It’s time for change

The win in Arizona shouldn’t fool anyone but I fear it has done.

It was a good victory against a lacklustre Cardinals outfit. The Seahawks have finished strongly with two wins. Yet a fortnight ago, they lost hopelessly to the Chicago Bears.

When your season ends in the playoffs, it’s usually off the back of a defeat and you analyse from the perspective of disappointment. This year Seattle were well out of the post-season race and they’ve ended with a win. The end result is still the same and should be reflected on as such. Yet it feels like the victory has glossed over a whole bunch of issues we should be discussing.

The need for change goes way beyond what happened in games at the end of this season. Let’s not forget that Detroit similarly beat the Packers on Sunday, the Jaguars knocked the Colts out of the playoffs and last week the Jets should’ve beaten Tom Brady and Tampa Bay.

The Seahawks haven’t just had an ‘off’ year. They haven’t been an ascending team for years. They haven’t looked like a true contender for years. The 2021 season was a step backwards from what was already a frustrating situation, with the team basically amounting to a car stuck in the mud spinning its wheels.

Hearing Pete Carroll talk up ‘carrying on’ and having another go next year is difficult to take. I speak as someone who hugely appreciates and respects what Carroll has achieved in Seattle. I suspect nearly all of us do. Yet he shouldn’t be allowed to claim this team is ‘close’. It isn’t.

The use of resources since the 2018 reset has been galling. They squandered tens of millions of dollars in the last two off-seasons on average players who didn’t elevate the team to a new level.

They’ve taken a path of depth over quality and it hasn’t worked.

The Jamal Adams trade was a disaster and his contract could be a lead weight for two more years.

They’ve neglected the trenches and spent money and high picks at safety and linebacker instead.

Carroll has a philosophy of wanting to run the ball and the Seahawks are clearly at their best when they’re able to do so. Yet he places too much faith in injury-prone runners and hasn’t built his team from the inside-out.

They’ve drafted extremely poorly — emphasised by the disastrous start to the 2019 draft, passing on the likes of Creed Humphrey a year ago for a WR3 they don’t know how to use effectively and opting not to select a number of proven stars at positions of need when they were on the clock (T.J. Watt, Jonathan Taylor, Budda Baker, Nick Chubb, Ryan Ramczyk etc).

They complain, as John Schneider did on the radio on Sunday, about not having an opportunity to pick in the top-10 like their NFC West neighbours. And yet having created a team sufficiently bad enough to end up in that position — they won’t get the chance to use their top-10 pick because they blew it on a desperate trade a year ago for the most expensive box safety in NFL history.

The Seahawks should be setting out to build the best staff possible. Instead, they’ve become an old pals act.

Carroll employs Carl ‘Tater’ Smith, Ken Norton Jr and one of his sons. Norton Jr should be on the way out after back-to-back seasons where the defense began as a disorganised mess. They should be pulling out all of the stops to employ Vic Fangio or someone similar. Yet they won’t, because Carroll feels he needs to have complete control over everything to the point he’s seemingly only willing to employ defensive coordinators who are ‘his guys’.

The Seahawks need a new direction. If Carroll was willing to embrace taking a back seat, handing more control to top-tier coordinators and taking on the role of Nick Saban-style figurehead, that would be plausible as a way forward. The status quo, however, with Carroll controlling everything from top to bottom, cannot go on any longer.

They have one playoff win in five years. Nothing about the 2021 season suggested they’re on a pathway to changing that. That one playoff win came against an Eagles team that lost its starting quarterback in the first half and had to play a 40-year-old backup.

If they try and roll this back, all we’ll end up with is months of uncertainty about Russell Wilson’s future. I know some fans have started to kid themselves that Wilson is actually perfectly content. They forget we’re a week removed from Adam Schefter reporting his continued dissatisfaction and desire for change and Wilson actively questioning his future by declaring he ‘hoped’ the Detroit game wouldn’t be his last as a Seahawk in Seattle.

If you want weeks of Colin Cowherd, Brandon Marshall, Adam Schefter and Jason La Canfora reporting daily updates on Wilson’s desire to go elsewhere — root for the status quo.

He wants change and he acknowledges what a lot of us have also concluded — this team needs a fresh start, with fresh ideas and a new approach.

Forget the money owed to Carroll on his contract. This is a franchise that has just committed a huge lump sum to Jamal Adams. In Paul Allen’s days, they wrote off a huge chunk of cash to fire Jim Mora.

If they want to make a change, they can do. They shouldn’t be swayed by a good win against Arizona or the price of a sunk-cost pay-off.

The following message should be delivered to Carroll. Embrace adopting the position of Saban-esque leader with top coordinators or be prepared to lose your job. Cede more personnel control to the GM. Be prepared to make changes. Do what you’re best at — leading and motivating. Let others handle the roster construction and the X’s and O’s.

If he does those things, and if Wilson is given more input into the philosophy, they have a shot to progress forward together.

Make the right decisions in the off-season and investing in the trenches will give them a chance to succeed, too.

Change doesn’t have to mean firing the coach. The Seahawks can’t pretend that they’re on the right track though, or believe more of the same will produce different results.

If Carroll’s intention is to ‘have another go’ in 2022 with largely the same cast of characters — it’ll simply be a waste of everyone’s time. It’ll be more of the same, a continuation of the last few years where the Seahawks have been on the periphery — paper tigers and not a serious contender in the post-season.

We’ll be having the same conversations during and after the season that we’ve been having for the last three years.

Without change, Wilson is going to agitate to leave. He won’t waste another year of his career. And if the Seahawks put their fingers in their ears again, it won’t be good for anyone. The franchise can’t stay in limbo with question marks at quarterback every year.

The fans deserve a proper resolution too. The whole topic of Carroll and Wilson is tearing the fan base apart online. Everyone is arguing about it. It’ll be poor leadership from the very top if this subject lingers on and on for weeks and months — dominating the daily NFL news cycle as it did a year ago.

If the status quo remains, I think we need to have it confirmed. There’s no need for any lingering questions or discussion. If Wilson intends to seek a trade, then he should just rip off the band-aid. As I’m sure many will agree — I can process clarity, whatever it ends up being. The unknown is what ends up becoming so divisive.

