Pete Carroll will not return as Seahawks coach

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 on Wednesday.

Carroll, who just completed his 14th season with the Seahawks, made it clear at a news conference Wednesday that he would have preferred to return as the team’s head coach next season. “I fought pretty hard to be a coach, just so you know.”

“Following the season-ending meetings with ownership… it is clear, and for various reasons, we have mutually agreed to chart a new course,” he said.

During the press conference where the 72-year-old became emotional as he thanked his staff and family members, 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 highly of his old colleague. Furthermore, the responsibilities for his new role at the organization had not yet been defined.

“It’s about this organization being successful and on track in the long term. And I realize that,” he said. “I mean, I’m about as old as you can get in this business, and there comes a time when they have to make some decisions. So moving into the future, if I can add to it somehow, we’ll see what happens.

Carrol continued, “But this is a good move for them. And Johnny’s (GM John Schneider) is going to take this thing, 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 finished below .500 just three times under Carroll.

“Pete is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, delivered the city’s first Super Bowl title and created a tremendous impact on the field and in the community over the past fourteen years. His expertise in leadership and building a champion culture will remain an integral part of our future organization. Pete will always be a beloved member of the Seahawks family,” Seahawks Chairman Jody Allen said in a statement. Allen was not present at Carroll’s news conference.

Statement from Jody Allen – President, Seattle Seahawks pic.twitter.com/RNUZvF6Vgp

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 10, 2024

After Seattle’s 21-20 win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Carroll told reporters he expected 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 am not tired. I’m not like that.’ He said on Wednesday that these statements were “down to the bone.”

Seattle was eliminated from the playoffs in Week 18 when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears. That was only the fourth time since Carroll was hired that the Seahawks failed to make the postseason.

The Seahawks defense under Carroll has steadily declined over the past decade. Since 2013, Seattle’s defensive EPA rankings have fallen almost every season: first, third, seventh, seventh, eighth, 15th, 19th, 18th, 22nd, 25th and 29th this season.

Before taking the job as Seahawks head coach in 2010, Carroll spent nine seasons as head coach at USC. He posted a 97-19 record with the Trojans and won two national championships.

Before USC, he was head coach of the New England Patriots for three seasons. And a season as head coach of the New York Jets.

Is this move surprising?

It’s surprising that Carroll no longer holds the title of head coach, 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 during that span and came within one yard of the other. But Seattle has missed the playoffs in three of the past seven seasons and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2019. In that time, Seattle has had high draft picks and made a number 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: to become champions.– Michael-Shawn Dugar, the Seahawks beat writer

What is Carroll’s legacy

Carroll is the best Seahawks coach in franchise history and is responsible for the team’s lone Super Bowl win and two of their three appearances. He was the architect behind one of the greatest defenses of modern times and created a culture that players loved to be in. Many of Carroll’s former players still live in the area, communicate with him regularly and follow the team the way college graduates do. their alma mater. Carroll will almost certainly earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The coach who will succeed Carroll will have huge shoes to fill. — Dugar

Required reading

(Photo: Matt Kartozian/USA Today)