My Thoughts on the Seahawks moving on from Pete Carroll

 When the Seahawks announced on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, that they were moving off of Pete Carroll as their head coach, I was, to say the least, surprised.  I knew Pete had built something in this organization that had never been seen before: A culture that kept players like Sherm, Kam, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Marshawn Lynch, and others coming back and visiting and lending their expertise to the current Hawks.  Therefore, I really felt that when it was time, Pete would leave on his own terms.  Instead, he was essentially removed as head coach.  Yes, it came across as more mutual, but I'd be willing to bet that had Pete not accepted it, they would have been forced to fire him, and he would not have left on as good of terms.  Instead, he will stay on in an advisory role.  (Supposedly)

I understand why it was done.  I think the main sticking point, the main reason it happened was due to Pete not being able to keep up with the modern game and compete against the younger coaches in the league.  If you listen to his press conferences or interviews, you hear that he wanted so badly for the team to do better in certain areas (like stopping the run), but they couldn't.  And it was not due to lack of talent.  They weren't picking guys off the street or relying upon undrafted free agents.  Also, Pete continued to struggle to come out on top against Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay's teams.  He had way more experience and was twice their age, but more often than not, the Hawks would come off looking worse in the divisional matchups with their teams.  

The next hire could not be more important.  The Hawks have a lot of young pieces and could easily make a Super Bowl run next season under the right leadership.  Alternatively, the wrong hire could lead to disastrous results where we could see this team head to a larger rebuild, a possible sale of the team, and a very uncertain future.  The wrong hire could set off a chain of events that spell doom for this organization.  But it could also continue the winning culture set forth not only by Pete Carroll but one of his predecessors, Mike Holmgren.  We cannot forget the impact coach Holmgren had, taking a perpetually mediocre team and elevating them to occasional contenders.

Whoever they hire has to be able to enter and immediately command the locker room and garner respect.  I don't think he can be too different from Pete Carroll, but he can't be too similar, either.  If he's too similar, the players will simply think this guy is trying to be the next Pete Carroll and won't respond as well.  However, a coach who is too different will be a bit of a culture shock to players like Geno, Tyler, DK, and Bobby (if he's here) and they won't respond well in that regard, either.  

I don't want to get into the specific candidates out there.  That's either for another post or maybe I'll evaluate each coaching hire once they are all done.  

Honestly, I'm excited.  The Hawks haven't had to actually search for a coach really in my NFL-viewing life.  Jim Mora Jr. was the heir apparent to Mike Holmgren, and Pete Carroll was hired to replace Mora after he became available.  There was never a real thorough process of bringing in multiple coaching candidates for interviews at that time.  I'll be excited to hear who flies in for an interview.  I'm sure some I'll be wishing they don't get the job and some I'll be wishing they do get the job, and some I'll be in-between on.  

Time will tell.  I'll definitely detail my thoughts once the hire is made.  Whoever it is, the 12s will give their full support and hopefully he can keep the Seahawks as consistent contenders.  GO HAWKS.