Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton appear to be on good terms.
Macdonald said Wednesday that he apologized to Payton for comments he made in an interview that went viral Tuesday. During an appearance on "In Depth With Graham Bensinger," Macdonald said Payton had accused the Seahawks of cheating prior to a Week 1 matchup between the clubs in 2024.
"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 (be)," Macdonald told reporters Wednesday, including ESPN's Brady Henderson.
He added, "I've got to be better in that moment for understanding, look, I'm responsible for what I say no matter the circumstance - whether you're mic'd-up, whether you're not, whether you have a certain type of understanding. I fell short in that moment. It stings for me, frankly, but it's something that I'm definitely gonna learn from, and it's just a good example that we've got to take responsibility for the things that we say."
During the sit-down interview, Macdonald revealed that the Seahawks used videos from Broncos training camp that fans posted on social media to scout their opponent ahead of their 2024 season opener. Macdonald added that Payton "lost it" when he found out what had happened and called Seahawks general manager John Schneider to confront him, threatening to go public with a "(New England) Patriots Spygate type of thing." Seattle countered by threatening to sue Payton if he went public with the cheating accusation.
The Seahawks won their meeting with the Broncos 26-20. The two teams will meet again Oct. 15 in Denver.
