Pete Carroll has advisory role with Seahawks for one clear reason
By Lee Vowell
12s want to know. Is former head coach Pete Carroll still working for the Seattle Seahawks? Is he in some James Bond-type role where he spies on other teams? Is he doing the dirty work so that new head coach Mike Macdonald can focus on the team? There must be a reason Carroll is still getting paid by Seattle.
Many on social media have found that Carroll is still listed in an advisory role, just as he told us he would be in the press conference after the team announced Carroll would no longer be the head coach. He also wasn't going to be Vice President of Football Operations, a role Carroll had held for many years.
Pete Carroll did not lie to us. Neither did the team. Carroll is still getting paid by the franchise. To be sure, he will have zero to do with helping Macdonald. That would be awkward.
Former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll an "advisor" in name only
Why would a coach recently removed from his coaching duties want to help the new guy? Few people are that nice. Why would Macdonald want Carroll's input when Macdonald is trying to create his own mark on the team? He wouldn't and he shouldn't. He has to be given a chance to find his own path.
Carroll is not on the team's official website. He isn't a coach, of course, nor does he have any defined role. An advisor? Maybe, but that isn't in any capacity to help the new coaching staff. He also isn't helping general manager John Schneider.
Carroll has been seen around Seattle. He has been spotted at the University of Washington practices because his son, Brennan, is the football team's offensive coordinator. Pete's other son, Nate, is the Carolina Panthers' passing game coordinator so every Carroll has some interest there.
As far as the Seahawks are concerned, however, Pete Carroll is a former coach and a former employee. 12s will see his role listed as an advisor because he had to be listed as something. This is because Carroll was already under contract through 2024, the final year of a deal he signed in 2020. He was going to be paid by the organization either way, so for public relations reasons, it's better to not immediately keep him out of team headquarters even if he has no real role.
In 2025, though, things will be different. Carroll will likely no longer be an advisor. He will just be unemployed and looking for work (or, even better, he could just relax and enjoy life; he has earned that).