For more on this whole topic, I wrote a lengthy piece on Carroll’s future here and why change is necessary.

Pete Carroll deserves to be recognised as a Seahawks legend — but it’s time.

It’s time for a change.

Please consider supporting the blog via Patreon (click the tab below)…

Become a Patron!

251 Comments

  1. Ukhawk

    Hi Rob

    Just read about Carroll’s comments after the season finale and he seemed very bullish on staying, spoke about recent Jody Allen convos, then deferred reports to her.

    I think this does underline that the real wildcard here is Allen and it’s a tough read.

    Also any idea what the financial ramifications are of firing Carroll. If coaching contracts are guaranteed is it 40-50m?

    • Rob Staton

      Carroll to me said what I’d expect him to say when pressed. Allen, as people have reported, is a wild card and not even people close to PC have any idea what’s happening. That’s what Mike Garafolo reported.

      Coaching contracts are different to players because they’re not on the cap so the ‘guaranteed’ nature isn’t there. You can have buyouts. Moving Carroll would be expensive but so would be being mired in mediocrity for years.

      • Paul

        Great point about the contract (for both Carroll and Schneider No organization negotiates long-term executive contracts without including some sort of buyout mechanism. It wouldn’t be cheap, but the Allen Trust is one of the wealthiest entities in the world.

        • Roy Batty

          In August the trust sold Allen’s super yacht for around $278 million.

          They can afford to buy out Carroll and Schneider, with a lot to spare.

        • AlaskaHawk

          Or they can give them a job that makes them want to quit. How about being on the road scouting prospects for 180 days a year? Right up their wheelhouse.

  2. SonGoku

    What would be your top 3 pass rushers and OL to target in free agency?

  3. 300ZXNA

    It has been astonishing to me how quickly those who were finally starting to get on board the idea of letting Pete go have let recency bias run amok.

    Honestly, the last few weeks of the season was a Penny freak performance away from being yet more failure. I have no idea if what Penny has been doing is sustainable, or that they’ll even be able to afford him. Teams like Jacksonville might really like the idea of throwing #1 RB money at Penny to take pressure off of their #1 pick and distract from the dumpster fire atop their organization.

    I don’t understand how people don’t see the incredible inconsistency, the routine playing down to opponents and not realize that is completely a coaching issue. Or how the offense and defense are so incredibly streaky, yet rarely seem to click at the same time. Again, coaching.

    Lastly, the ongoing issues with 4th down decisions, clock management and challenges. That should be the easiest possible fix, and a good 4-5 years after the rest of the NFL has started optimizing their win probability, we’re still stuck with ‘hormonal Pete’ essentially slaughtering a chicken to determine his choice.

    I was really excited to see them win in AZ, but that has rapidly crashed down as I see people are rallying right back around Pete and acting like the entire franchise is magically cured. It’s starting to feel a little ‘Stockholm syndrome’ish.

    • Roy Batty

      Never underestimate the shortsightedness of the average NFL fan.

      Reality will creep in once they realize they are on their couch next weekend watching the playoffs, just like every member of their favorite team.

      Then, when next season rolls around and some backup QB takes the field for the first offensive series, they’ll bemoan the glory that was once #3.

    • BA

      The last few years are a perfect confirmation of the value of a franchise QB. In any given year healthy Russ makes up pretty much the entire difference between a 4-6 win team and a 10-12 win team, and masks the myriad deficiencies across the organization. If Russ chooses to stay, PCJS will ride off into the sunset in a few years having never been punished for their incompetence.

      Regarding Penny, I would be very careful. His recent performance has contract year shenanigans written all over it and he’ll likely be back on the shelf by the middle of next year.

    • ScottD

      Exactly. I’m forever thankful to Pete for what he’s done here, but come on. The issue isn’t just one 10 loss season, it goes way beyond that. This losing season is just a symptom of the greater disease of horrendous process and decision making.

  4. Paul

    Ideally:

    *Replace Schneider with strong GM who final say over player personnel and who the head coach is
    *Let that person determine (a) Carroll’s future and (b) whether the relationship with Wilson is salvageable. The right person will draw the right conclusions

    • Paul

      “who has”

  5. King TutP

    I really appreciate the logic and reasoning used on this site. Putting aside the ample evidence of coaching deficiencies over recent years, it is astounding to me that people argue that it would be harder to find a new coach than a new quarterback. Great quarterbacks make successful coaches, not vice versa. Look at Carroll before Wilson, Arians before Brady, Reid before Mahomes, even Bellichick before Brady, and on and on. Wilson is a top tier QB. Moving on from him in order to retain the coaching and front office decisions we have seen since 2018 from this group would be insanity.

  6. Denver Hawker

    Viking sack GM and coach Zimmer.

    Nagy fired as well.

    • BA

      Meanwhile in Seattle, more of the same

    • BA

      Heck, even Flores now fired. And the rudderless low-expectation Seahawks continue to run it back

    • GoHawks5151

      Fangio, Zimmer and Flores would be great DCs for us

      • Denver Hawker

        Each would be a fantastic upgrade, but frankly the bar is low so just about anyone would do for me. Rob said it best though, it’s Petes team as long as he’s there, and none of these names would sit there and run Pete’s defense.

      • swedenhawk

        and Nagy could be a great OC

        • Rokas

          I personally would not be pleased with that, not that it’s realistic.

  7. BobbyK

    “They complain, as John Schneider did on the radio on Sunday, about not having an opportunity to pick in the top-10 like their NFC West neighbours. And yet having created a team sufficiently bad enough to end up in that position — they won’t get the chance to use their top-10 pick because they blew it on a hideously desperate trade a year ago for the most expensive box safety in NFL history.”

    Schneider complaining about that is embarrassing. He helped ensure the team sucks so bad that they do, in fact, get a top 10 pick in a draft – and they gave it away for nothing.

    They need a big off-season. But they’ve done nothing for years now to give us any confidence they can/will actually have a good off-season.

    The only thing I can think of where this can work is Carroll allowing some Brady-like say on the offensive side of the ball and basically saying, “Okay, it’s time to stop getting marginal players who suck and let’s actually get some who don’t. This is my vision. Let’s do this…” and for Pete to listen to someone, because the status quo hasn’t worked.

