Seahawks' AI Use Detailed by Macdonald and HC Opens Up About 'Paralyzing' Feeling Accepting Job

As they attempt to defend their Super Bowl title, the Seattle Seahawks are among the NFL teams "more deeply integrating AI tools like Copilot into their day-to-day operations."

The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue detailed how Brian Eayrs, the team's director of football analysis and special situations, utilizes artificial intelligence for duties such as running game models or sifting through film.

Head coach Mike Macdonald also envisions Copilot occupying "a regular part of the team's workflow."

"The Seahawks, who are a partner of Microsoft AI, are already testing some of those ideas," Rodrigue said. "For example, Macdonald records all of his meetings and uses the tool to package specific notes and highlights from the recordings so he can be clearer in his delivery and ensure players and coaches are receiving consistent messaging week over week."

In the best-case scenario, Macdonald believes AI will contextualize data at a much faster rate than a coach can. That would give coaches more time to draw up a game plan and focus on specialized training with their players.

Macdonald sees AI as a way for the Seahawks to gain a competitive edge, and he doesn't want the organization to fall behind the curve.

"That was something that always bothered me about my experiences coming up," he told Rodrigue. "'Why is there so much resistance to trying — why are we not trying to find the absolute best way to do things?' It still drives me crazy to this day. How can you live with yourself if you're just squeaking by?

"A cuss word around here is, 'well, this is the way we've always done it.'"

Macdonald isn't the only NFL coach who has embraced artificial intelligence. The Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Sirianni told Zach Berman of The Athletic this summer he used ChatGPT to help discover sources of inspiration for his motivational speeches to his players.

The Athletic's Josh Kendall provided a broader picture last June about how the influence of AI is growing around the NFL.

Coaching is a stressful job and there are basically no days off once the season gets underway. For Macdonald, the strain is compounded by the expectations he puts upon himself.

On In Depth with Graham Bensinger (via ESPN's Brady Henderson), the 39-year-old said he had an almost "paralyzing" feeling once he took the Seahawks job.

"It was an extremely difficult time," he said. "I've never felt like that in my life. I was sick. I'd go home, I'd get in bed as soon as I got home. I wouldn't get out of bed until I went to work. I'd be late going to work. In the weekend, I wouldn't get out of bed all weekend. I'd just sit in bed. It was crazy. But is it depression? I don't know. Maybe. I find it hard to self-diagnose depression. There's serious cases of depression that are clinically diagnosed."

Macdonald told Bensinger he "just wanted to be right all the time," which is basically impossible for any first-time coach.

"That was the weight I was carrying," he said. "There's a burden that I felt like I was holding because we weren't where we wanted to be, and I wasn't clear on what to do. That can be a lonely, tough feeling."

Seattle went 10-7 in 2024, so Year 1 was largely a success under Macdonald. Then came a Super Bowl triumph in his second season.

Macdonald's tenure is going better than anyone could've reasonably foreseen, but he's clearly not content to coast on any past achievements.

The Seahawks opened 2026 with a 13-10 win over the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl LX rematch. They prevailed despite backup quarterback Drew Lock playing the majority of the game.

There's still a long road between now and the franchise lifting the Lombardi Trophy in February. Failing to repeat won't be through any lack of effort from the coaching staff.