Good article on McDonald’s accountability approach

[seabowl]

Mike Macdonald Bringing 'Military Mindset' to Seattle Seahawks

New Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has a different approach to coaching than the franchise's long-time leader, Pete Carroll. The players are embracing it.

www.si.com

He really is the anti-Pete. No nonsense, holding players accountable, etc.. I will say though when Pete first got to the Seahawks, he was no nonsense too in that “just compete“ was the mantra and he was only playing the players that were the best. If someone wasn’t pulling their weight, they were replaced. It seemed over the years that Pete got soft and that was no longer the case.

What McDonald brings is a breath of fresh air and a much-needed change.

 

[MORGULON]

I agree . Pete Carroll seemed to drift away from the solid mindset that he had when re-entering the NFL. He also had a HOF caliber defense at many positions. Which of course he was responsible for helping build. So I'm not trying to take credit away from what he was able to accomplish, it just seems he wasn't able to sustain what made him and the Seahawks successful as time went on.

 

[chris98251]

Petes drifting away from that was what divided the team, both with Coaches and Players, it kind of started with Williamson getting paid and being a under performer which caused Kam to hold out and got paid and had done nothing to earn it on the team, then washed out and had to be carried. The coaches, well that started with Bevell and went south more afterwards.

 

[Timberhawk]

I have a lot of leaders that report to me. Most of us to a degree are conflict adverse. I remind my team all the time that choosing not to hold others accountable is a selfish decision because it’s uncomfortable. And you show your top performers that you value them and their commitment and hard work by holding the poor performers accountable to their standard.

 

[knownone]

It's incredible that Pete only had one losing season in 12 years without holding players accountable.

On a serious note, it's hard to know if Mcdonald's style is effective before the team plays a game. And William's description sounds like the opposite of accountability. Instead, it sounds like he's describing a major issue the team had last season: guys playing outside the system and trying too hard to make plays.

"We have this motto called ‘make it right,’” Williams added. “On the field, if you jump offsides, how are you going to make it right? You are going to have to get a sack or a TFL the next drive or on that same drive, something like that … I think those are small ways of how we’re trying to hold guys accountable.”

 

[MORGULON]

Petes drifting away from that was what divided the team, both with Coaches and Players, it kind of started with Williamson getting paid and being a under performer which caused Kam to hold out and got paid and had done nothing to earn it on the team, then washed out and had to be carried. The coaches, well that started with Bevell and went south more afterwards.

Yes. Also around the time they brought in the psycho Percy Harvin , trading valuable draft picks then paid him , ignoring the WRs they already had .

Made Doug angry .

 

[AROS]

I'm loving everything I have been hearing so far about Big Mac. He seems so much more mature for his age. The accountability factor to me is HUGE. Holmgren had his flaws like any coach but I always respected his focus on discipline. The finer details. Pete, as much as I loved him as our coach, was quite frankly too loosy goosy for my taste when it came to discipline. It showed up in the procedural penalties and time management mostly, on gameday.

Big Mac may not be as beloved as Pete was...A total Player's Coach. The new regime seems to be more focused on the details, discipline and accountability. As long as the players buy in - and every indication so far is that they are - I think we will find ourselves in the playoffs, as soon perhaps as this season. In fact, I am thinking about slapping $500 down for a $1,400 return if they do.

The roster is talented enough, and if the defense alone makes leaps and bounds from last season, in my mind, that gets them in as a wildcard at the very least.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

This team has needed discipline for several years. I look forward to seeing it become the team that Coach Mike wants. He's not gonna' take crap from the players, and some of them have said as much on interviews.

 

[chris98251]

Pete was the parent at the Grocery store that let their kid throw tantrums when they couldn't get what they wanted, I see Mac as the parent that if the kids starts acting up all it takes is a look and the kids snaps back into shape, may take a season to get there, NFL players are like kids, push the boundaries to see how far they can go.