    • Roy Batty

      Imagine Carroll going to Schneider and saying, “Hey John, Russ will now help us with all trades and draft picks. You two sit down and talk. Let me know what you come up with and I will give the approval…maybe.”

      Schneider would seethe.

      • BobbyK

        Hopefully he would quit on the spot. lol

        • Rokas

          he has millions of reasons not to.

  8. pdway

    Someone made a good point on the last thread that I agree with – this season really mirrors last year. The difference between 7-10 and 12-4, came down to RW’s injury costing them probably two games, and Myers’ lousy kicking costing them 2 others.

    But…the point really remains, even at a better regular season record, nothing about us looks like contenders. Our offense so often falls out of rhythm and can’t do anything, and there are too many key moments where our defense resembles a prevent defense in the way it allows so many easy completions and extended drives.

    If Russell is still Russell, I can actually feel reasonably optimistic about the core talent on the team – if we spend this off-season money wisely.

    And that’s where I agree w a change needing to happen – I think our schemes are stale, and our player acquisition has been a flop. Time for some new eyes on both.

    • Denver Hawker

      I wrote that. It’s the same team. Last years team was a few close games away from a similar record as this year. Myers made the kicks last year that he didn’t this year. But record doesn’t prevent them from getting stomped by Rams and Packers.

      Russell is great, but he’s not enough. They need complimentary football, Russ knows that. They need impact players on D, when was the last defensive TD? Has any defender stole a game since Clowney? Penny’s performance has shown what this offense is capable of doing with a balanced attack.

      Rappaport saying Jody will meet with management this week and establish the plan and make sure everyone is on the same page. If they choose to run it back, then you know ownership just cares about butts in seats and being good enough to leave hope. Russ knows that and will need to be more aggressive with his position if he wants change.

  9. Roy Batty

    With the slew of coaches being canned, I foresee no change in the current regime. Ownership may not want to enter the growing pool of teams competing for a new staff. They will roll with what they have and punt the decision into 2023.

    Just a gut feeling.

    The only asterisk is Russ. If he demands a trade, will Pete stick Around?

    Ownership needs to make things crystal clear this week. No action means complacency, and I hate complacency.

    • Simo

      Other teams firing coaches should have no bearing on the Seahawks situation, it would be very shortsighted and naive of ownership to base important decisions on what other teams are doing. I hope it doesn’t go down that way.

      If Pete is allowed to stay on, there still needs to be some changes made. Such as:

      1. Pete must give up final say on personnel decisions. Maybe Schneider stays or maybe they hire someone new, but Pete cannot have the final say anymore.
      2. Pete must also be forced to hire a new DC and delegate more responsibility to the coordinators. Keeping his job must be contingent on this.
      3. Russ must buy in to the changes. He needs to be convinced they are the right changes and be given some more say in at least offensive philosophy and personnel.
      4. The GM must focus on improving the pass rush and the offensive line. They absolutely have to get tougher up front on both sides of the ball.
      5. There has to be a focus shift towards signing quality free agents instead of JAGS! It is expensive but you get what you pay for!

      I was fearful that a couple of meaningless wins to close out the season would gloss over the many deficiencies this team and team leadership have. Be bold Jody!!

      • MychestisBeastmode

        I moreorless agree with all stipulations you posted. Nice bit of input 👍

    • Paul

      For what it’s worth, the history under Paul Allen—and there’s no reason that it would be different with the Allen Trust—is to form a search committee not necessarily completely comprised of football people.

  10. Mick

    Rob, thank you for your work. Every day coming here to find great articles, well researched, solid arguments, it’s a luxury that we shouldn’t take for granted. I’m a bit sad about the season ending, but I’m looking forward for what comes.

  11. Rob Staton

    Thanks for all the kind comments again everyone, it’s appreciated.

    Other teams getting on with their moves. I wish the Seahawks could just get on with whatever they are going to do. Just give us some clarity. There’s no reason for them not to start firing today, or announce full backing.

    • MychestisBeastmode

      I agree. It will be telling of the leadership at the top based on the details or lack thereof that come from today’s PC & Jody Allen meeting. I have my desires for what they do. Regardless of ownership’s plans, they need to communicate their stance clearly and plainly, today.

      At least that’s what good leadership would do.

      • King TutP

        It doesn’t seem like that is where this is heading. Meeting this week to see if we’re on the same page sounds like let’s get the gang back together. If the last 3 years didn’t tell ownership whether they’re on the same page with Pete/John, I don’t think anything will change now. Hopefully I’m wrong.

        • MychestisBeastmode

          Oh, you’re not wrong.

    • BruceN

      Rob,

      Thank you for another year of outstanding content. During this tough season reading your blog was one of the few things that made things bearable. And your draft material is one of the best and I always look forward to them.

      As for where we are now, I sadly doubt we will see any of the changes you have talked about so we should expect to go thru another offseason of gossips and news leaks. If I had a say in any of this (which I don’t!) I would hire you as the GM. On a side note, I read something about the Vikings barely using Mond and he’s been a disappointment. Probably this says something about the Vikings and not him. I wonder if he could be available in a trade and if you still think as highly of him.

      Keep up the awesome work.

  12. Pran

    Looks like change does not come any time soon.
    With a passive ownership, even if they did later we will be left with who to pick from? Pete is gonna be here next season save for a miracle.

    Bye bye Russ!

  13. AlaskaHawk

    I’m going to take a contrary opinion, for the sake of discussion. What if nothing happens?

    After all, Pete Carroll is the only super bowl winning coach available to Jody Allen. Plus he is a great motivational speaker. With Pete talking directly to Jody Allen in their meetings, he is going to sound impressive to her. Plus he’s already paid for, you can’t get rid of him after paying all that money.

    Drafting troubles? Throw John Schneider under the bus. Or blame injuries. If Penny hadn’t gotten hurt for the last three years, think how far the Seahawks could have got into the playoffs. Why just look at how easily they handled the Cardinals once their running game was going.

    He’ll tell her that this season has actually proven his coaching and play calling are still relevant.

    AS for Wilson, he may want to leave, but he’s still under contract for two more years. So put that in your pipe and smoke it Russell. You aren’t going anywhere. Just call your agent and tell him to start the next 4 year contract negotiations now.

