The Seattle Seahawks will have one less gum-munching man on the sideline next season as the team replaces longtime head coach Pete Carroll.
ESPN's Schefter on whether two big-name coaches could be in play for the Seahawks
Carroll, 72, was relieved of his role as head coach, the organization moved him to an advisory position and gave general manager John Schneider full control of football operations.
Carroll's departure on Wednesday set off a wild 24 hours of legendary coaching news, as Alabama head coach Nick Saban retired this afternoon and the New England Patriots announced Thursday that Bill Belichick will not be back next season.
“It’s really unique and surprising. I can't imagine how this happened. “I really can’t,” Carroll said of that coincidence Friday during his final Pete Carroll Show at Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “I thought they were joking when they said Nick retired that day. And then I saw Bill do a press conference with (Patriots owner) Robert Kraft…Pretty amazing.”
Carroll reiterated that he will have no role in helping the Seahawks find their next head coach.
“That’s entirely down to John. I won’t be the center of attention at all,” he said. “It’s entirely up to John to do that. I'm just here to support him as best I can because I love him and want him to succeed. Whether I was part of the organization or not, I would be there for John when he needed me.”
On Monday, during an earlier Pete Carroll Show, he said he wanted to remain head coach of the Seahawks. Carroll mentioned this again during his farewell press conference on Wednesday.
Does this mean that Carroll can imagine himself as a coach again?
“I don't know. I have a lot of energy, thought and willingness for it, but I can't imagine there being a place, the right place,” he said. “I don't know. I'm open to everything, but I'm not holding my breath. There's a lot of world out there and I'm excited to challenge it and strive for it. If that happens, that happens. We'll see. I really don’t know what to tell you about that.”
Co-host Brock Huard said he thought Carroll would be a great college football commissioner, which Carroll scoffed at.
“Commissioner? “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “I’d rather coach girls’ flag football.”
Listen to the full Pete Carroll Show in the video at the top of this post or in the audio player here.
What about UW?
With Saban retiring from Alabama, the Crimson Tide needed a new head coach. That led to the UW Huskies joining the Seahawks in an offseason coaching search when Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer on Friday, just four days after he coached Washington in a national championship loss to Michigan.
Before 14 years of great success with the Seahawks, Carroll won two national championships at USC and built a college football powerhouse with the Trojans.
If Carroll wants to coach, could staying in Seattle and leading UW be a good fit for what will likely be his last chance as a head coach?
Huard, a former UW Huskies quarterback and current FOX college football analyst, discussed this Friday with Seattle Sports' Bump and Stacy.
“He said a line to us this morning and it was like, 'I just don't know if this place exists,'” Huard said of Carroll. “Seattle was the only place for him 14 years ago.”
If there is mutual interest, Huard believes Carroll could have great success with the Huskies.
“He would be an incredible fundraiser, he would be an incredible energizer,” Huard said. “He has a couple of guys who want to be coaches themselves: Nate Carroll (Seahawks offensive assistant), who is probably unemployed right now, and a son, Brennan, who is doing amazing things at the University of Arizona (as offensive coordinator). …But could that be the appeal? For example: “You know what? “I'm going to take this job and raise all the money.” That's a big part of it. And “I'm going to create a tremendous amount of exposure.” And by the way, I'm giving my guys the opportunity to coordinate and maybe take their next steps in their careers. “I don't know.”
Huard's belief that Carroll could coach again changed from Wednesday, when Carroll held a farewell news conference at Seahawks headquarters, to Friday.
“Maybe on Wednesday when I saw Pete jumping around on stage with juice and energy and (said), 'I want to train,'” he said. “The Pete we talked to this morning, maybe the realization, 'Gosh, I don't know if I'll ever find anything like what I just had in Seattle.' And if anything, I'd rather take some time and not rush into the next gig.'”
Listen to Bump and Stacy's full conversation with Brock Huard on the podcast at this link or in the player here.
More about Pete Carroll
• Pete Carroll reports on recent meetings with Seahawks owners
• Seahawks' Bobby Wagner is thinking about playing for Pete Carroll
• Pete Carroll tells the story of reuniting with legends Russell Wilson and Hawks
• Former Seahawks and others in the sports world react to Pete Carroll news
• Carroll explains why he's no longer Seahawks coach and what's next
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