Seattle Seahawks: 5 coaches who could be Pete Carroll’s replacement

1. Robert Saleh

Saleh is my favorite coordinator in the NFL, and even though he is on the 49ers sideline, he should be your favorite too. He exudes Pete Carroll-esque energy all the time. Before games he is hyped up, after big plays, he is hyped up. Just like Pete, he is always hyped up. The 49ers even posted highlights of hyped-up Saleh on YouTube from their game against the Rams last season. He is a true players coach just like Carroll and is also a member of his coaching tree as he spent three seasons in Seattle under Carroll as the defensive quality control coach (2011-2013).

But does his coaching back up his hype? Of course it does. In his first two seasons, the defense was subpar but improved. In 2017 the 49ers Defense ranked 25th in points, 24th in yards, and 26th in Defensive DVOA. The following year they finished in 28th, 13th, and 23rd in the same three categories.

In 2019, the Super Bowl runners up had a monster defense with some great new talent like Nick Bosa and Kwon Alexander. This lead to the 49ers finishing the season 8th in points, 2nd in yards, and 2nd in defensive DVOA.

With an offensive-minded head coach in charge, Saleh received a lot of the credit for the defense’s performance. Along with the praise came head coaching opportunities as well. A good sign for the Seahawks and 12s who are interested in bringing Saleh on came when he rejected an offer to interview for the head coaching role at Michigan State, a school where he was an assistant for two seasons (2002-2003). Saleh was also a top candidate for the Browns head coaching opening as well but like many other teams recently, they went with a former offensive coordinator.

This trend of teams looking for offensive geniuses (Remember when everyone went crazy for “The next Sean McVay”) would help the Seahawks in that Saleh might last on the market for a few more seasons. But I think the time is now to go after Saleh.

I have said it enough times already but if the Seahawks fire Ken Norton Jr after another disappointing defensive season, they should go after Saleh with a unique offer. Bring him back to Seattle on a multi-year defensive coordinator contract that would put him up there with the highest-paid coordinators, and tie into that contract a promise. A promise that he will be groomed by a perfect match of a mentor in Pete Carroll, and when Pete retires, the job is his (With good performance of course).

This would be something that the 49ers simply would not be able to offer with Kyle Shanahan not leaving anytime soon. It would also keep the Pete Caroll culture going, with a young, energetic, defensive head coach (Saleh is currently 41), and hopefully, Saleh will hire a Shanahan-esque, pro “Let Russ eat” offensive staff.