    • BA

      This is ultimately what I think happens. Pete coaches out the rest of his contract, and inertia keeps Russ in Seattle until maybe the last year or two of his career (Pete will pull out the razzle dazzle on him and Russ will ultimately be too timid and tired to say no).

      Penny will be re-signed and will be back to his inconsistent and injury prone self by week 8 next year. DK will be re-signed to a massive contract and will continue to be the same receiver he’s always been. Adams will play out his contract and will continue to miss games and make no improvements. Norton and Waldron will get fired purely for show ahead of Pete’s final season and will be replaced with even more cynical hires.

      • Rob Staton

        I think Russ is well past being dazzled by Pete Carroll

        • BA

          I sure hope so

      • DC

        I’ll take the same DK he’s always been. In only 3 years he’s averaging over 1k yards and almost 10 TDs a year. This year he had 967 yards and 12 TDs in what was a terrible offensive year. RW missed multiple games and played terrible for multiple more.

        Does he have things to improve on? Absolutely, and needs to not lose his head when it doesn’t go well. But absolutely pay the man and keep him around, but only if you keep RW. If you trade RW, trade DK because you won’t have anyone to throw him the ball.

    • Rob Staton

      Well Wilson and Rodgers won’t accept that stance at all

      • AlaskaHawk

        Two more years of contract. Wilson took the money. He’s still taking the money. And if Jody Allen offers him another contract at 50 to 60 million a year, Wilson will probably take that money.

        Really the decision is up to Jody Allen, the OWNER, not Wilson.

        • Rob Staton

          That money will be available wherever he plays.

          The decision is up to Wilson and what he’s prepared to do to force change.

          • Paul

            Exactly. This isn’t fantasy football and the human factor is real. No one wants to pay $40M to A QB who wants out.

    • DT

      yeah I think this is the most likely outcome.
      Pete can point to how they finished. Don’t think he needs to throw JS under the bus- can point to the development of recent draft picks in Taylor, Green, Penny and say “we knew it would take time, but these guys are who we thought they were.”

      I wonder how far Russ is willing to push… will he hold out? hold In? hold in seems more likely, but will he really go so far as to refuse to go into a game because he wants a trade? That would seemingly damage his brand, and I can’t see him going too far down that road.

      Another year of an unhappy marriage.

      • Rob Staton

        He wouldn’t allow it to last into camp before making it clear he wants change

        • Tomas

          I concur that Wilson will force the issue, and believe it’s our only hope for a coaching change.

      • Paul

        Schneider belongs under the bus, and he doesn’t need Pete Carroll to put him there. He’s done just fine on his own.

    • NL

      Unfortunately…I see things similarly. It is not the approach I favor whatsoever, but I just don’t foresee Jody going for a home run with changes at the top. Nothing about the way she has handled things since Paul’s death have led me to believe she would be so proactive as to fire her Super Bowl winning tandem (how she likely views them) and have a vision for how to replace them. So I think it all gets rolled back. Will Russ be happy? Not a chance. But like others have said: He is under contract for 2 more years. He will play. Aaron Rodgers played for GB this year. The QB just doesn’t have much leverage. The off season will definitely be a headache with rumors flying just like last year, though. Again, not advocating that this would be my approach and I agreed with Rob’s Plan A, B, and C previously ; but I just don’t see Jody pulling the trigger, and I think we will likely be disappointed. Prove me wrong, Ms. Allen!

    • Peter

      There’s more superbowl winning coaches available if they wanted them. Also PC didn’t win a superbowl before he won one.

  14. cha

    Just a couple things, rewatching the highlights from the game yesterday:

    -I talked about the defense missing tackles. I would guess the Seahawks had at least 8 missed tackles in this game, and as many as 12-14.

    -The Kyler Murray sacks, I did a countdown clock in my head on the three the highlights reel showed. I got to 4-5 seconds on those three. Kyler was crisp in the first half, moving his feet, making decisions. In the second half, he got flustered and had cement shoes.

    -The Cardinals looked listless and off-key. Like they had conceded the division and were just happy to get into the playoffs. The secondary was trash in coverage. One of the best punters in the NFL made a ‘what in the world were you thinking’ mistake. The Cardinal offense shot themselves in the foot with poorly timed penalties several times. Kyler Murray’s expression and body language was way off.

    -The Seahawks had about $31million in salary not suit up between Adams, Wagner, Shell, and Gabe Jackson for this game specifically. With Neal out they moved Diggs to SS and had depth bodies at FS. And surprisingly/not surprisingly the player they missed the most was Al Woods.

    -I sincerely hope Russell’s sack escapes and his run for a TD will calm the “he’s old and rickety and his game is going to turn to dust” crowd a bit. On his TD run in the SF game, Next Gen had him clocked at over 19 MPH. DK Metcalf regularly clocks in the 19-20 MPH range.

    • AlaskaHawk

      By my count Wilson was responsible for two turnovers next to the Seahawks end zone. The win would have been much more impressive if he hadn’t screwed up like that. The stripping of the ball early on has been happening with him for a long time. I think it even occurred in the superbowl?

      • Scot04

        Chandler Jones just blew by our UDFA Rookie RT and crushed RW into a fumble. How is Russ responsible for that.
        The interception yes, but the fumble; he had no chance.

        • Jordan

          It was a three step drop, which means that the offensive linemen are short setting. That ball has to be out when the back foot hits, as the linemen aren’t schemed to maintain their blocks for any extended period of time within that design.

      • Big Mike

        And the GOAT, Tom Brady had 2 bad interceptions in the NFCCG last year. QBs turn the ball over. It happens. Considering his overall play and his TD to int ratio, his lifetime QB rating, his lifetime win pct and so on and so forth, I’d say Wilson is a true franchise QB.
        Can I ask you to come straight out and tell us why you don’t like him? Because to me it’s been very obvious for some time that you don’t.

      • Cambs

        Thinking of the NFCCG against the Niners, when Aldon Smith strip-sacked Russ on the very first snap? That play had real “same old Seahawks” vibes …

    • jed

      Agree about your missed tackles point. Brooks had a couple on a TD drive – I think it was back to back plays that ended with the Connor reception TD. He looks like an average starter with potential for more. Barton still looks like a backup to me – just not strong enough or fast enough or well positioned enough. He’s fine for a game or two and is good on ST, but I wouldn’t want him as a starter for a team with SB aspirations.

