ROSWELL, Ga. — You can’t get all the way to football’s biggest stage without first getting your start, and Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has deep roots to metro Atlanta.
Macdonald grew up in Roswell and played at Centennial High School for longtime area coach Mike Cloy.
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Channel 2’s Luke Hetrick spoke with Cloy about Macdonald’s beginnings in football.
“Mike was about 150-155lbs and he played linebacker and fullback for us. It was really a compliment to him the amount of energy and effort he put in to be the best he could be,” Cloy said. “He was very intelligent, even as a high school player. He always had a great love of the game of football.”
"It's neat to see one of your young men excel like he's exceled."
— Luke Hetrick (@LHSportsTV) February 4, 2026
Seahawks HC Mike MacDonald made it to the game's biggest stage. His coaching roots start in Metro Atlanta and Athens with @CHSKnightsFB and @GeorgiaFootball His mentors are his supporters. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/oXKlJhqEam
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Later on, Macdonald became a graduate assistant in Athens under former UGA head coach Mark Richt.
“If you gave him an assignment, it was going to get done. It was going to get done quickly. It was going to get done well. He just applied enthusiasm to the job that he had. When you do it with excellence, people see that and reward it,” Richt said.
Both coaches say they’re the biggest supporters of the man they used to mentor.
“I’m proud of the guy,” Richt said.
“It’s neat to see one of your young men excel like he’s excelled,” Cloy said.
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