Tyler Lockett speaks out on the 'culture shock' surrounding Mike Macdonald

In the NFL, the coaching staff is frequently rotated. Some teams fail to get it right, forcing them to replace their head coach every two or three seasons. The Seattle Seahawks were not one of them. But after 14 seasons under Pete Carroll – even as the franchise’s most successful head coach – it was time for a change.

As the longest-tenured player on the Seahawks roster, Tyler Lockett is experiencing an entirely new coaching staff for the first time. Lockett had two key words to describe his feelings about his first new head coach since entering the league nearly a decade ago: “Culture shock.”

Tyler Lockett talks learning a ‘new habit’

In a May 26, 2024 interview on the Bump & Stacy Show on Seattle Sports at 7:10, Tyler Lockett didn’t mince his words about head coach Mike Macdonald and the new team of coordinators and assistants.

“It’s definitely a culture shock,” Lockett said. “People say you can learn a new habit in about 21 days…Imagine learning that habit for 365 days times nine years.”

“It’s one of those things where you really have to change a lot of different things, but there’s also a lot of good things that come with change. I think the biggest difference is simply the relationships and understanding of different types of coaching and how each coach decides to proceed with their approach.

Since Lockett arrived in the NFL in 2015 via Seattle’s third-round pick, an astonishing 71 teams have hired new head coaches. Imagine what the coaching carousel was like during Carroll’s 14-year career with the Hawks.

OTAs are the time to get to know the new Seahawks coaches

Tyler Lockett found Organized Team Activities (OTAs) to be an ingenious way to learn the intricacies of Mike Macdonald and new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

“I think the biggest difference is just relationships and understanding different types of coaching and how each coach decides to go about it with their approach is different,” Lockett said.

“You just have to be able to learn that and adapt to it and learn to find that comfort and all that kind of different stuff. So obviously it’s different, but when you have spring football like this during OTAs, that’s when you’re kind of working through those issues.

Mike Macdonald’s coaching style vs. Pete Carroll

As a first-year head coach, Mike Macdonald’s coaching style and philosophy will not be fully revealed until after the start of the regular season. What Tyler Lockett was used to with Carroll was fun and positivity. He could build a culture and make the Seahawks a team that players wanted to come and stay.

Sometimes that can breed complacency, as Mike Salk, a veteran voice on the Seattle sports scene, explains.

“Pete empowers his young players,” Salk wrote on September 13, 2023. “He trains them and helps them grow. It makes them feel like the most important people in the world. And while this seems to help maximize their abilities for a while, it can lead to a dangerous combination of declining skills and legitimate behaviors later in the career.

It won’t be long before we see what Macdonald has in store for us her players.