With the Seattle Seahawks closing the chapter of the Pete Carroll era and opening a new chapter under Mike Macdonald, it's a great time to look back on the complete history of the Seahawks' head coaches. From Jack Patera in 1976 to Macdonald's hiring in 2024, nine men have had the distinct honor of being head ball coach in Seattle. Some were good, some were bad, and some were straight-up ugly.
Some coaches never got a fair shake, but did little to help the franchise. Some coaches were instrumental in lifting the Seahawks to precedented heights. However, some coaches rank beyond just their win-loss record, based on the type of culture they built and the legacy they left as coaches.
Rookie head coach Mike Macdonald will simply be an honorable mention. It's unfair to rank him among the rest as he's coached no actual game yet. However, it is worth mentioning he is the youngest coach not only in Seahawks history but is currently the youngest head coach in the NFL. Macdonald is already building the culture he wants to harbor in what hopefully will be a long and successful stint in Seattle.
Every head coaches in Seattle Seahawks, ranked
8. Jim Mora (2009)
After Mike Holmgren retired in 2008, the Seahawks promoted defensive backs coach Jim Mora to head coach for the 2009 season. Mora, who was head coach in Atlanta from 2004-2006, and assistant head coach and defensive backs coach in Seattle in 2007, only lasted one season as head coach. When Mora was hired by Seattle in 2008, he was signed to a five-year deal. However, after his first season as head coach in 2009, Mora was fired.
In his sole season as head coach, Mora only led Seattle to five wins. His 5-11 record (.313) ranks as the second-worst in Seahawks history. Mora expressed his desire to bring Seattle a Super Bowl but came well short in his quest. After Mora was fired, the Seahawks brought in Pete Carroll, further burying his short tenure in Seattle.
Mora does stay halfway relevant in the media these days following his NFL coaching career. He currently coaches the University of Connecticut Huskies. Following Seattle's 2024 draft, Mora had some nice things to say about his former player who was drafted by the Seahawks.
7. Tom Flores (1992-94)
A former two-time Super Bowl champion as head coach of the Raiders, the Seahawks hired Tom Flores as an executive in 1988. In 1992, Flores officially moved into the role of head coach. Seattle was hoping Flores could recreate the success he had with Oakland and bring Seattle its first Super Bowl.
In Flores' first season as Seahawks head coach, the team went 2-14. The Seahawks only scored 140 points on the season, a miserable 8.8 points per game that is still the lowest total scoring in a 16-game season in NFL history. Further, their 1,778 passing yards, partly thanks to quarterback Stan Gelbaugh. The next two seasons, Seattle finished with identical 6-10 seasons, never coming close to the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl Seattle had hoped Flores would bring.
Flores ended his tenure in Seattle with a 14-34 record (.292), the lowest winning percentage out of any Seattle head coach in history. He was eventually fired and replaced by Dennis Erickson in 1995. However, Flores does still hold his claim to fame for coaching the worst offense in NFL history.
6. Mike McCormack (interim head coach, 1982)
Amidst the 57-day players strike in 1982, Seahawks general Mike McCormack was thrust into the head coaching role. McCormack, who formerly coached the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Colts was serving as both the president and general manager of the Seahawks when Jack Patera was fired in the middle of the 1982 season. He only coached seven games for the Seahawks.
McCormack did actually lead Seattle to a positive record in his seven games. Seattle won four out of the seven games, which was the first time McCormack had ever finished a season as head coach with a winning record. While the Seahawks did not make the playoffs that year, McCormack did surprisingly well as sudden interim head coach.
In 1983, McCormack settled back into his front office role as new head coach Chuck Knox was hired. Officially, McCormack holds a .571 winning percentage, good for second all-time among Seahawks coaches. While his time as head coach wasn't long, he did a fine job filling in and eventually transferring power to future head coach Chuck Knox.
5. Dennis Erickson (1995-98)
Erickson, a Seattle native, was a former Washington State University head coach from 1987-89, and more recently the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes from 1989-94 before taking the Seahawks head coaching job. While coaching at Miami, Erickson was subject to several investigations involving violations in terms of fraudulent grants to players and ultimately left the school amidst the Department of Education's official investigation.
Erickson accepted the Seahawks job after turning down both Denver and Philadelphia's offers. In his first year in Seattle, Erickson benched Rick Mirer for John Friesz, who provided a bit of a spark for the team. However, over the next three seasons, Seattle never finished over .500. In 1998, Seattle signed quarterback Warren Moon to bolster the offense, but Erickson benched Moon for Jon Kitna after six games. After yet another disappointing season, Erickson was relieved of his duties.
