3 pros and 2 cons to the Seahawks moving on from Pete Carroll

It feels a little odd to write the Seattle Seahawks have fired Pete Carroll. I mean, yeah, but they fired him by moving him upstairs. Time will tell exactly what his role as an advisor will entail, or if he'll even stay with the organization. I can think of a few reasons this was the right move and why it was the wrong one.

Looks like Jody Allen won't have Pete Carroll to kick around anymore. Okay, she never did, plus she wants him to stay with the organization. Doesn't seem like it was a very acrimonious split, does it? Whether this was the right move at the right time poses a more difficult question. Should the Seahawks have parted ways with their head coach or not?

There are literally dozens of questions this creates. The biggest is naturally this: who will be the next head coach? To answer that we need to decide what kind of team John Schneider wants to build. We may get the answer to that question from Schneider himself in the next few days. Or we'll discover that for ourselves by who he brings in for interviews. But for now, let's look at the first: did Seattle make the right decision to move on from Pete Carroll?

Why the Seattle Seahawks made the right choice

The record: One reason you could say that they made the right call is the oldest: scoreboard. Over the past three seasons, the Seahawks record was 7-10, 9-8, and 9-8. They only made the playoffs once in that stretch and were summarily dispatched by their division rivals, the 49ers. They'd been much more successful in the three years prior (2018-2020), going 33-15 overall and making the playoffs each year. Yet they had just one division title and one postseason win to show for it. In fact, that sole playoff win was their only one since 2016.

The drafts: It's important to remember that Pete Carroll wasn't just the head coach of the Seahawks. He was also named the executive vice president of football, and so had final say on all personnel decisions. Most speculation about the team's drafts was that Carroll was the more conservative of the pair. Schneider would advocate for the bold move, while the old football coach would argue for the safer prospect.

Seattle's first picks from 2016 through 2019 were less than spectacular. Most insiders - not me; believe me, I barely qualify as an outsider - argue that the last two drafts had more of John's input than Pete's. If so, then giving Schneider complete control will be another big step up for the Seahawks. After all, Carroll himself said it was time for John to run the show.

Why the Seahawks were wrong

I'm sure you can come up with more reasons that the organization made the right decision to move on from Carroll. The fact that he said the Hawks were on the right course could certainly be considered as another validation for Ms. Allen. The results of the last three seasons don't support Carroll's assessment. So, time to move. Or, maybe not. There are even more reasons to say that the Hawks made the move too soon.

The record: Yeah, we've already done this one, right? But let's look at the man's complete record. Or, let's just let the NFL do it for us:

As Brock Huard tweeted, the league has had 122 other head coaches during Pete Carroll's 14 years in Seattle. In the NFC West alone, the Rams have seen four coaches, the 49ers five (and one of those twice), and the Cardinals are on their fifth coach as well. There's a lot to be said for stability, my dear 12s. Look at what the Seahawks went through in the 14 years before Pete arrived. Ooo, just three coaches, and Jim Mora only had one year. Maybe Seattle appreciates stability.

The drafts: Oops, here we are again. The draft is one reason that Carroll's position has evolved into an advisory role. The draft was pretty hit or miss for a few years there, absolutely. But even in those rough years I mentioned above, the Hawks pulled a few gems. Malik McDowell, yikes.

But the Seahawks drafted Ethan Pocic in that same round, along with Shaquill Griffin. Of course, they added David Moore and Chris Carson in the seventh round that year. Will Dissly and Michael Dickson were steals in the next draft, as was DK Metcalf in 2019.

Clearly there's a lot to like from 2020 on. Charles Cross, Abe Lucas and Riq Woolen stumbled this year, but all have been battling injuries. We'll see how they bounce back in 2024. Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba both looked worthy of their draft status by season's end. Was that more of John's influence, or Pete's?

The bottom line is, Carroll signed off on the picks. We don't even have to go back to the drafts from 2010 -2012, do we? Okung, Thomas, Chancellor, Wright, Sherman, Wagner, Wilson. They won't all make it, but you can argue that each of those players are Hall of Famers. Two of them were taken in the fifth round. So, yeah, Pete Carroll can draft.

The biggest reason that the Hawks jumped too soon

It's a truism in every field of endeavor: you don't fix a problem by introducing another problem. Right now, the Seattle Seahawks have a problem they didn't have on January 9th: they don't have a head coach. Oh, there are plenty of candidates; that's not a problem at all. That is the very core of the problem. There are too many candidates, and many of them would be the worst choice for the organization.

Two names that stand out so far are Dan Quinn and Jim Harbaugh. I can see the pros and cons of both. Of course, there will be pros and cons for any candidate, just as there were when Carroll's future was decided. And that's the crux of the problem. The Seahawks don't have the perfect solution to their problem. Quinn's defense looked great with the Cowboys, and he was rock-solid as the DC in Seattle, of course. But as we saw in his tenure as the Falcon's head coach, there's a world of difference between running the defense and running the entire team.

Harbaugh has the better track record by far. But the Niners moved on from him almost 10 years ago because he wanted to be the final authority. That doesn't exactly fit with what Jody Allen apparently wants for the Seahawks, now does it? Plus, Pete has a Super Bowl ring; Harbaugh doesn't. Harbaugh has a college national title; Carroll has two. So how is Harbaugh better?

Overall, I agree that it was time for the Hawks to move on. I also agree that they did so in the best possible way. Carroll needs to remain a part of this organization for as long as he desires. As he showed at his press conference, the man is still fueled by the desire to achieve greatness. More importantly, he's driven to help others achieve their own greatness. The Xs and Os may have passed Pete Carroll, but that drive and desire will always be there. The Seahawks will always need that.

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