Falcons announce completed interview with Mike Macdonald
Flory Branch, Georgia. Mike Macdonald and the Atlanta Falcons have concluded a virtual interview for the head coach vacancy, the team announced on Friday. In Atlanta’s efforts to find a replacement for Arthur Smith, who was fired on January 8, this is the first interview to be finished.
Over the previous three seasons, the 36-year-old defensive coordinator has called plays for the University of Michigan and the Baltimore Ravens with remarkable success. During this hiring cycle, Macdonald has grown in popularity.
Per NFL protocols, interviews with employees of other clubs must be conducted virtually prior to the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games on Sunday, Jan. 21. If the employer club has a Wild Card bye, virtual interviews must be conducted prior to the conclusion of Wild Card games. If the employer club is a Wild Card participant, virtual interviews may begin three days after its Wild Card game and must be conducted prior to the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games.
Clubs are not permitted to conduct initial interviews with candidates who are employed by clubs participating in the Conference Championship Games until the employer club’s season has concluded. Instead, clubs may conduct in-person or virtual interviews with candidates who are employed by other NFL clubs whose seasons have concluded starting on Monday, January 22.
Let’s learn more about someone the Falcons are considering becoming the 19th head coach in franchise history.
- Baltimore Ravens, 2014-20: Macdonald gained his first NFL gig as an intern. After a year in the role, he was promoted to defensive assistant for two seasons. In 2017, Macdonald worked as the Ravens’ defensive backs coach before moving to coach the linebackers for his final three seasons.
- Michigan, 2021: Macdonald returned to the college ranks for a season as a defensive coordinator at Michigan.
- Baltimore Ravens, 2022-present (second stint): He went back to the Ravens as a defensive coordinator, a role he has maintained since.
Local connections: Macdonald attended Centennial High School in Roswell, Ga., and the University of Georgia. While he was still in college at Georgia, Macdonald coached high school football at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens. After graduation, he remained at Georgia as the Bulldogs’ safeties coach and defensive quality control assistant before his first stint with the Ravens in 2014.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Macdonald is in high demand; five organizations, including the Falcons, have asked to speak with him for a head coaching position.
The Falcons are looking for someone to push a talented roster over the top, into serious and regular contention for division titles and playoff wins. Macdonald has been a part of a winning organization, good at doing exactly that.
Macdonald said on Thursday that he has learned a lot from Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the culture he helped build in Baltimore and would take those learnings and apply it to any role he took with another organization. That would be a positive for a Falcons franchise looking to usher in a period of sustained success.
“The person that he (Harbaugh) is, and the leader that he is, you just have great role models that you look up to and that are high integrity (and) high character individuals and just phenomenal leaders,” Macdonald stated on the team’s website. They are therefore simple to follow. It goes without saying that you want to emulate them if and when the chance arises.”
Drawbacks: At only 36 years old and with only three years of coordinator experience, McDonald is rather young. Although it has been increasingly typical in recent seasons to hire younger head coaches, it could work against him.
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