Dave Boling: For Pete’s sake, it’s all about the partnership between Seahawks new coach Mike Macdonald, GM John Schneider

SEATTLE – Right off, new coach Mike Macdonald will have to start building a staff, studying the players the Seahawks have, and who they will target in the draft and free agency.

But it won’t be like taking over from scratch.

The Seahawks in recent seasons haven’t unraveled as much as they’ve lost traction and been passed by. So Macdonald won’t have to rebuild as much as redirect and re-energize.

He soon will have to watch game videos from the past season, especially the ones that showed the missed tackles and blown coverages and general inconsistencies from week to week that led to Pete Carroll’s firing.

At some point, though, it would be illustrative for Macdonald to view recent videos from the day general manager John Schneider announced changes in the coaching staff, and how Carroll looked back on what had been the keys to their reaching unprecedented successes.

Macdonald, whose value surged in his second season as defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, is just 36 – half Carroll’s age. This being his first head coaching position, Macdonald can’t fully understand how important is the relationship between GM and head coach – and how rare was the positive collaboration between Schneider and Carroll.

Ego, territoriality, power struggles, and the desire to hog credit have destroyed so many teams across the NFL, and it has a rich history in Seattle.

Chuck Knox’s battles under the Behring ownership predated conflicts that Bob Whitsitt had with coaches Dennis Erickson and, then, Mike Holmgren. Front-office/coaching staff drama rarely produces consistently competitive and stable franchises.

We will learn volumes about Macdonald in coming weeks, but early indications are that he’s extremely intelligent and detail oriented.

His Ravens defense was aggressive and well-schooled, ranking No. 1 in the NFL in yards and scoring.

But there’s no guarantees that a hot coordinator will be a good head coach or prepared to deal with the demands and pressures that the job makes on a person.

Looking back at the Schneider/Carroll history could help Macdonald.

Schneider last week said that Carroll’s departure was “moving on from a very historic partnership.”

Absolutely. No hyperbole there. Carroll and Schneider fashioned a golden age for the Seahawks, with 12 playoff appearances in 14 seasons, including a Super Bowl title and another NFC championship.

“We know what success and a great partnership looks like,” Schneider said.

Carroll assessed their relationship as one of an even higher degree of commitment, calling it a “marriage.”

Last week, Carroll had just been shown the door, politely and respectfully, but it was nonetheless a tearful moment for him when he had to stand before the media and players and staffers to discuss his departure.

But even in that bitter context, Carroll touted his relationship with Schneider as a key element to the franchise success.

He described how they didn’t always agree, but always sought and appreciated each other’s input. It allowed them to “find common ground and then go make it work,” Carroll said.

And when it didn’t work? “We made some mistakes and we had to cover for each other.”

The “marriage,” Carroll said, “was based on trying to help each other to be great.”

Carroll, with Schneider’s support, created a culture in the franchise that was about more than just winning. It was based on finding players with unique skills, helping them to make the most of themselves, and then celebrating the product together.

Consecutive 9-8 seasons, chronic uncorrected shortcomings, and falling to third place in the division led to the decision to change directions. Schneider noted that “if you’re stagnant, you’re (falling) behind.”

“There’s never enough wins,” Carroll said, adding that the recent Hawks “lost our edge to be great.”

Much of Carroll’s emotional and insightful exit interview amounted to a doctoral dissertation on coaching as an exercise on interpersonal relations. Coaches, personnel managers and bosses of all stripes might benefit from the depth and sincerity of his messages.

He declined when asked to offer suggestions to his replacement, but in general terms cited the need for leaders to “figure out who you are … and to maximize your authenticity and be connected to the true essence of who you are … that’s why it’s so hard to be consistently successful.”

Fans and observers will have a range of opinions on Macdonald, a young man with no experience as a head coach. He knows the game, but there’s much more to it when taking over the top position.

Getting in sync with his general manager will be a good first step.