Seahawks are not done paying Pete Carroll a large amount of money just yet

The Seattle Seahawks decided to move on from former head coach Pete Carroll this offseason. Maybe the issue was that Seattle had missed out on the playoffs in two out of the last three seasons. This after missing the postseason just twice between 2010 and 2020. Carroll was a very good coach which was proven by his track record of success. 12s can only hope new head coach Mike Macdonald is as successful.

But Carroll has not left the organization. He probably could have; he likely should have. Instead, he remains somewhat invisible in an advisory role. Who knows exactly what that means, however, as Seattle hired a new mentor for Macdonald in the person of Leslie Frazier. Carroll being first-year head coach Macdonald's tutor would have been weird and awkward.

Still, Carroll gets paid a lot to do whatever he does. He could even do nothing and get paid a lot. Seahawks chairperson Jody Allen could have completely asked Carroll to leave the building (which, for all intents and purposes, he has done) and the team would still be paying Carroll more than they do their current head coach.

Seattle Seahawks are still paying Pete Carroll good money

Mike Macdonald signed a six-year deal that pays him as much as $9 million annually. The potential problem with the contract is that Macdonald has never been an NFL (or college) head coach before so while he has been a very good defensive coordinator, one cannot be too sure he is ready to oversee an entire team. He will still need to prove he can do that.

The money is not the potential problem, however; it is the number of years. Six years is a long time for any head coach, but especially a rookie head coach. The Seahawks better be sure about Macdonald.

But the team was pretty sure of Pete Carroll after all the years he spent getting the team into the playoffs. That is why in 2020 Seattle signed Carroll to an extension that would run through 2025 with a potential option in the final year. But we aren't to 2025 yet, of course. The extension Carroll received paid him a reported $15 million a season through at least 2024. That means if Carroll sits in a chair on the beach somewhere for the rest of the year, he is still being paid $15 million by Seattle.

Carroll not coaching is paid $6 million more than the guy who took his spot. That's good money. If you can earn it, of course.

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