Pete Carroll’s 2017 grade as head coach of the Seahawks
By Lee Vowell
For the first time in 6 seasons, the Seahawks are missing the playoffs. The reason may be due to multiple injuries. Or inefficiency. And possibly coaching. Here is how Pete Carroll graded this year.
Pete Carroll has been the head coach of the Seahawks since 2010. In that time Seattle has been to two Super Bowls and won one. But each year since the second Super Bowl at the end of the 2014 season, Seattle has achieved less. This year, of course, Seattle missed the playoffs completely.
Does not making the playoffs mean Carroll has gone from a great coach to a bad one? Of course not. But there is no longer any room for bad decisions because Seattle is less talented and more injured. Gimmick plays like the one Luke Willson ran at the end of the first half in the Atlanta Falcons game may show Carroll has some weaknesses. The fake field goal, for instance, was disastrous for Seattle at the end of a game that had they won would have kept them in good playoff position. Seattle lost by three points.
Carroll also oversees the entire team, of course. The defense was still good but not great. Maybe this was because Seattle lost Richard Sherman, Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor to season-ending injuries. The Seahawks offense, though, was bad. Carroll has a duty to make changes there. Like possibly moving on from Darrell Bevell.
Carroll might need an offseason grade, too, to see how he handles the adversity of making needed changes. Will he make any? Previously, Carroll has shown a loyalty that might be to his detriment. For instance, only once has he let go of a coordinator while he has been in Seattle. And that was in 2011.
Carroll needs an A this offseason and needs to bring in new energy and new ideas. Seattle still has talent, but Carroll is running out of time to use it.
The head coach, however, still gets his players ready to play and has established a winning-culture in Seattle. This is only the second time since Carroll became head coach that Seattle has missed the playoffs, mind you.
Related Story: Seahawks final grades for the offense in 2017
Carroll grade for 2017: C