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Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald addressed the media on Wednesday, expressing regret over a viral story he shared regarding Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton accusing the Seahawks of cheating during the 2024 season. Macdonald clarified that the anecdote, which he revealed in an interview with Graham Bensinger, was never meant to be made public.
Macdonald, 39, who is in his third season leading Seattle, stated that he personally apologized to Payton for the clip that circulated widely on social media Tuesday. He acknowledged that he must handle such moments better and remember that he is always accountable for his words, no matter the setting.
"I got to be better in that moment for understanding like, look, I'm responsible for what I say really no matter the circumstance, whether you're mic'd up, whether you're not, whether you have a certain type of understanding," Macdonald said. "So I fell short in that moment. So it stings for me, frankly, but it's something that I'm definitely going to learn from. And just a good example that we just got to take responsibility for the things that we say."
In the Bensinger interview, Macdonald recounted how Payton, after Seattle's 26-20 victory over Denver in Macdonald's first regular-season game as head coach in 2024, essentially threatened to go public with a Patriots Spygate-style accusation. Payton had heard that Macdonald and his staff collected Broncos plays that Denver fans had recorded during training camp and posted on social media. Macdonald explained that since those videos were public, Seattle used them to its advantage, scouting every one before the season opener.
Such tactics are not uncommon in today's NFL. Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley recently shared that when he hired former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, he learned Patullo had obtained half of Hafley's pressures from fan-recorded Green Bay Packers training camp videos ahead of the 2024 season, Hafley's first as Packers defensive coordinator. Hafley noted he called a pressure in that season's opener that he had never run before, and the Eagles knew it was coming; Philadelphia won that Week 1 game 34-29 in Brazil.
As for Payton's suspicions, Macdonald said the veteran coach called Seahawks general manager John Schneider and expressed that he thought it was a Michigan-like situation where Seattle had a plant. Macdonald responded by warning Payton that if he went public, the Seahawks would sue him because the accusation was false. Payton ultimately let it go, Macdonald said, adding: "It was like the Cold War. [Payton] was like, 'I'm going to hit the button. I'm going to hit the button.' 'No, we're going to hit the button.' So none of us hit the button."
The exchange between Macdonald and Bensinger took place on set where the rest of the interview occurred, but Macdonald appeared especially relaxed and informal while telling the story. The camera angle was notably unorthodox, with the mic and lighting fixtures in view. When asked Wednesday if he thought he was simply shooting the breeze before the cameras were rolling, Macdonald replied, "Yeah."
"It's something that I didn't intend for public use," Macdonald said earlier in his news conference. "But it just felt like it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and really just apologize to him for having that end up be public where it wasn't meant to. It's something that [the Broncos] have to deal with in real time that wasn't really on their end. So that's really where you're like, crap. But it's a lesson learned."
Macdonald conveyed that Payton was gracious in response to the apology. "Sean was great," Macdonald said. "I respect the heck out of him and his program, always have. He's a phenomenal football coach. It's been great to get to know him at the owners meetings the last couple years, and he was awesome. So I know we're both looking forward to moving forward from it, but I really appreciate how he handled it."
Payton: 'He and I Are Good'
Payton, a Super Bowl-winning coach like Macdonald, confirmed the two spoke Tuesday night. "He and I are good," Payton said at his Wednesday news conference. "Lord knows, I've been in his position where you're talking about something .. and the story is three years ago. Now, I don't know Mike at that time really, but I know Schneides really well. And, so, I'm sure my initial call to John wasn't pleasant, but I would say this, in talking with him, it allowed us to figure out how to handle our training camp relative to just videos. And I don't think anything was intentional by fans. You know what I mean? But at first, you're kind of thinking, man, how could? And then we did some research online of what was available, and that's kind of how we changed our policy. So, in that way, the whole kerfuffle actually helped the Broncos to some degree."
When asked if he initially thought the Seahawks taped their plays rather than fans, Payton conceded he didn't know. "So obviously I called shooting before I started looking," he said. "And I could only do that with John because, again, he's someone I'll have a beer with at the combine. I consider him a good friend. But it was eye-opening relative to just, alright, we got to be better in this area."
Payton went as far as to say that Denver is pulling for Macdonald's Seahawks, except for one game — the teams will face off on Thursday Night Football in Week 6. After all, Seattle is playing the AFC West this season, so it could hand the Broncos' division foes losses. "Like I said, the conversation last night was good," Payton said, alluding to his talk with Macdonald. "I have a ton of respect for him, and that's it."
Originally reported by yahoo.