Dennis Erickson finished his stint with the Seattle Seahawks with a 31-33 record over four years, including three 8-8 finishes. His .484 winning percentage ranks fifth-best out of eight coaches in Seahawks history. Erickson would eventually go back to the collegiate level after his dismissal in Seattle.
4. Jack Patera (1976-82)
The first head coach in Seattle Seahawks history, Jack Patera was there from the very start. As a new expansion team, Seattle didn't have the star power the rest of the league had. To make up for the lack of talent, Patera implemented a unique offense, full of unconventional plays. Although the offense was fun and Seattle had some budding young pieces in quarterback Jim Zorn and wide receiver Steve Largent, the Seahawks finished 2-12 in their inaugural season.
By their second season, the Seahawks had improved to 5-9, and by their third, Seattle had a winning record of 9-7 in 1978. Jack Patera was named AP NFL Coach of the Year in 1998 after the three-year turnaround. Patera was notorious for his no-nonsense disciplinary attitude with the team. With a brand new team, instilling discipline was an important principle for Patera in Seattle. The Seahawks finished with an identical 9-7 record in 1979.
However, in 1980, Seattle had regressed to 4-12. The next season, Seattle had only won six games. Patera's disciplinarian ideology was beginning to cause issues with his players. It was reported that during training camp under the beating sun, with temperatures in the '90s, Patera would not give his team water breaks. His relationship with the Seattle media was souring as well. In 1982, after losing the first two games of the season, Patera was fired by the Seahawks amidst the players' strike.
In the Seahawks' first seven seasons of existence, Jack Patera went 35-59, only good for a .372 winning percentage. He never led Seattle to a single playoff game. However, he does hold significance as the first-ever head coach and won a Coach of the Year award in his third season. Patera never coached again after his tenure with the Seahawks.
3. Chuck Knox (1983-91)
After failing to reach an agreement on a renewed contract with the Buffalo Bills, head coach Chuck Knox accepted the role with the Seattle Seahawks in 1983. In his first season in Seattle, Knox led the Seahawks to a 9-7 record and their first-ever playoff berth as a franchise.
In the wildcard round, Seattle decimated their then-division rival Denver Broncos in the wildcard round. In the divisional round, Knox and the Seahawks, a heavy underdog, defeated the Miami Dolphins to advance to the AFC Championship.
Seattle lost the conference championship to the Raiders, but it was a wildly successful season. In 1984, Knox led Seattle to their best record in franchise history, notching 12 wins behind a dominant defense. Hall of Fame safety Kenny Easley recorded 10 interceptions that season, while cornerback Dave Brown added 8 himself. Seattle won their wildcard matchup with the Rams but lost in the divisional round. Knox was named AP NFL Coach of the Year.
Seattle remained at .500 or better for the next four seasons, including in 1988, when the team won their first AFC West divisional title in franchise history. Knox became the first head coach in NFL history to win the division for three different teams. However, after Knox's first season in which they reached the conference championship, the Knox-led Seahawks never reached another conference championship. Knox left the Seahawks in 1991 following several mediocre seasons.
Chuck Knox will be remembered for being the first great Seahawks coach. With 80 wins, Knox ranks third all-time in wins in franchise history. His .559 winning percentage ranks second in franchise history. Knox is one of only two Seahawks head coaches to win Coach of the Year. Knox also popularized the retro blue Seahawks flatbill hat that was worn by Geno Smith during the throwback game in 2023, and by Mike Macdonald in one of his press conferences earlier this year.
2. Mike Holmgren (1999-2008)
Before he was a Seattle legend, Mike Holmgren was beloved in Green Bay as the Packers' head coach. From 1992-98, Holmgren led the Packers to a 75-37 record with a 9-5 postseason record, including a Super Bowl win in 1996. The Holmgren coaching tree in Green Bay included coaches like Andy Reid, Steve Mariucci, and Jon Gruden. After resigning with the Packers in 1998, Holmgren accepted an eight-year deal to coach the Seattle Seahawks.
In his first season in Seattle, Holmgren led the Seahawks to their first playoff berth in ten seasons after winning the AFC West. His next four seasons were underwhelming and the Seahawks looked like they'd remain in mediocrity forever. Holmgren was signed to an eight-year contract, but fans thought it may be ending soon. In 2002, Seattle had fallen to 7-9.
