NFL analyst slams Seahawks for Pete Carroll exit but completely misses the point

The Seattle Seahawks replaced former head coach Pete Carroll after the team had gone 9-8 in back-to-back seasons and missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. There have been rumors that prior to the 2023 season, Carroll was expected to step down at the end of the year voluntarily. He didn't, and as Seattle was seemingly stuck in mediocrity, he was terminated as head coach and Vice President of Football Operations.

12s all know that, of course. Seattle fans also know how to spell the name of the new head coach.

This is important to note because a recent article by FanSided (12th Man Rising is a part of FanSided's network as well, but if we are going to argue points made by other sites then in all fairness, we should argue points made by our mothership) talking about every NFL team's "most baffling decision" this offseason, the name of Mike Macdonald is misspelled. This could imply that the writer is not overly aware of the Seahawks' business or the situation with Pete Carroll prior to his termination.

Seattle Seahawks handled Pete Carroll's exit just fine

The article says that Seattle's most baffling decision wasn't that Carroll was let go but in how his exit was handled. Mind you, many teams might have simply fired their long-term coach and moved on. Seattle did not do that. As opposed to the New England Patriots' handling of firing Bill Belichick (how the Pats handled Belichick's exit, oddly, did not make the cut in the article), the Seahawks let Carroll have his own press conference after he was terminated.

How Seattle handled the situation is called "class." The exit was not bungled.

Instead, FanSided's Nick Villano writes, "This isn’t that the Seattle Seahawks got rid of Pete Carroll...Mike McDonald (sic) was possibly the top recruit on the market, so getting him to Seattle was impressive. It was unfortunate how the Seahawks went about Carroll’s demotion/dismissal...The entire situation should have been discussed, and Carroll ended up not getting a job with another team this offseason."

Sorry, Nick. There are several things wrong with this. One is that Carroll was rumored to have been expected to retire at the end of the season but didn't. The other is that Carroll's teams were starting not to make the playoffs regularly, and a change was needed. No matter how long a coach has been with a team if that team wants to fire their coach, they aren't going to go to the coach and say, "Hey, we are really sorry, but we are thinking of replacing you...maybe next week? Is that OK?"

Also, Carroll's not getting another job is not the Seahawks' fault. He was already the oldest coach in the NFL, and another team was unlikely to hire him. Was Pete Carroll the best coach in Seahawks' history? Absolutely! And now 12s hope Mike Macdonald eclipses him.

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