Coach -

Mike MacDonald just led the Seattle Seahawks to their first NFC Championship appearance since 2014. The defense that got them there was built on a system MacDonald developed over years to solve a problem every defensive staff faces: too many words, too much memorization, not enough carryover.

Video: MacDonald Explains the Slot Machine Concept

MacDonald's solution is what he calls the "slot machine" approach to pressure design.

The Problem MacDonald Faced

When MacDonald and his staff stepped back and looked at their pressure package, they found a mess.

"We had a bunch of tags and words and stuff, and we had a hard time grouping it and really making sense of the whole thing," MacDonald said. "Over the course of time, there's been so many great coaches and coordinators, and it's really the scheme that evolved over a 20-year period. We had a lot of words that kind of meant one thing and didn't really connect to other things."

The result: players memorized calls that didn't build on each other. Every week felt like starting over. Moving one linebacker meant changing three words and reteaching the whole concept.

The Slot Machine Concept

Instead of teaching pressures as standalone calls, MacDonald restructured everything into three interlocking wheels:

Wheel 1: The Front

How the defense sets the front. MacDonald limits this to four or five options total. Players learn these first.

Wheel 2: The Pattern

Who's blitzing and how. Whether it's one rusher, two, or three off the edge, there are only so many patterns. Each pattern is taught as its own concept.

Wheel 3: The Coverage

What coverage goes with the pressure. Again, a finite number of options.

Each wheel has a limited number of choices. Players learn each wheel independently. Then the staff combines them.

"Once you start to lay it together, that's how you create volume within your defense," MacDonald said.

Building Complexity Without Adding Memorization

The graduate-level version of this system adds personnel packages and positional flexibility. A player who knows the wheels can execute from different spots without learning new calls.

"You're only teaching a finite amount of things to each player," MacDonald said. "And then as you get more complex, and people understand how to do those certain concepts and techniques, now you can start to really build an all-inclusive package where you can change it from week to week. You don't feel like you're reinventing the wheel."

The key teaching points:

- Limit fronts to four or five options

- Teach blitz patterns as standalone concepts that apply across multiple calls

- Pair coverages with patterns so players see the connections

- Build volume through combination, not memorization

- Add personnel flexibility only after players master the base concepts

This approach lets a defense evolve weekly without overwhelming players. Rookies can learn the system. Veterans can execute at a higher level within it.

If you'd like a jam packed clinic with speakers like Chargers DC Jesse Minter, Georgia DC Glenn Schumann, and new Tennessee DC Jim Knowles, check out the Gaylor Family Benefit Clinic HERE.

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