When Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald faces the Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, the Scituate native will be trying to defeat his hometown team.
Macdonald, who spent the early part of his childhood in Massachusetts before moving to Georgia, grew up following Boston sports religiously. As for his dream job, it didn’t involve the Patriots, but rather another local franchise.
“I had forgot this, but it was the [general manager] of the Red Sox,” Macdonald told Maria Taylor, via “Football Night in America” in a 2024 interview. “I was better at baseball. I could actually play baseball, and then I loved the Red Sox because I was from Boston.”
Macdonald, 38, deepened his love for the sport during the Pedro Martinez years.
As for his playing career, he said he tore his ACL and “got really slow,” which forced him to switch from middle infield to third base. He then pointed out his glasses and said he “had the Harry Potter thing going on” because he “couldn’t see the dang ball.”
Macdonald, who attended Centennial High School in Georgia with Taylor, downplayed his athletic accomplishments and said there was a reason Taylor didn’t know which position he played. He also wasn’t surprised the school couldn’t find his old jersey number.
“Let me be clear,” Macdonald said. “They know exactly where Maria’s stuff is. Mine doesn’t exist.”
Once the baseball dream died, he transitioned into coaching at Cedar Shoals High, also in Georgia, then worked his way up to the University of Georgia, the Baltimore Ravens, the University of Michigan, and the Ravens again.
Macdonald became the Seahawks’ head coach in 2024. He’s since compiled a 24-10 regular-season record and has now steered Seattle back to the Super Bowl.
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.