It is strange seeing Pete Carroll answer questions about any other team than the Seattle Seahawks. He has a right to do so, of course. He wants to keep working, and he should. He is still a very good football coach.
This offseason, after missing a year of coaching, Carroll was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders to be their head coach. This was after Carroll was relieved of his duties with Seattle after 2023, a team he had coached since 2010. At the time, Carroll and the organization took the high road and said the move was mutual. But 12s likely knew better.
Carroll did not want to stop being a head coach, as proven by his jumping at the chance to coach the Raiders. The coach worked as an "advisor" for Seattle in 2024, but the team had to give him some kind of role. He had a year left on his guaranteed contract when Carroll was asked to step down as head coach and Vice President of Football Operations.
Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll sets the record straight about his "retirement"
Speaking at the 2025 NFL Combine this week, Carroll was effusive in his praise of Seattle. He still had a home in the area and had no plans to move. He also enjoyed his time with the team. But there should be no mistaking that when he stopped being the coach for the Seahawks, he didn't quit or retire. The choice was not his.
He was asked by a reporter about coming out of retirement to coach Las Vegas, and Carroll answered swiftly, "If you remember, I didn't retire."
The question was not a smart one. It was ill-informed. Carroll never said he was retiring, only stepping down from being the coach. The Seahawks gave him the opportunity to have his own press conference after the announcement was made that Seattle would be looking for a new head coach. Carroll was emotional and positively reflective and said all the right words. But he didn't want to leave.
There is also no mistaking that when 12s tune into a Raiders game next season, fans might feel conflicted. There is no reason to cheer the Raiders, but there is also reason to want Pete Carroll to win. He was the most successful coach in Seahawks history and a good guy, too. Of course, feelings will be different when the Raiders play the Seahawks in 2026.