2022 Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10: Number 3 – Jody Allen
In our ongoing Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10 series, we move on to Number 3, Jody Allen.
Jody Allen is an unlikely owner of professional sports teams. After the passing of her brother Paul Allen in 2018, she became the trustee and executor of his estate. Her official title is Trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.
As part of those duties, she assumed ownership of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers and is a minority partner of the Seattle Sounders. Although it’s fair to say that sports aren’t her first love. That would be real estate development.
Jody was involved with the construction of the Moda Center in Portland and Lumen Field in Seattle. Some say it was her idea for Paul to acquire the Seahawks.
Unlike someone such as Jerry Jones, Jody isn’t an out-front owner. She is more like Paul and prefers to let her executives manage the day-to-day operations of the teams.
While she might not originally be a “sports person” by choice, Jody is no stranger to it either. She calls herself “a proud 12.”
Seahawks Contract Extensions
Two of the most important decisions Allen made in recent years are a pair of big management contract extensions. The first was Executive Vice President and Head Coach Pete Carroll. GM and Executive VP John Schneider followed a few months later.
These weren’t easy calls. Leading up to those extensions, the Seattle Seahawks struggled in the playoffs. Seattle had a great 2020 regular season, going 12-4. In November, extended Carroll through 2025, when he’ll be 74.
Carroll is the winningest coach in franchise history and may be the youngest 70-year-old in history. But the move wasn’t universally popular among the fanbase. Dissenters say Carroll’s offense is antiquated and that the game has passed him by.
Although Schneider is the General Manager, he’s an extension of Carroll. That alone is enough to disqualify him in the eyes of some 12s. Despite the rumblings, Schneider received an extension through 2027.
Blazers Management Shakeup
For over a decade, Neil Olshey ran the Portland Trail Blazers basketball operations as team General Manager. He rose to power around the same time Portland drafted Damian Lillard. Over the course of their careers, the two had a good relationship.
Due to the Trail Blazers’ performance during his latter tenure, many Rip City fans thought he should have been relieved of his duties. However, it was his personal conduct in the office that became his undoing. First was his controversial firing of head coach Terry Stotts where he literally threw Stotts under the bus in his presser.
Then came the even more controversial hiring of Chauncey Billups to replace Stotts. Billups had past sexual assault allegations against him, but Olshey personally vouched for him.
In November 2021, several Blazers’ employees claimed Olshey created a hostile work environment. Among the accusations were bully tactics, profanity-laced tirades, and keeping records of any real or perceived complaints made against him.
Allen hired an external law firm to conduct an investigation into Olshey’s behavior. The investigation backed up employee claims, and she pulled the trigger on his firing.
Why she’s on the list
As owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, Jody Allen is one of the most influential figures in the Pacific Northwest. Whether she wants to be or not.
Both teams are important pieces of their respective communities and have passionate fans. Interestingly enough, both also enter into rebuilding phases at the same time. As the person responsible for the bottom line, as well as her recent management decisions, puts her squarely on The Pacific Northwest Sports Top 10.