Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that his comments about Broncos head coach Sean Payton in a recent interview were intended to be off the record during his Wednesday press conference. In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Macdonald recounted that Payton became upset with the Seahawks for using fan-recorded videos from Denver’s training camp to prepare for a Week 1 game between the teams in 2024. Macdonald compared it to a “Cold War” in which Payton referenced Spygate and the Seahawks responded with a threat to sue him if he made any allegations public. Macdonald said Wednesday that the comments were made during a conversation before he thought the interview was being recorded and said there was “some kind of understanding” about their use. Macdonald declined to discuss any conversations he may have had about how the video reached the public, but said he reached out to Payton to apologize. “It was something I had no intention of publishing for public use,” Macdonald said. “I thought it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and really apologize for going public when it wasn’t meant to be… It’s a lesson learned. I have to be better in that moment to understand that I am responsible for what I say no matter the circumstances.” Macdonald said Payton was “unbelievable” in their conversation and the two men will have a chance to face each other for the second time as head coaches in Week 6.
