Pete Carroll laments non-'football people' calling Seahawks shots after losing coaching job
Two days after the conclusion of his head coaching tenure with the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll opened up about his fateful meeting with Seahawks brass in his final weekly radio show.
In it, he said that he's open to other head-coaching opportunities, but not counting on one. And he lamented the challenge of making his football case in that meeting with non-"football people" calling the shots in Seattle.
Carroll made the comments in an interview with Seattle Sports' "Brock and Salk." He spoke about discussing football adjustments in what sounds like an effort to keep his job.
"I see it one way, and I think I’ve got a way to fix it. I’m not gonna kind of halfway fix it," Carroll said of his meeting with Seahawks ownership. "I’m trying to fix it so it’s perfect. So I’ve got real precise and specific thoughts, and they may not see it that way.
"They may not agree with it, they may not see that that’s the right answer or that’s not the answer that makes them feel good. The difficult part: It’s really hard because they’re not football people. They’re not coaches. So to get to the real details of it, it’s really difficult for other people."
Carroll didn't specifically name the non-"football people." He met with team ownership this week alongside general manager John Schneider. Jody Allen is the chair and de facto owner of the Seahawks in her role overseeing the Paul Allen Trust. She took control after the death of her brother and longtime team owner Paul Allen in 2018. Reports at the time of Paul Allen's death suggested that Jody had no interest in running the franchise or the Portland Trail Blazers she also inherited; but she's still in control more than five years later.
The Seahawks announced Carroll's dismissal in a statement from Allen on Wednesday that painted the decision as mutual and a path to a new advisory role for Carroll.
Statement from Jody Allen - Chair, Seattle Seahawks pic.twitter.com/RNUZvF6Vgp
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 10, 2024
Carroll's comments Wednesday and again Friday suggest that the decision was not mutual and that he still wants to coach the Seahawks. He said Friday he believes Seahawks ownership was influenced in its decision by media rather than "football people."
"I knew that we were gonna be challenged," Carroll continued in regard to his meeting with ownership. "Because every year it feels like that, that you’re gonna be challenged and you’re challenged by opinions that are kind of media opinions. Because what else do people have when you’re outside of the game? How could you know other than what you guys talk about on the radio and what the articles say and what the pundits are drawing conclusions on?
"That’s why you have to go in realizing that that’s what you’re dealing with, and then try to talk through to get to the essence of stuff. That’s always going to be a challenge because when you don’t have legitimate dyed-in-the-wool football people calling the shots, then you have to try to make sense of it just like we try to make sense of it for your audience."
The Seahawks finished 9-8 this season and missed the playoffs a year after making the postseason with the same record. They made the playoffs in 10 out of Carroll's 14 seasons as head coach, but missed the postseason in two of his last three.
Carroll's coaching span in Seattle that started in 2010 included two NFC championships and a Super Bowl victory. He previously coached USC for nine seasons, leading the Trojans to a split of the 2003 national championship and a national title of their own a year later.
At 72 years old, he's now officially working in an advisory role for the Seahawks. He isn't ruling out a return to coaching with another team. He's just not counting on it.
"I've got plenty of energy for it and thought and willingness, but I can't imagine there’s a place, the right one," Carroll said of taking another coaching job, per ESPN's Brady Henderson. "I don’t know.
"I'm open to everything, but I’m not holding my breath on that. There’s a lot of world out here that I’m excited about challenging and going after. So if that happens, it happens. We’ll see."
