Pete Carroll will not return as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks next season, but will remain with the franchise as an advisor, the team announced Wednesday.
Carroll, who had just completed his 14th season with the Seahawks, made it clear in a news conference Wednesday that he would have preferred to return next season as the team’s head coach. “I competed pretty hard to be the coach, just so you know.”
“After the end-of-season meetings with the owners… it is clear, and for a variety of reasons, we mutually agreed to take a new direction,” he said.
During the press conference in which the 72-year-old became emotional as he thanked his staff and family, he said he will not be involved in the franchise’s search for his replacement, but that general manager John Schneider will be involved. and spoke very well of him. his long-time co-worker. Furthermore, responsibilities for his new role in the organization had not yet been defined.
“This is about this organization being successful and also being on track for the long term. And I realize that,” she said. “I mean, I’m as old as you can be in this business, and there’s come a time when they have to make some decisions. “So going forward, if there is a way to add something to them in the future, we will see what happens.”
Carrol continued: “But this is a good step for them. And Johnny (general manager John Schneider) is going to take this, take the bull by the horns and roll.”
Carroll led the franchise to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014, including a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seahawks are 137-89-1 and have only finished below .500 three times under Carroll.
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“Pete is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, gave the city its first Super Bowl title and created a tremendous impact over the past 14 years on the field and in the community. His experience in leadership and building a championship culture will continue as an integral part of our organization well into the future. “Pete will always be a beloved member of the Seahawks family,” Seahawks president Jody Allen said in a statement. Allen was not present at Carroll’s news conference.
Statement from Jody Allen, president of the Seattle Seahawks pic.twitter.com/RNUZvF6Vgp
– Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 10, 2024
Following Seattle’s 21-20 win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Carroll told reporters he hoped to return to the Seahawks. The 72-year-old coach told Seattle Sports on Monday: “I plan to coach this team. I love these guys, and that’s what I’d like to do and see how far we can go. I’m not exhausted. I’m not tired. “I’m nothing like that.” He said Wednesday that those statements were “true to the essence.”
Seattle was eliminated from playoff contention in Week 18 when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears. That was just the fourth time since Carroll was hired that the Seahawks failed to make the postseason.
The Seahawks defense under Carroll has been in steady decline over the last decade. Since 2013, Seattle’s defensive EPA ranking has fallen almost every season: first, third, seventh, seventh, eighth, 15th, 19th, 18th, 22nd, 25th and 29th this season.
Before taking over as the Seahawks’ head coach in 2010, Carroll spent nine seasons as head coach at USC. He compiled a 97-19 record with the Trojans and won two national championships.
Prior to USC, he spent three seasons as head coach of the New England Patriots. And a stint as head coach of the New York Jets.
Is this move surprising?
It’s surprising that Carroll no longer has the coaching title, although the move isn’t hard to justify. Only six teams have a higher winning percentage than the Seahawks since he took over the team in 2010. He won a Super Bowl in that span and came within a yard of winning another. But Seattle has missed the playoffs in three of the last seven seasons and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2019.
In that time, Seattle has had high draft picks and made a ton of win-now trades (Jadeveon Clowney in 2019, Jamal Adams in 2020 and Leonard Williams in 2023), but the team hasn’t been able to get over the hump. This year’s team had talent, but fell far short of its goal, which was to fight for the championship. — Michael-Shawn Dugar, Seahawks staff writer
What is Carroll’s legacy?
Carroll is the best Seahawks coach in franchise history and is responsible for the team’s only Super Bowl victory and two of its three appearances. He was the architect behind one of the greatest defenses of the modern era and established a culture that players loved to be around. Many of Carroll’s former players still live in the area, communicate with him regularly and follow the team the same way college graduates keep track of their alma mater.
Carroll will almost certainly earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The coach who succeeds Carroll will have big shoes to fill. — dugar
Required reading
(Photo: Matt Kartozian/USA Today)
