No doubt, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has been one of the most influential and polarizing figures in the state of Washington for more than a decade. Carroll was hired in 2010 at the age of 57 years old. He came from USC where he was wildly successful. He was a 7-time Pac-10 (as the conference was known then) champion, 2-time Orange Bowl champion, 4-time Rose Bowl champion and 2-time National Champion between 2001 and 2009.
His accolades and resume were absolutely impressive. As head coach at USC he had a record of 83 wins and19 losses. When he took the job in Seattle, a huge piece of his contract was that he wanted full control of roster personnel. Since he was given a roster that was not ready to compete for a playoff spot let alone a title, he had a long road ahead of him to make the franchise successful.
Between 2010 and 2012 Carroll, along with general manager John Schneider, appeared to be a drafting geniuses. In those three years, he managed to draft the following:
Russell Wilson seemed to tire of the Seahawks recent drafts
2010
Round 1 – Russell Okung
Round 1 – Earl Thomas (the 1st member of the Legion of Boom)
Round 2 – Golden Tate
Round 4 – Walter Thurmond
Round 5 – Kam Chancellor
2011
Round 1 – James Carpenter
Round 3 – Kj Wright
Round 5 – Richard Sherman
Round 6 – Byron Maxwell
Round 7 – Malcolm Smith
2012
Round 1 – Bruce Irvin
Round 2 – Bobby Wagner
Round 3 – Russell Wilson
Round 6 – JR Sweezy
During that three years span, Pete Carroll and John Schneider put together drafts that managed to gain 14 starters. And helped build a championship roster.