However, in 2003, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who Holmgren had brought over with him to Seattle from Green Bay, took a huge leap forward. He made his first Pro Bowl and led Seattle to a 10-win season. Running back Shaun Alexander was also sensational, racking up over 1,400 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. However, Seattle lost to Holmgren's former team, the Packers, in the Wild Card round.
After a 9-7 year in 2004, the Seahawks needed a big year in 2005 to warrant the contract they gave Holmgren. He absolutely delivered. Seattle won the NFC West at 13-3, earning the first seed in the NFC. Led by Hasselbeck and Alexander, Seattle had the league's best offense.
Shaun Alexander was named league MVP after rushing for nearly 1,900 yards and 27 touchdowns. After a first-round bye, Seattle cruised past Washington in the wildcard round 20-10 and easily defeated the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship 34-14 to advance to the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl.
We don't have to talk about that game. It was easily the worst officiated Super Bowl ever and Seattle never even had a chance against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that the league really liked. Seattle finished above .500 for the next two seasons, until 2008, when the Holmgren era officially died.
In 2008, for his contributions to the team, Holmgren was named the recipient of the Steve Largent Award. Holmgren finished his tenure in Seattle with an 86-74 record, the second-most wins in franchise history. Holmgren led the Seahawks to four NFC West division titles, six playoff berths, an NFC Championship, and a Super Bowl appearance.
1. Pete Carroll
Are you surprised at all?
Following a legendary career at the University of Southern California, Pete Carroll was hired by the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. Carroll won a National Championship with USC in 2005 and expressed his desire to win a Super Bowl for Seattle. In his first season with the Seahawks, Carroll completely overhauled the team, seeing literally hundreds of roster transactions.
In 2010, the Seahawks finished 7-9 but bizarrely won the NFC West. The division came down to the final week of the season as Seattle and the St. Louis Rams met each other, both at 6-9. Seattle won the game, and subsequently, the division. Seattle was heavy underdogs in their wildcard game against the defending champion New Orleans Saints. Against all odds, Carroll and Seattle defeated the Saints 41-36, as Marshawn Lynch literally moved the earth.
In 2011, Seattle once again finished 7-9, but it wasn't nearly good enough to win the division this time. But by 2012, Seattle turned a new leaf. They spent big in free agency on coveted quarterback Matt Flynn, who had been backing up Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. After overseeing a draft that brought in the likes of Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and Bruce Irvin, Pete Carroll decided to bench Flynn for the rookie Wilson. Seattle won 11 games and was one stop away from advancing to the NFC Championship game.
By 2013, team expectations were at an all-time high. Pete Carroll had put the finishing touches on the defense he'd built from scratch. That defense went on to become one of the best in NFL history as they led Seattle to a 13-3 record, tied for best in franchise history. After earning a first-round bye, Seattle smothered the Saints at home, and barely squeaked out a win against the rival 49ers in the NFC Championship game, advancing to only their second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Carroll and Seattle dominated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, earning their first Super Bowl win, 43-8. The defense suffocated Peyton Manning and Denver's number-one offense, as Pete Carroll joined Jimmy Johnson as the only two coaches to ever win a college national championship as well as a Super Bowl. In 2014, Seattle finished 12-4 and made it back to the Super Bowl for the second straight year. Seattle came one yard away from their second straight Lombardi trophy.
After 2014, the Seahawks were always competitive, winning multiple NFC West titles and making the playoffs several more times, but never seemed to get over the Super Bowl loss. In 2019, Carroll made history by winning his 100th game as Seahawks head coach. He had crushed Holmgren's 86-win record and at age 68, was still going strong.
In 2020, Seattle won the NFC West with a 12-win season but was eliminated by the Rams in the wildcard round. In 2022, Carroll oversaw the groundbreaking trade of Russell Wilson that yielded Seattle multiple first-round picks and multiple players. Carroll advocated for backup Geno Smith to start, and Smith had a career year and led Seattle to the playoffs.
Following a disappointing 2023 season, Carroll was let go by the Seahawks in what was considered to be a mutual decision. Currently, it appears that Carroll will remain on the coaching staff as an advisor to new head coach Mike Macdonald. However, Carroll's legacy as head coach will not soon be forgotten.
Carroll led Seattle to a 137-89 record in his tenure, a .606 winning percentage. He leads all Seahawks coaches in wins (137), playoff wins (10), winning percentage, and division wins (five), and owns the sole Super Bowl win in franchise history. However, past the accolades, Coach Carroll will always be associated with the person he is and the culture he built in Seattle.