Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald addresses leaked comments about Broncos coach Sean Payton

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday he reached out to apologize to Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton for a leaked video of him making comments about Payton that he “didn’t intend for public use.”

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Macdonald answered questions from reporters during his regular Wednesday press conference about the video that was recorded while he was shooting an appearance on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” and made the rounds Tuesday on social media.

In the clip, which displays a static camera shot of Macdonald talking to Bensinger with lighting equipment in view, Macdonald said Payton is “not my biggest fan” and recalled a story of Payton accusing the Seahawks during Macdonald’s first season of cheating by using videos from Broncos training camp posted by fans publicly on social media for scouting purposes.

The Seahawks beat the Broncos 26-20 in Macdonald’s first game as head coach in 2024. The two teams are set to play on Thursday Night Football on Oct. 15 in Denver.

Here is what Macdonald said Wednesday in regards to the leaked video and Payton:

It’s something that I didn’t intend for public use. (I) 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 they have to deal with in real time that wasn’t really on their end, so that’s really where you’re like, ‘Crap.’

It’s a lesson learned, honestly. I’ve 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 some certain type of understanding. So, you know, I fell short in that moment.

It stings for me, frankly, but it’s something that I’m definitely going to learn from and just a good example that we’ve got to take responsibility for the things that we say.

… Sean was great. 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 of 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.

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