Pete Carroll overshadowed by Bill Belichick even at the bitter end

The ending of Pete Carroll's career with the Seattle Seahawks did not seem so amiss. The team surprisingly relieved him of his coaching and Vice President of Football Operations duties and then allowed him to hold his own press conference. That seemed to be the classy - and right - thing to do.

To be fair, many 12s were likely not shocked by Carroll being removed from his coaching duties. He was fantastic for many years, but in the last several he seemed incapable of fixing the defense, a unit that should have always been a strength for him. Seattle appeared to be on the verge of long-term mediocrity ending with seasons that begin with great hope and finish with tormented disappointment.

The New England Patriots made the same move with Bill Belichick that Seattle did with Carroll this offseason. Both coaches had long had the final say over their team's rosters as well as what happened on each play during the season. When Belichick got his post-removal press conference, however, owner Robert Kraft wanted to make himself part of the narrative by being a part of the press conference as well.

Seahawks and Pete Carroll disrespected again by national NFL pundit

In other words, the Seahawks gave Carroll his final moment. The Patriots did not do the same with Belichick.

Somehow the national press misses that importance. In a recent 2024 power ranking, Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab is one of the pundits who missed the point. He writes that Seattle will likely be worse in 2024 without Carroll - or, at least because new head coach Mike Macdonald is in his first year as a head coach at any level - but Schwab also writes, "Carroll's split with the Seattle Seahawks was overshadowed this offseason by Belichick being let go by the New England Patriots, but Carroll deserved flowers too."

That is confusingly complex. The only reason Belichick's firing would have overshadowed Carroll's termination (he remains as an "advisor," but he was for all intents and purposes, fired) is because the national media wills it to be so. For those that matter - the 12s - Carroll's dismissal is much more noteworthy.

The other part - the "flowers" part - likely also relates to the national media. And it makes zero sense. Is Schwab saying Carroll doesn't get the respect he deserves? If so, he is speaking about people in New York, but not Seattle. Maybe he needs to keep Carroll's name out of his mouth if trying to speak for Seahawks fans. For 12s, there is still a healthy respect for what Carroll accomplished in Seattle.

For the national media to assume one thing is true - Belichick's firing was more important than Carroll's - is another example of disrespect for the Pacific Northwest. Nationally, maybe Belichick got more mention, but not where it matters as far as Carroll is concerned - Seattle. Plus, no matter which one the national media is talking about more now, once the Seahawks get great again under Mike Macdonald, media everywhere is going to be forced to take notice.

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