  15. Forrest

    Lots of thoughts:

    *Is Jody Allen a leader? Does she have a plan or advisors who know football who can guide her on what to do? My fear is she’s happy to have Pete and John and gives the football decision making to them.
    *Take a look in the stands over the last few home games. From a business perspective, we can’t lack an identity. The fans (customers) need to have a clear vision of the product.
    *I have always hated our clock management. That’s basic. When we had the ball with 2:30ish to go at the 25 or so on the Cards’ side before the half, we should walk off into halftime with 7 or 3 and the Cards shouldn’t get the ball back. Penny should not be running out of bounds.
    *Soft prevent defense at the end of games annoy the heck out of me. Close it out. Don’t give up 7 easily in two minutes.
    *We should never call time out on 4th and 1 because we don’t have a play or bevause Pete

    • Peter

      -or, when it’s 4th down and 3 on the bears 43rd but you opt for a punt? If you believe in your defense then what’s the difference from the 43rd yard line vs a possible touch back on a punt?

      When the advantage to put the bears in “catch up,” mode is so much more beneficial for all aspects of the team for the rest of the game.

      • Tomas

        That punt was one of Pete’s most idiotic decisions, and that’s saying a lot.

    • AlaskaHawk

      She obviously is not a sports expert/leader. So she either needs to find an expert, or elevate Pete Carroll to be the expert. It’s the Peter principal on a grand scale.

      • Peter

        Or call Todd leiweke who is right down the way with the Kraken.

    • Paul

      My understanding is that the team is now held by a trust and that Jody Allen is the chair of that trust. Her ultimate responsibility is to the trust and whatever it spells out about the disposition of the team.

    • Blitzy the Clown

      Is Jody Allen a leader? Does she have a plan or advisors who know football who can guide her on what to do?

      I’m not here to defend Jody Allen in the least. I know nothing about her. But she’s been the de facto “owner” of the Seahawks since 2018. So unless she’s totally incompetent and blinded by epic Dunning-Krueger, she must have advisors who know football and guide her on what to do with the team she’s been responsible for for the last three years. Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if the terms of her trusteeship require her to make certain organizational decisions in consultation with specific advisors.

      My fear is she’s happy to have Pete and John and gives the football decision making to them.

      On what do you base your fear? Other than her radio silence, and Carroll’s entirely predictable end-of-season ‘sunshine and lollipops’ comments, on what specifically do you base your fear that she’s essentially an absentee owner? Also, don’t most NFL owners give football decision making to their GMs and HCs? Wouldn’t she presumably do that with a new HC/GM if she does move on from Carroll and/or Schneider?

      Can’t argue with the rest.

  16. Mick

    Can’t wait to see the PFF grades, my untrained eye has a really high run block grade for Curhan.

  17. Olyhawksfan

    Every minute that ticks buy makes me think Jody Allen trusts Pete and isn’t going to make any big changes. Russ will want out and he will be painted as the bad guy. They’ll ignore the “media created” story and then draft a big bodied receiver, LB, punter, and TE, while also retaining Everett.

    • AlaskaHawk

      They need to draft a couple safeties too. Things don’t really change, do they?

  18. Matthew

    How far is Wilson willing to go to force something? He’s going to hold out, sit out an entire season even? It may come to that, no? PC/JS aren’t going anywhere it seems…

    • BA

      Yep, sounds like he will be the determining factor, not ownership and certainly not Pete stepping down. And I fully expect Pete to stonewall him on the first few attempts, first through pandering and then through force. It’ll be interesting to see how committed Russ is.

  19. Pavlos

    Even when this team attempts to bolster the offensive line (by singing Gabe Jackson), they end up hurting it. D Lewis shouldn’t have been moved to the left side (just like Reed never should have played the left side). How do fans see this and not the coaches?

    They passed on a great center to take a wide receiver they barely used. Carroll almost never trusts his new players.

    So done with him. And yet….the big announcements are not coming. I think we need to prepare ourselves…nothing is changing. 🙁

    • ScottD

      Nothing is changing.

      Next season, on the back of Russ and a last place schedule, they will have a 10+ win record and a first round playoff exit, yet the voices will continue to shout Pete’s praises claiming he righted the ship and next season is our year.

      • Peter

        I hope a lot changes on the defense.

        The good but not great:

        11th best Scoring defense

        The bad:

        Bottom 7th in turnovers (multi team tie)

        Bottom 9th in sacks (multi team tie)

        28th in yards given up

        The ugly: this is a split between the offense. Yes Russ, and the running backs drifting for almost half a season, and the defense because TOP is also on them when they let teams go on 8-9minute long journeys down the field…

        Last in time of possesion

        I get it’s how you finish allegedly. But to me this defense needs a big time re-tool.

