The rumours regarding the near divorce of Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll from quarterback Russell Wilson may be much ado about nothing. Or that particular rumour may be a lot to do with everything, as many in Seattle media believe Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers is behind leaks (recent and past) to the national media regarding Wilson’s lack of trust in the organisation. The departure of either would be a massive loss to Seattle’s franchise and inevitably instigate a rebuild. The loss of Carroll might set the Seahawks on a potential wayward path for years. The Seahawks should retain Pete Carroll for the opportunity to rebuild culture and winning football.
Seattle Seahawks: Retain Pete Carroll or Beware the Depths of Losing
The Ghost of Coaches Past
There is an alternative future in which a more complacent Seattle organisation (which, is quite hard to imagine under the late Paul Allen) did not fire Jim Mora in 2010. Mora, the overly candid and easily disgruntled coach, may not have been the worse option, especially after his 2010 season was derailed by a plethora of injuries. Yet, Mora lacked the ability to establish culture, specifically in part to his one consistent trait: surliness. He may have had an organisational plan that looked decent on paper; he remains wholly bereft when it comes to culture.
The late Allen recruited Carroll from USC partly as both recognise the importance of culture, and both are legends at setting culture. In Carroll’s first two seasons with Seattle, he went 7-9 both years, making the playoffs in the first year and upsetting the Saints. A quirky running back who may have only ever found a welcoming home in Carroll’s Seahawks highlighted the wildcard upset against the New Orleans Saints. Marshawn Lynch endeared himself to fans, giving them the Beast Quake run, the first of many “Beast Mode” runs. The partnership between Lynch and Carroll – or Carroll’s acceptance of Lynch’s personality at the end of a decade featuring less amenable coaches – signalled to Seattle fans how special Carroll’s tenure might be.
If Seattle fires Pete Carroll, finding a coach who matches Carroll’s culture building will be impossible. There are going to be tough years ahead as the team rebuilds around a new identity, one likely to emphasise strategy over culture. The Seahawks are familiar with the depths of losing in the 1990’s, after firing Chuck Knox in 1991 following a few mediocre seasons. They went 2-14 in 1992, and did not return to the playoffs until 1999 under head coach Mike Holmgren in his first year in Seattle. The 90s were sour years for Seattle, and not giving Carroll another chance to correct the Seahawks may make the 2020’s similar to those seasons.
The Super Bowl Factor
Ultimately, winning a Super Bowl is the goal for Seattle as a perennial playoff team. Carroll helped take the Seahawks to two under Wilson, both infamous Super Bowls for respective reasons. The indictment since then is that he has not returned, or been successful in the playoffs. There are several reasons for this – chiefly a lack of depth on defense that the team featured in 2013 and 2014 and an offensive line that consistently underachieves. Assistant coaching decisions and personnel movement reek of desperation in that time, and may haunt Carroll.
Yet, Jody Allen cannot fire Carroll for not trying. The Seahawks have been a problem matchup for most teams throughout the years, and might be a few bad luck moments away from deeper playoff runs. This season’s 6-10 record (at the time of publishing there is one game left to play away, against the Arizona Cardinals) may not have been as bad had several players on defense, and Wilson, not been injured. 2021 is a muddied year for Seattle that never felt right from the beginning; making ultimatums regarding staff would be foolhardy due to the stakes that are involved in potential fallouts and the likelihood of a few more losing seasons before returning to the playoffs under a new head coach.
Carroll’s record indicates he deserves another year to not only show improvement, but to prove his skill in culture and bridge building can capture Wilson’s heart once again. With the current construction of the roster, returning to the Super Bowl might be difficult. Making the playoffs and having a chance, however, is not out of the realm of possibility. And with the experience of guiding a team through the playoffs with a brilliant quarterback, there is a better chance the Seahawks make a deep playoff run in seasons to come with Carroll than without Carroll.
What needs to happen if Seattle Retains Pete Carroll?
Seattle needs to win in Arizona on Sunday. A win would aid in making this off-season one of healing ruptures, opposed to tearing those ruptures open with rash ultimatums. A divorce between Carroll and Wilson means both sides lose, marring both of their legacies.
However, Carroll cannot merely go about this off-season as business as usual, should Seattle retain him. He must be patient and willing enough to develop players in new ways and analyse his team with revise drafting strategy, even in draft with few picks. The demise of the 2021 Seattle Seahawks is not entirely on Carroll, but it is not entirely off Carroll and his staff either.
Unlike other teams during great ruptures between their franchise player and staff, there is no indication of a split locker room. That gives Seattle a better chance to return to the playoffs sooner than later, and for Carroll to re-establish a winning culture soon. Not all is lost, and the perception all is lost might be mere narrative. Carroll needs more opportunities in Seattle, otherwise, the franchise as a whole may take a decade in the back seat of the NFC West.
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