Mike Macdonald Comes to Defense of Embattled Seattle Seahawks Ownership

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If the Seattle Seahawks win on Sunday then Mike Macdonald will become the NFL's first Super Bowl-winning head coach who calls his team's defensive plays.
That's an eyebrow-raising anecdote and points to what may be a long-term problem for the Seahawks given how valuable good offensive playcallers are and the likelihood of their moving on to head coach gigs, as is happening to them right now with Klint Kubiak and the Las Vegas Raiders.
That's a story for another day, though. For now, the Seahawks are more than just fully vindicated for hiring Macdonald two years ago. His schematic genius turned an average team into a Super Bowl juggernaut in two seasons - and it's his defense more than anything else that's powering this runaway train.
Super Bowl week is never without drama, though. Macdonald also found himself defending his boss, team owner Jody Allen after it was reported that the NFL had fined the Seahawks $5 million over her failure to sell the team, which was mandated in former franchise owner Paul Allen's trust when he died back in 2018.
Here's what Macdonald had to say about Allen at one of his pressers earlier this week.
Mike Macdonald on Jody Allen
Coach Mike Macdonald with more glowing praise for the stewardship of #Seahawks team chair Jody Allen, amid Super Bowl questions here in San Jose about the franchise’s upcoming sale.
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) February 3, 2026
Says she was clear for him when he was in something of “a fog” as a rookie head coach in 2024. pic.twitter.com/MjP4Q3akNk
For whatever it's worth, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied the report that the league had fined the Seahawks $5 million, which makes either Goodell or the Wall Street Journal a liar. It doesn't take a Mike Macdonald-sized brain to figure that one out.
Anyway, while Seattle has done well under Allen - she is technically in violation of Paul Allen's trust and will eventually have to sell the team. When that happens the Seahawks are projected to go for a price-tag somewhere between $7 billion to $8 billion.
That makes the field of potential buyers a relatively narrow field. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos should probably be considered the favorite, as he's been linked to interest in the Seahawks previously and his $250+ billion fortune means he could buy them without any partners. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has become another popular name to buy the team over the years, but for now there hasn't been any actual hard reporting on potential purchasing candidates.
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Tim Weaver has been writing about the NFL since the 2013 season for multiple teams and outlets, including USA Today and The Sporting News. He currently covers the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers for On SI.