  20. Forrest

    More thoughts:
    *I’m worried that Russ is becoming one dimensional. He throws a nice deep ball to the sideline. He doesn’t throw well over the middle (probably because he can’t see). This is limiting.
    *Russ looks heavier and has lost speed. His escapability has dropped, leading to unnecessary, drive killing sacks. He also doesn’t run nearly as much, which has messed up the read option and keeping safeties in the box. Defenses adjusted by adding two high safeties and we didn’t know what to do (both mid this season and mid last). …with different offensive coordinators. Is it the QB?
    *Russ has complained about getting hit. This is a real complaint about the O line that has merit, but I’m afraid his verbiage is symptomatic of health decline and feeling the hits more with age. He’s older and could be more injury prone going forward.
    *I’m tired of Russ using Mark Rodgers to carry his weight with the media and fans. I want to know if Russ has his own thoughts or if he reads a bunch of blog posts and becomes unhappy.
    *It still annoys me that the Seahawks weren’t ready to play against the Titans because Russ was distracted with whether or not to spend the national anthem in the locker room.
    *I’m sick of watching 3 defenders watch a WR catch a pass between them in zone coverage, after the QB has sat in the pocket for 3 seconds and the WR seems to just be sitting in the zone. After that long, one of the three needs to stick the WR.
    *I’m worried Penny is a four game wonder in his contract year. Sure, give him 3-4 million. Someone will give him $6-7M per on a 3-4 year deal. It shouldn’t be us. We churn RBs and get the most out of younger Carson types, rather than older Carson types. We should look to always be adding young RBs and not signing extensions at this position unless we find another Lynch.
    *We need a RB who can catch passes. This element is missing from our offense.
    *I fear our system needs a mobile (dual threat) QB. That’s why we wanted Josh Allen when we already had Russ.
    *No more Pete in personnel decisions. I feel he meddles in the draft and trades like Adams. I don’t want Russ handling personnel decisions either. Sure, invest in the O line, that makes sense. But, I don’t want Russ reviewing college tape and suggesting which O linemen or thinking he’s a draft genius.
    *Did the NFL rule changes to the cut blocking game affect our philosophy and make our brand less relevant in the modern NFL?
    *No more dumb defensive penalties on 3rd or 4th down (offsides, etc.). Quit extending tending drives
    *Same for taunting penalties. They should never happen. If you don’t stick out your arm and wave around that you got a first down, you can never get flagged for being to close to the defender when you do it.
    *Get back to tall press corners and a ball hawking free safety.
    *With the Diggs injury, forget compensatory selections this year. Go out and get your players and address the trenches. Don’t get cute and try to get a 5th round compensatory. Save that for other years when you’re losing expensive free agents and have little to spend in FA.
    *I worry the game has passed Pete by. His philosophy worked in college when players only stayed a few years. When players stay longer, they seem to catch on to the ra ra and some begin to roll their eyes. Pete’s best years were the early years.

  21. Denver Hawker

    DJ Reed finished as 10th best CB according to PFF (min 250 snaps).

    • Denver Hawker

      But how good is Bobby Wagner..

  22. cha

    Pete Carroll Show this morning

    Salk: “I do believe culture will trump strategy and that is absolutely in Pete Carroll’s corner. Other teams are making moves, I don’t think Seattle will be on that list. We’ll see how Russell Wilson ends up reacting to that.”

    As an example of how awesome the culture is, Salk just said Pete Carroll tried to get David Moore his reception bonus last year. Apparently he doesn’t remember that Russ changed the play and didn’t tell PC about it.

    • Denver Hawker

      But it’s not some paradox or corporate axiom. We should expect both strong culture and strategy. One does not have to trump the other.

      I’d prefer to measure a strong culture by how many vets are playing on discounts, who came here willingly to win a SB. That’s how you measure culture.

    • cha

      [q] How did yesterday go? “Great time, exactly what we wanted to do. Played like crazy, had fun, enjoyed the heck out of that.”

      [q] Most complete win of the year? “I don’t know, Jacksonville was good. Special teams good. nice game.”

      [q] Gush about Rashaad Penny? “He ripped it. Budda Baker is big time and he left him. Great sequence of happenings. Run was explosive return to what we’ve seen. Guy’s been on fire.”

      [q] Key to explosive plays? “Starts at LOS, goes through second level. Guys making their targets, guys finishing blocks TEs and WRs. All elements. Just waiting when you watch Penny.”

      [q] What did you learn this year? “Learned how to deal other end of it. Lead the discussion and the truth of not being in front of this thing. Division. Always focusing on what’s in front of you. Real discipline. Stay with it, stay strong. Found new ways to talk about finishing the season.”

      [q] Close is this roster to SB ? “I think it’s right there. I wouldn’t want to play us right now. Elements make us dangerous. Defense is playing well enough, kicking game good enough. Tough formula. Playing like that for years. Ton of stuff to look forward to. Players making up nucleus. Clear illustration of who we are at finish.”

      [q] Why take so long this year? “We weren’t quite right. We wanted Russ to be at best, hard for him. Running game wanted to be, couldn’t do it. Defensively didn’t start fast enough again, two times in a row, found ourselves. All of that didn’t happen soon enough. Russ miraculous recovering. Did it. A lot to ask of him. So proud. Came back to get us on course again. Couldn’t build it up around. Every aspect needed to be good, couldn’t do it.”

      [q] Defense slow, change? “Had to find guys, find CB position. DJ back to right Sydney, got going. Didn’t get to passer as much as we needed. Not as productive as we need to be. Carlos came last year, rest of pass rush picks up. He got going again. Last four weeks started hitting, we changed. Everybody complemented. So many things, I can go off in ten different directions what we need to do…(laughs)”

      [q] Carlos so slow start? “Different combinations. Couldn’t find production from last year. Seemed to really find power rush. Other guys take advantage”

      [q] Changes this offseason? “(laughs) Give me a freakin day, dude. I don’t have answers for you. Such a difficult time of year for clubs. So many decisions. Love guys in locker room. Guys care about playing. Centerpiece for building championship team. See how we keep all elements together. Enhance the process. Guys change, life changes, shifting evaluations. And also playing and coaching better.”

      [q] Changes to coaching staff? “I don’t anticipate anything right now. Get settled, do evaluations.”

      [q] Recommit to philosophy? “Yeah, that’s what part of offseason is about. Build it around players you have. Point I’m trying to make, so much made about throwing game, it’s FOOTball. Factors control the ball. Own that fricking ball. Whatever it takes to do it with the players you have. If you create true balance, play all aspects, run and throw with a balance and not give it to the other team, you can give yourself a chance to win. Really focused there and great discipline and design and approach. You try and throw it all over the field so fans can get excited, but you can get sacked, ball in the air. But how do you like us now running it? Explosive plays. I’m teaching, Mike. I have all the confidence this is the way to go. Up and down and not as sharp as we can be.”

      [q] RW committed to your philosophy? “Blast last night! He just wants to win. Not like we’re running so RW can’t throw. Running so he kills them when he throws.”

      [q] RW back next year? “Yeah! He’s our QB. He’s on our team.”

      [q] Retool mean? “Compete. Find another guy like Darrell Taylor. Comes out of nowhere, huge factor. Might be Colby Parkinson, a star in the making. I don’t’ know exactly what that is, try. Draft, signing, bringing guys back. Phil Haynes on the rise, played great for us. That’s how you retool. Number of ways to go about it. Very confident we can.”

