RENTON, Wash. — I don't know if I can speak for every member of the media on this one, but I think I can speak for most: We like Mike Macdonald. That doesn't mean we won't criticize him, or ask questions he doesn't like, but his professionalism and even-keeled demeanor have endured despite this recent free fall.

See, that was one of the questions some of us wondered about early on in his tenure: Will he be able to keep his composure once things go south? So far the answer for the Seahawks' first-year coach is yes. At least publicly.

But that doesn't change the fact that Macdonald is facing a potential wheels-off-the-train scenario we didn't see during the Pete Carroll era. The worst Carroll ever did up here was go 7-10 — and that was primarily due to an injury that kept quarterback Russell Wilson out for three games and hampered him for a few more.

But the 4-5 Seahawks have dropped five of their past six — with four of those losses coming by more than one score and three by at least 12 points. The schedule isn't getting any easier, either.

This would be a frightening time for most people stepping into a role whose predecessor oversaw NFL success in a way this town had never seen. Fair or not, this is the moment when a lot of fans are expecting Macdonald to prove himself — particularly on the defensive end.

What happens if he doesn't? Five of the Seahawks' next eight opponents have winning records. Another one — the 4-5 Rams — defeated them at Lumen Field. This has the potential to get ugly.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, the players haven't seen any panic from the coach.

"He's pretty level. And he's the first to address that," Seahawks safety Julian Love said. "With that, if it's time to be, I don't want to say aggressive, but just to be more of a force, it's a communal effort. It's players, his coaches, it's everybody, because that's not his natural style. Now, he'll need to yell and do his thing as much as he needs to do. But for the most part, just who he is as a person, he's pretty much level."

Still, dispositions don't fix defenses. They don't reinvigorate running games. They don't keep penalty flags off the field — all areas in which Seattle has struggled this season.

Despite being ranked first in team defense three games in, the Seahawks now sit 25th in the NFL. The real culprit has the porous run "D," which ranks 27th. Macdonald, remember, was hired for his defensive prowess after successful stints as a coordinator with the University of Michigan and the Baltimore Ravens. Turns out you need elite personnel have an elite defense, though, and Macdonald's schemes haven't been enough to overcome the Seahawks' dearth in that department.

The rushing offense is equally inadequate. Seattle ranks 27th in the league there, too. Hard to put that on a defensive-minded coach, but people will blame the coach for the losses that the lackluster run game contributes to.

As for the penalties? Yikes. Seattle's 8.3 accepted penalties per game are the most in the league. Those costly flags also seem to be what Macdonald is emphasizing throughout the week.

"He's been very consistent — we gotta stop shooting ourselves in the foot, a lot of self-inflicted wounds," Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf said. "We just gotta collectively come together and play a complete football game ... just eliminate the stupid penalties and costly mistakes of turning the ball over."

Up next for the Seahawks is a road game vs. the 49ers (5-4), who are 6.5-point favorites with running back Christian McCaffrey back in the lineup. There are two games with the 6-4 Cardinals, one with the 7-2 Vikings, one with the 6-3 Packers along with duels with the Rams (4-5), Bears (4-5) and Jets (3-7). There's a chance New York will be the only team the Seahawks are favored against — and even that's no guarantee.

On Wednesday I asked Macdonald about some of the challenges that he may not have seen coming in his first year on the job.

"You know there's things that you don't know you don't know, so you're learning those all the time. Any new experience, if you don't have that mentally, then you're not going to learn anything. So I think you have to have that mindset," Macdonald said. "Then there's things you know that you don't know, so you have to be humble enough to seek those answers and know where to kind of look for the information and get it right."

No, there weren't a lot of specifics there, but he isn't one to offer those after a question such as that. What Macdonald did say afterward was that his plan was and is always to be himself.

Perhaps that will be enough in the end. But right now, the Seahawks are in one of the most trying slumps we've seen over the past 15 years.

This is where coaches earn their keep. All eyes are on Macdonald. Can he turn this around? We're about to find out.

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