Why the Seahawks and Russell Wilson finally split. Hint, it’s the drafts.

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.