When conversations between Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and linebacker Ernest Jones IV stray from football, the two can trade stories about having a new baby at home.

Jones' son, Ernest Jones V, was born in July, while Macdonald's son, Jack, was born earlier this month, giving the two first-time dads a chance to swap stories, with the coach learning from his player.

"Well, we've both got babies at home that are giving us a great time," Macdonald said. "He's like five months ahead of me, so it's all previews for what's coming down the road."

And the two new dads also have a lot in common when it comes to football, which has been very good news for the Seahawks defense since Jones arrived in a trade in October.

"Man, I wish y'all could have a day in the life of being in the headset," Jones said of his in-game communication with Macdonald following Seattle's Week 14 win over Arizona. "It's fun, it's fun. He's always talking to me. I always say, it's almost like he's the first DC I've had that's been in the game with us. It's like he's playing linebacker right next to us. He sees it through our lens, and he kind of knows what's coming next. He's been great at it."

For as long as Macdonald has been the Seahawks' head coach, players, especially on defense, have raved about his knowledge of the game, whether in the form of players calling him a savant or a genius, or cornerback Devon Witherspoon referring to his coach being "in his bag" as a play-caller. And as a former high school linebacker who also coached that position for the Ravens before becoming a defensive coordinator, Macdonald has formed a close connection with the team's new middle linebacker in the way they see the game.

"I just think we see it the same way, we feel the game the same way," Jones said. "We feel what teams are trying to do to us—we're not all the way right, but we seem to be right most of the time. I just think the feel that we have for the game is the same, the way we talk about the game, the love of the game, it just all works out together, and we're able to communicate well. His communication from me to him goes out towards the whole defense."

For Macdonald, the experience of working with Jones, being in his ear on gamedays when Jones serves as the on-field play-caller who has the relaying messages from Macdonald to his teammates, has been a rewarding part of his first season as a head coach.

"I love the guy," Macdonald said. "Anytime you're bringing someone to your team, you're looking forward to building a relationship with them. He doesn't mind me talking in his helmet a lot, so that's nice—can't control myself on that. I just love the person, love the competitor, tough as crap, loves ball. How do you not love guys like that?"

With Macdonald in his ear and an up-and-coming young defense around him, Jones has thrived since arriving in Seattle in a trade with the Titans to take over at middle linebacker. Jones has a team-leading 72 tackles over the past seven games since joining the Seahawks, and has created a turnover in each of the past two games, intercepting a pass to set up a touchdown in Seattle's Week 14 win in Arizona, then forcing a fumble, which was recovered by Julian Love, to set up a touchdown last week. And most importantly, Jones has had a central role in Seattle's defense turning things around not long after his arrival, with the Seahawks playing very well on defense over a five-game stretch starting with Jones' second game, a Week 9 loss to the Rams, continuing through a four-game winning streak before a rough first half against Green Bay contributed to last week's loss, though even in that outing that wasn't up to their standard, the defense played considerably better in the second half.

"Sloppy first half, that's it," Jones said of last weeks' game. "We came out second half, they didn't really do too much… I felt like it was just a sloppy first half, not good football, and you can't beat teams like that."

And just as Jones has been great for the Seahawks, the trade to Seattle, his second time being traded in the span of two months, has worked out well for Jones, even if he could never have imagined the path his career would take this year.

A third-round pick out of South Carolina in 2021, Jones emerged as a starter in his second season with the Rams, then became one of their top players last season, recording 145 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. Jones thought he was on his way to becoming a young centerpiece of a rebuilding Rams defense, but instead he was traded to the Titans just before the start of the season. The assumption was that Jones was traded heading into the final year of his rookie deal because the Rams didn't want to give him a lucrative second contract, but the move caught him off guard because as he tells it, the two sides never even got to the point of discussing a potential extension.

"The first time, that one I don't (understand), I have no clue," he said. "Tennessee, I figured, we're losing, me and (DeAndre Hopkins) are the only two players they're not really committed to the next year, so let's get rid of them and get something, so I understood it from their point of view 100 percent. First time, not really… They did what they felt was best for their team, and I'm here and I'm loving it."

But even if Jones understood the reasoning behind the second trade, it still created a tough situation for his family, having to move a newborn baby across the country for the second time in less than two months. Logistical challenges aside, Jones has loved the end result of the unexpected journey his fourth season has taken him on to get him to Seattle.

"It's been great," Jones said of his two months with the Seahawks. "I've been enjoying every bit of it. Early on, this thing got rough for me, I was in a lot of dark moments. But these players, this team, they brought me out of it. So I'm thankful to be here. I didn't want to get traded twice, but glad I ended up here.

Jones added that while he feels settled into his life in Seattle now, the journey to get to that point came with some self-doubt.

"It was tough," he said. "There were moments where you're thinking, was football still what you're going to do, was it still the thing that you thought was your purpose for this world? So it was tough when that was taken from me, but it's good to be back happy again, it was fun."

Asked what about joining the Seahawks helped him get past those negative feelings, Jones said, "I think it's just the players. Just the type of team, the culture that they were building before I got here. I fit right in with all the guys, they just love having fun playing football, and I love going out there and playing with them."

Jones' future beyond this season is still uncertain, and as the last few months have shown him, little is guaranteed in the NFL, but based on his experience so far in Seattle, he would love to have a long future with the Seahawks.

"I'd love to be here," he said. "It's been a great spot, it's been a great next stop to my journey, so if everything works out, I'd love to be a Seahawk."