Seattle Seahawks shocker: Team fires Pete Carroll, sort of
In a shocking decision, the Seattle Seahawks parted ways with long-time head coach Pete Carroll.
Chris Phillips
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In a shocking decision, the Seattle Seahawks parted ways with long-time head coach Pete Carroll.
The Seattle Seahawks announced last week that Pete Carroll would no longer be the team’s. This announcement came as a bit of a surprise. The 72-year-old was the oldest coach in the NFL at the time of his dismissal. Although you wouldn’t know it by the energy he shows.
Regardless, not many people coach in the NFL beyond the age of 72. Romeo Crennel was the oldest (73) to land a head coaching job.
Last season. Carroll became the fourth oldest head coach in the NFL. Only Marv Levy, George Halas, and the Crennel were older. Carroll was a head coach for 18 years, ranking, coincidentally, 18th all-time.
If this is the end, Carroll finished his head coaching career with a record of 170-120, in addition to a balanced 11-11 playoff record and 1-1 Super Bowl record. Carroll is also the winningest coach in Seattle Seahawks history, with a record of 137-89-1.
He only had four losing seasons in his entire career, with three of them coming while coaching in Seattle. While that may sound bad, he spent most of his head coaching career in the Emerald City.
In the 14 years before Carroll’s arrival, the Seattle Seahawks made the playoffs six times and had only seven winning seasons. Their record was 114-110, winning the division five times. Although the franchise sustained its most success during the Carroll era, it also had some downtimes. His first season saw the team go 7-9, yet win the division and therefore make the playoffs.
That season also created the Seattle Seahawks’ most memorable playoff game, the Beast Quake. Unfortunately, the Seahawks lost the next week to Chicago, but just three years later, Seattle hoisted the Lombardi Trophy as they defeated their former division rival, Denver. The following year saw the Seahawks return to the Super Bowl with a chance to be the first repeat champions since 2004.
However, there was no repeat as Carroll decided to call a pass play on second and goal down four with 27 seconds left in the game. Russell Wilson’s throw was intercepted, and everyone still wonders why he decided to pass instead of handing it off to Marshawn Lynch. But despite that, Carroll is still beloved by the franchise as they have asked him to serve the team as an advisor.
Now Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider must decide who is the best guy to replace the team’s winningest coach. The franchise has employed only three head coaches over the last 24 years. Seattle is a desirable team for coaches as they have some excellent pieces already in place, and with the right roster tweaks, the team can be back in the playoffs.