one of the brightest defensive minds in the league, and one of his tasks (as part of his goal of bringing a Super Bowl back to Seattle) will be turning one of the NFL’s worst defenses into one of the best. You know, just like when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl almost exactly 10 years ago today.

Now let’s watch him enter VMAC to a rousing ovation!

Welcome to Seattle, Coach Mike! First press conference is Thursday at 11 am PT.