Seahawks: 5 worst mistakes under coach Pete Carroll
By Lee Vowell
Not giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch in Super Bowl XLIX
There were several stages that went into the call that could have won the Seahawks their second straight Super Bowl but didn’t. Then-offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called the play. Instead of handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch, which even if he had not scored on second down would have eaten clock and forced the Patriots to call a timeout near the end of Super Bowl XLIX, Seattle called a pass play.
Pete Carroll could have overruled the play call. Even Russell Wilson could have called timeout and been like, “What? No.” But neither did and so the play proceeded.
Bevell took a gamble as inside the 5-yard line slant patterns had scored most of the time in the regular season of 2014. But this was the Super Bowl and this was no time to play games. The Patriots would not have stopped Marshawn Lynch three straight times. He had just gained five yards on first and goal from the 8-yard line.
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Pete Carroll should have heard the call from Bevell and known better and changed the call. Yes, Bevell was playing the angles of modern-day statistics but Carroll normally coaches a different, old-school way. Carroll not changing the call, which he had a right to do as head coach, changed the outcome and changed the fortunes of future Seahawks seasons.