      [q] Cap space? “You don’t post all those guys who are leaving. We have to keep those guys! We gotta get them back. Money goes very quickly. Wonderful players who should come back. Money won’t be quite as free as people think.”

      [q] No expectation major addition? “Don’t count us out on that. Wide open. Competing or you’re not. Said constantly over the years, opps we’re in it. Count on us. We’re gonna be battling. See how it fits, how we can do it. Step further – we’re listening to everything! You’re in it or you’re not. Across the board. Who knows what’ll happen. It could be any player on our club. We listen. Every option out there. Owner on down wants to know what we can do to help this franchise.”

      [q] Clarity on personnel decisions with you and John? “No looseness to this. Every resource he has, every I have, throw it out and figure it out. Best possible decisions. No different how we play in the game. Comes down to money decisions, have to figure out how it fits. Go through order of people. Sometimes goes to owner. She can give us the guidelines how it fits. Process wide open to options. Far as we gotta go, hard as we can push, best shot.”

      [q] Jody Allen meet this week? “Yeah, every year. At her beck and call next couple days, figure out when time’s free. Always done that. Any business go through accounting and set course. I am so excited to work with her. She’s on it. So tough about process and doing things right. Tireless about it. All on same page. Real competitors going at it.”

      [q] Your thoughts on coaches that were fired? Their families are out there? “Yeah, this day sucks. Some surprises. A lot of spots that were surprises. Denver. Personal, families, kids, moving, all kinds of stuff. Worlds shocked. Tough times.”

      [q] “Great shape” yesterday, you and Jody spoken? “I’m just gonna leave that phrase out there.”

      [q] I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk after more wins this year? “I really appreciate working with you.”

      • Blitzy the Clown

        He ripped it. Budda Baker is big time and he left him.

        Not many 235lb RBs with Penny’s breakaway speed. That’s what I’m most impressed with regarding Penny. He ran away from the entire Cardinals defensive secondary.

        • DC

          That and he’s really shifty, just a couple subtle small moves to make guys miss.

          • Paul

            Penny’s feet are amazing for someone who weighs 220lbs. It’s easy to see why they liked him.

            • Rob Staton

              Carroll said he weighs about 236lbs in reality and it looks it too

      • DC

        Best possible decisions. No different how we play in the game

        Well being that Pete makes terrible in game decisions its no wonder his personnel decisions haven’t been the greatest either.

      • GaiusMarius

        The shorter version for 2022 according to Pete: More of the same.

        We have seen the ceiling (2020) and floor (2021) for that.

      • Hawkdawg

        I’m not sure what else to expect, really, but when the question is “why couldn’t you get going?” and the answer is “we just couldn’t get going?”–repeatedly, with only slight changes in wording–it doesn’t fill me with confidence.

        Or admiration for the questioner who keeps taking those answers as if they are actually answers instead of meaningless, tautological word fluff. It’s on Jody Allen to call that what it is, and demand more.

      • ScottD

        Basically the same Pete nonsense.

  23. jed

    I with you Rob, I hope this game doesn’t change any minds. Also, thanks again for the great content.

    I forecast sales & inventory for a living and one of the worst things you can do is drastically change your forecast based on on data point or even 2 if you consider the Lions game. Sure, these were 2 nice wins, but shouldn’t change your mind on this season or the last 5 seasons.

    I’d still fire Pete & John. I’d still put Payton and Harbaugh as my top choices. If that didn’t work, I’d try to get Kellen Moore as HC with Brian Flores as my DC. I’ve seen some people say Jacksonville is the top opening out there, but I think an open Seattle job with Russ and $70M of cap space is about an attractive a HC job as you can get in the NFL.

  24. Denver Hawker

    Gettleman “retiring”.

  25. Donald_Duck

    Rob, what do you think of hiring Brian Flores as Seahawk’s head coach?

    • Henry Taylor

      In a world where Carroll stays, but in a complete shift in philosophy decides to hand over the reigns of the Defence and take a CEO type role, he’d be my ideal guy for that.

    • Rob Staton

      Fine with it but he can’t go through a shambolic OC search like he did in Miami

    • Henry Taylor

      I’ve actually thought about this some more and I’d be all over him as HC.

      I think he’s proven in Miami that he’s a tremendous defensive coach with good culture building props to get a talentless Dolphins team winning. Plus his scheme would be a perfect complement for the Adams skill set that we’re now stuck with.

      His problems in Miami were bad QB play (not an issue here) and bad OC appointments (just roll on with Waldron who was much improved down the stretch).

      • Ishmael

        It’s been pretty widely reported that he’s an “abrasive” guy which is why no OCs have wanted to work for/with him. It’s not that he’s picked bad ones per se, it’s that he’s getting the only ones who are willing to put up with him.

  26. Alex Higgins

    I still want Pete gone, but it’s not a “no brainer.” I like the guy. I respect what he did for the franchise. I won’t be angry if they give him another year, but I’ll be a lot less interested in watching next year. I’m not sure how anyone can be extremely confident that another guy will be better (Brian Flores, e.g.) or even available (e.g., Sean Payton).

  27. Mr. Drucker in hooterville

    Rob, how can we get this analysis in front of Jody Allen? Does she frequent your blog?

    • Rob Staton

      I would imagine she doesn’t

      But I kind of hope she does

  28. Palatypus

    Everyone on this roster is easily replaceable except for Russel Wilson.

    Back in 2012 when I attended my first Senior Bowl the quarterbacks were as follows:

    Kirk Cousins, Kellen Moore (who I honestly thought was a kicker when I met him in person), Russel Wilson, Nick Foles, Ryan Lindley, and Brandon Weeden.

    This year:

    Desmond Ritter, Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, Bailey Zappe, and Carson Strong (so far.)

    I would take Brandon Weeden and Ryan Lindley over this dumpster fire.

    • Peter

      Kind of jealous you get to go to Senior Bowls. Hopefully this one will have some interesting finds.

      This year’s qb’s….woof.

      Christian Ponder and EJ Manuel should start hiring personal coaches.

