Seahawks: Four coaches worthy of replacing Pete Carroll

Seahawks head coaching target: Frank Smith

Smith has just one year as an offensive coordinator in the NFL (with the Dolphins in 2022) but he has been an offensive coach for 13 years. And everywhere that Smith has coached seems to have gotten better. Not only that, but Smith has some Pete Carroll-like qualities. He’s never coached under Carroll but one thing that Carroll has always done better than most coaches is to build a rapport with his players. Basically, if a player believes in the coach, that team normally performs better.

As the Raiders’ tight end coach from 2018 to 2020, Smith helped develop Darren Waller into one of the better TEs in the league. But this wasn’t simply due to Smith knowing the Xs and Os of offensive football. It’s also due to the personal relationship he built with Waller, as he has with other players.

Waller told NBC Sports in 2020

"I never had a relationship with a coach like I do with Frank. I honestly text him more than I text my friends. We laugh every day at practice, but I seriously respect him as a teacher and a coach and an authority figure you can talk to as a friend. Nothing’s off limits. We can be real and honest with each other about everything. That’s so important to me, having him in my life."

Sounds a lot like Pete Carroll, doesn’t it? Maybe some people don’t like how much Carroll is a players’ coach, but it works. Carroll has been successful for decades by being this type of leader and it fits well in Seattle.

Smith also knows how to take a young quarterback, like Tua Tagovailoa with Miami, and make him a lot more efficient by putting him in the best positions to succeed. The Seahawks are going to have a young quarterback sooner than later, but even if Geno Smith is retained for a couple of more seasons, whatever system Smith uses offensively is going to be a smart one that takes advantage of the talent Seattle has.