When the Seattle Seahawks parted ways with Pete Carroll back in January 2024, it was no doubt a difficult situation for everyone involved, given all that Carroll had accomplished during his legendary 14-year run of success in Seattle.
He guided the Seahawks to two Super Bowls and their lone Super Bowl title. He led the team to five division titles and 10 playoff appearances. Along the way, he racked up eight 10-win seasons and a dazzling .606 win percentage. It was undoubtedly the greatest stretch in franchise history, and he is indisputably the greatest coach in franchise history.
But since then, the split appears to have worked out well for both sides.
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For the Seahawks, it ushered in a promising new era under head coach Mike Macdonald. It also gave longtime general manager John Schneider the final say in personnel matters – a responsibility he ceded to Carroll during their 14 seasons together. The early returns have certainly been positive, as the Seahawks reached the 10-win mark last fall for the first time since 2020 and have reshaped their roster with younger talent.
Carroll, meanwhile, found his way back into coaching. After spending a year away from the sidelines, Carroll was hired as Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach in January and is busy preparing for his 19th season as an NFL head coach. He’s also now reunited with new Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who Carroll built a strong bond with during their time in Seattle.
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Last week, Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard and Mike Salk caught up with the 73-year-old Carroll during a wide-ranging conversation on Brock and Salk. One of their takeaways was how excited and energized Carroll was for his new opportunity.
That prompted Huard to point out how rare it is for a situation like this to work out so well for both sides.
“Honestly, how many times do you find a situation (like that) in professional sports – the most volatile, feisty, nasty business there is?” Huard said. “It feels like (Carroll) found a great fit. … And for John to have Mike Macdonald and this whole operation? Like, man, to have it work out for both to be in this opportunity is very rare.”
Salk agreed, though he admitted he’s still surprised Carroll got back into coaching.
“You’re right,” Salk said. “And it ended about as peacefully and classy as it could possibly end. I will say, I’m still surprised Pete came back. … I think of him as a renaissance man – interested in a lot of different things. I thought he would be so consumed with teaching at USC and trying to help this person and trying to do that, that he might just say, Hey, I’m done. This is fun. I’m enjoying having more time in my life to do all these things.
“And that was not the case. … He said he needed to get back to (coaching). So good on him. I am a little bit surprised.”
Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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