Seahawks’ Pete Carroll Makes Strong Statement on ‘Let Russ Cook’ Debate

Getty Russell Wilson was not in favor of the Seahawks firing Brian Schottenheimer.

The “Let Russ Cook” movement has now reached Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. ESPN 710 Seattle’s John Clayton asked Carroll specifically about his thoughts on the current Let Russ Cook debate during a recent interview.

Carroll emphasized that he expect Wilson to be “the best he’s ever been.” While Carroll teased new elements of the Seahawks offense, he noted the team remains committed to a balanced offensive attack.

“I’m excited about the team, John,” Carroll explained. “Russell has been in a great leadership position throughout the offseason. He has been such a central part of it with all the communication. We have been running two-minute drills and sequencing all of our play-calling and different situations on the field and Russ has been right in the middle of it. Russell is at the best of his game that he’s ever been. His command, his control, his understanding of everything that we can put forth for him, allows him to be, I think, at the best he’s ever been. In that, we want him to have more opportunity to be the factor in the game and control the game. But John, in just football in general that doesn’t mean that you throw the football all the time to do that. We need to be a really good functioning team that is hard to beat because we are so good at the things that we do. That means that you have to have balance in your game.”

Carroll on Wilson: ‘We Want to Maximize His Opportunity’

Many Seahawks fans started referencing Let Russ Cook as a way to push Seattle to be more aggressive offensively. Carroll did say he wants Wilson to “have more opportunity to be the factor” in games. The Seahawks coach explained the team wants to “maximize his opportunity” while still having a successful rushing attack.

“Look at all of the successful teams that won all these games again last year,” Carroll continued. “All of them were balanced teams. So, we’re not going to take anything away from Russell’s ability to produce. We want to maximize his opportunity. So, whatever this ‘Russell cooks’ thing is all about, I don’t know what that’s about. He’s at his best. He is in the most command he’s ever been. He and Schotty [offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer] and the offensive staff, they have worked this offseason to a point where we are ready to unveil it, the best version of us. That means the best version of Russ.”

Wilson Has Been Vocal About His Desire to See Changes to the Seahawks Offense

We are likely to continue seeing this debate during the season. Under Carroll, the Seahawks have leaned on their rushing attack as much as any NFL team. The challenge is the Seahawks have struggled to both stay healthy and find a consistent rushing attack since Marshawn Lynch was in his prime.

Wilson has been as vocal as we have seen the quarterback in any offseason. The Seahawks quarterback believes the offense is leaving points on the table and implied he wants to be more aggressive in 2020.

“We’ve thrown a bunch of touchdowns, you know,” Wilson told ESPN 710 Seattle in January. “We’ve been throwing a bunch of touchdowns and I think there’s a lot more out there, too. I think there’s about 10 to 15 to 20 more, so let’s go get those. That’s just how I think about it. Touchdowns help us win. I think we’ve got to find ways to win and we’ve got to score more points than they do and I think we’ve got great talent.”

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