Getty Pete Carroll's Seahawks say they are happy with new quarterback Drew Lock.
Pete Carroll has been a source of frustration for many Seattle Seahawks fans this season, but the Super Bowl winning coach is likely to have plenty of options if the team moves in a different direction this offseason. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio views the Bears as a possible landing spot if the Seahawks opt to make a change heading into the 2022 season.
“You can bring in a regime that will keep you in the neighborhood of 10-7, 9-8, maybe you get to the playoffs, maybe you don’t, or you strive for something more,” Florio said on Chicago’s 670 the Score’s Mully & Haugh Show on February 4. “And I’d be more fascinated by the possibility of bringing Pete Carroll to town if he gets fired by the Seahawks. Because I think the Bears make perfect sense as an immediate landing spot for Pete Carroll. Because the Bears could do and have done a hell of a lot worse than what Pete Carroll did for 10 years in Seattle.”
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Carroll’s Job in Seattle Appears to be Safe
The Seahawks are unlikely to move on from Carroll after his first losing season since 2011. This season snaps a streak of nine straight years of the Seahawks posting a winning record, which included two Super Bowl appearances along with eight playoff berths. ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported that Carroll’s job is safe and the Seahawks are not expected to make any “seismic change” this offseason.
“The people I talk to in Seattle definitely aren’t expecting seismic change there, so we will see,” Graziano detailed on January 5. “My understanding is Carroll is under contract for several more seasons, and I think when his time there is done, he’ll have a lot of say in that.
“The big question there is what happens at quarterback, whether Russell Wilson wants to leave and whether that would signal enough of a change to prompt Carroll to rethink how big a rebuild he wants to undertake. But so far, everyone has made good on their word to keep offseason issues to the side and keep their focus on the season. Which isn’t a big surprise, given the track records there.”
Carroll Signed a Contract Extension in 2020 That Runs Through the 2025 Season
I asked Pete Carroll for his reaction to the reports that Russ may want to play somewhere else. While somewhat predictable, his answer is worth listening to. We’ll see if it changes in the next few weeks/months.
The Seahawks announced in November 2020 that Carroll signed a contract extension through the 2025 season. Jody Allen and the Seahawks ownership group have plenty of resources if they opted to move on from Carroll but eating the remaining four years of Carroll’s deal would be a hard business decision.
Carroll’s strong track record also makes it difficult for the Seahawks to move in a different direction. The Seahawks coach has expressed confidence about his future in the Pacific Northwest.
“Not for one reason at all am I thinking that we have to restart this whole thing and create a new philosophy and a new approach and all that,” Carroll explained to ESPN’s 710 Seattle on December 27. “I don’t think that. I think we’ve got the essence of the things that we need. We’ve got to build on them, we’ve got to support it better, and we’ve got to continue to grow and progress. There’s no standing still, but there’s the foundation for doing things.”