Graham Bensinger provided his take on the controversial part of an interview that he had with Mike Macdonald that the Seattle Seahawks head coach never wished had aired. During an appearance on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger," Macdonald told Bensinger that Payton figured out the Seahawks had found fan videos of practices that helped Seattle defeat the Broncos 26-20 during their season opener in 2024. Payton called Seahawks general manager John Lynch and suggested he could make a scandal similar to what the New England Patriots dealt with during "Spygate." The Seahawks responded with a threat of their own.
More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts Macdonald told reporters on Wednesday that he believed his comments were off the record. He reached out to Payton to offer an apology. Newsweek reached out to Bensinger's team for comment.
They directed Newsweek to a statement made by Bensinger on Facebook on Wednesday evening. Bensinger claims the Seahawks public relations team had five days to review the interview, including the part on Payton, before it was published. "The complete Mike Macdonald interview, including the conversation now at issue, was provided to Seahawks PR last Wednesday, September 16 - five days before it was published on YouTube Monday," Bensinger wrote.
"During that time, no concern was raised about the exchange, and we were never asked to remove it. For the last couple of years, our typical practice with long-form interview releases has been to include some of the pre-interview conversation." Bensinger wrote that his team removed the portion about Payton immediately when Macdonald reached out on Tuesday morning. However, other online outlets had clipped that portion of the interview, which continues to circulate on social media.
Bensinger "regretted" allowing that part of the interview to be included. "I have tremendous respect for Coach," Bensinger wrote. "We spent significant time together in Seattle, and I came away impressed not only by what he has accomplished in such a short period of time, but by the person he is.” "The last thing I want is for one exchange to overshadow that story.
I also have great respect for Sean Payton, whom I had the opportunity to profile previously." Newsweek reached out to the Seahawks for comment, but they did not return comment by the time of this publishing. For more on the Seahawks and the NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
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