The life of an NFL head coach is hectic. There are a lot of responsibilities they need to handle on a weekly basis. They have to watch film on the opponent, game plan, run practice, and keep team morale up. At the end of the day, some coaches, like Mike Macdonald, don’t even get to spend much time with their families because of it.
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Macdonald recently talked about this dilemma in a sit-down interview ahead of the NFC Championship Game. Comparing this season to his rookie season as a coach last year, he talked about how he tries to get away from the Seattle Seahawks facility more and more nowadays. From the sounds of things, he practically lived there last year.
This season, Macdonald is trying a new approach by watching more film at home. Still, he’s only getting anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour of personal time with his son, Jack, in a week, and the two barely get to see each other.
“I don’t get to see Jack throughout the week as much. So, Thursdays, which is today, I try to get home pretty quick to be with him for maybe half an hour, an hour before he goes to bed. And then, I’ve got a setup in my house where I can work on the game plan,” Macdonald told King 5 Sports.
It goes to show how little time an NFL head coach has to themselves during the season. They watch so much film and study so much that it takes over their lives. Some, like Macdonald, can’t even escape the work once they get home.
That said, in reaction to Macdonald’s revelation, NFL fans called him out. “I’ve taken longer sh*ts than that,” one wrote.
“What a f*ckin loser,” another commented. “Damn that’s sad,” a third piled on.
Fans were not too impressed with Macdonald’s parenting of his son. That’s why ex-Super Bowl champion Mitchell Schwartz had to jump in and defend the coach by listing the weekly schedule of an NFL head coach.
“People are ragging on this but there’s a few key factors here: 1) Monday and Tuesday are marathon days for coaches. They watch all the film of their opponent and figure out the game plan. Some don’t even go home those nights, or if they do it’s for just a couple hours,” Schwartz posted.
People are ragging on this but there’s a few key factors here:
1) Monday and Tuesday are marathon days for coaches. They watch all the film of their opponent and figure out the game plan. Some don’t even go home those nights, or if they do it’s for just a couple hours. https://t.co/hAEqO8jfXH
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) January 24, 2026
The former lineman went on to list five other factors that coaches have to deal with throughout a work week. Most notably, he mentioned that Wednesday is the start of a coach’s week, Thursday is the longest day of the practice week, and Friday is the shortest. Schwartz also suggested that Macdonald was exaggerating and argued that he probably sees his kid for longer than 30 minutes per day.
Still, at the end of the day, being a head coach in the NFL is demanding. It’s a passionate job that doesn’t really have set hours, and success is usually defined by a coach’s willingness to go the extra mile. For Macdonald, that extra mile comes with sacrificing family time.
The good thing about sports, though, is that the season only lasts so long. There’s an offseason in every sport, which provides plenty of time for coaches and players to relax with their families. So, let’s not act like Macdonald is a bad parent. He’s providing for his family while doing the job he loves.
