On ‘Hard Knocks,’ Mike Macdonald remembers the time Rex Ryan called him ‘terrible’
Seattle Seahawks head coach Michael Macdonald forgives, but he never forgets.
That was made abundantly clear in the teaser for Tuesday night’s premiere episode of Hard Knocks, featuring the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
In the clip, Macdonald and star defensive back Nick Emmanwori are initially discussing his recovery from ankle surgery. Towards the end of their conversation, the topic shifts to outside noise and how people in their position need to handle it. To illustrate his point, the coach shows a keepsake from when ESPN NFL analyst Rex Ryan called him “terrible” on TV.
“It’s like someone talking sh*t about you on Twitter,” Macdonald tells Emmanwori. “It’s gonna go away in 15 seconds. Everything will pass. See that note card right there? It says, ‘This new hot shot coordinator is terrible.’ Rex Ryan. And I deserved it. We were dogsh*t on defense. And he was talking mad sh*t. Back then I used to care so much about image, and now he thinks that we’re the best thing ever. I was like, ‘I remember.’”
“I keep receipts, too,” Emmanwori responded. “I like to prove people wrong.”
“Even still, there’s always this thing of like, people’s versions of me and what they think of me is not me. So it’s like, I’m okay with that,” Macdonald said.
Mike Macdonald always keeps perspective around any outside noise
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the @Seahawks premieres tonight at 9pm ET on @HBOMaxpic.twitter.com/bGszbwD0Xa
— NFL (@NFL) August 4, 2026
Naturally, people immediately went looking for the clip of Ryan’s offending comments. They weren’t that hard to find, as the clip of the former NFL coach lambasting Macdonald started making the rounds. It was 2022 when the Baltimore Ravens blew a 35-14 lead in the fourth quarter to the Miami Dolphins, losing 42-38. Macdonald was in his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator, and the ESPN analyst was not impressed.
Rex Ryan on Mike Macdonald in September 2022 after his second career game as an NFL defensive coordinator:
“This new hot shot coordinator is terrible.”
Mike Mac kept his receipts. #Ravenshttps://t.co/XWrKIj4m4kpic.twitter.com/SCxP3lXGWX
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbytrosset) September 21, 2023
The Ravens traded for Roquan Smith later that season, and their defense eventually turned into the best in the league. Macdonald was hired as the Seahawks’ head coach before the 2024 season and, a year later, he won a Super Bowl. Not so terrible after all.
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