  29. Gross MaToast

    One thing I ask after reading through cha’s Pete/Salk chat is: who the hell is he trying to convince? Jody Allen? Us? Himself? This team is “right there” for a run at the Super Bowl? I’m not going to go through that line by line, but there was not an answer that he gave that should have gone unchallenged, yet here sits a 7-10 team with major issues in every aspect of the construction, maintenance, and operation that is being touted as a damn near-miss Super Bowl team – “I wouldn’t want to play us right now.” I would. Remember the Rams playoff game last season? That’s how close you are to a Super Bowl, except not that close. We can see the wires of Pete’s magic tricks and it’s just all very unconvincing.

    “Russell’s our quarterback.” No. As of today, Russell WAS your quarterback. Acting as if you have some secret recipe for success because you want to run the ball to set up the pass has been done for about the last fifty years. High schools used to run it. Unlike the Seahawks, they’ve moved on. The Super Bowl-threatening 2-2 record posted over the last month of the season is a microcosm of the past eighteen Seahawk months – beat up on some of the have-nots while being soundly thrashed by top-tier teams…and teams starting Colt McCoy. There is absolutely no thought that this franchise is a player for a run at the Super Bowl. Russell is not coming back to study at the feet of Shane Waldron. No offense, Shane Waldron.

    Jody Allen is choosing between one of the top handful of the premier players at the toughest position to fill in pro sports and a 70 year-old head coach who has had multiple opportunities to reset and rebuild this franchise to no avail. I have little doubt that Pete is spinning her hard and, like a used car salesman, is selling both the undercoating and fabric protector as real difference makers on this ‘87 Cordoba. (No offense, used car salesmen.) It’s still an ‘87 Cordoba, Jody.

    This cannot drag out over the next week. Jody Allen has to make a statement one way or the other and let’s get on with it. WWPAD? Go get Sean Payton.

  30. Pran

    I would love Brian Flores as DC if Pete stays. Of course Pete thinks Norton is doing a good job. Shane Waldron will get another year as OC (going by Pete’s philosophy of not giving up easily)

    • Joshua Smith

      I would love Flores as HC…

  31. Mick

    The entire discourse of Carroll is depressing. What needs to happen so our D doesn’t start playing in round 11? Do we only function in this last moment mode, prove that you aren’t as bad as you look like? Wonderful, we ended with a win, but we have a losing season and we are not making it to the playoffs. We have to make this franchise attractive, otherwise the free agents will keep picking Chiefs, Arizona, Rams and Ravens over us. And someone must be responsible for the things that didn’t work. The very least that I expect is that we finally accept that KNJ is not good enough to manage our D. BTW right now our coaches have 0 shots at getting even an interview for a better job elsewhere, perhaps with the exception of our excellent ST coach.

    • Paul

      Pete Carroll teams start slow. Even the 2013 club was taken to OT in week 9 by a winless Tampa Bay. That team was so overwhelmingly talented and well-coached that it could win and round into shape at the same time.

  32. Jlemere

    Well ball is in RW court now. Wonder how long RW will wait before making next move.

  33. Billy

    You said…”And yet having created a team sufficiently bad enough to end up in that position”

    I have a question…..do u believe they are sitting at 7-10 if Russell does not get hurt? Just curious, not an excuse, just want to know where u think they would be if he hadn’t?

    I feel like in the playoffs for sure….and maybe even division winners….I feel like some change is necessary but I don’t know about starting over

    • Billy

      I think some hard decisions need made especially with BWags and assistant coaches

      • DC

        I think those are easy decisions, just hard to deliver the news

    • Blitzy the Clown

      Would it be better if Wilson hadn’t been injured, they went 10-7, made the playoffs, and lost (again) in the Wild Card?

      Cuz that’s pretty much what we’ve had since 2016.

      • GaiusMarius

        Yes, that is the ceiling that you’re signing up for.

        I get that it’s comforting to have a floor.

        It’s just some of us want more and have zero confidence that Carroll can deliver it.

    • DT

      The Tennessee and Minnesota (89 total yards in the 2nd half) games are evidence this team may not be better than 7-10 if Russ stays healthy. He was healthy for those. Whether it was the defense giving up long sustained drives in those games or the offenses inability to get first downs, hard to say the season would have been that much different.

    • MychestisBeastmode

      It’s not that anyone dislikes Pete & Co. To me, it’s more that we have a franchise QB and a closing window for a GREAT (not good or ok) run of football. It’s been half a decade since they’ve lived up to “great expectations.”

      I’m usually an optimist, but feel that this team, even with Russ, was underperforming for the majority of the season outside of the Colts, this last week against AZ, and a handful of games against the NFL’s bottom dwellers.

      I don’t want to kick a dead horse because it doesn’t look like a real possiblity at this moment, but I feel that coaching, and more specifically, acquiring Sean Payton would get us closer to greatness quicker than this current coaching staff.

  34. jed

    Hawkblogger has a couple polls up that he added after the Arizona game. I know he’s been on the get rid of Pete, John, and Russ wagon, but it appears his followers aren’t. I’d guess non-Twitter users would be even in more favor of keeping all three than his Twitter poll answerers.

    Keep Pete? 1,700+ votes: 66% say keep Pete
    Keep John? 2,200+ votes: 70% say keep John
    Keep Russ? 2,200+ votes: 89% say keep Russ

    Also, your Youtube channel must be getting bigger. I’ve been getting way more ads in the middle of the chat than ever. Some good news?

    • GaiusMarius

      A lot of fans let emotion carry them away. Recency bias is also HUGE. Switch the Bears and Cardinals performance and results and you could shave off much of that support. But the problems would be the same.

      I am hoping that whomever makes the decisions has a good grasp of trend analysis and recognizes that we are not close to making a deep playoff run, let alone a championship.

  35. Ashish

    Should the news out by now that Pete is fired? I’m so nervous

  36. cha

    Duane Brown just said he wants to keep playing, and is OK going year to year on one year deals, and would be open to coming back to Seattle.

    • Mick

      I’m in to keep him but we should find someone better than Stone for his backup.

  37. Big Mike

    cha, I want to thank you for giving us the text of Pete’s butt licking get together with Mike Salk (that kind of garbage is not an “interview” so I won’t call it that). You have to wonder if Salk ever gets chapped lips from kissing Pete’s ass so constantly and consistently.
    That said, while I appreciate your efforts, I’m done reading it. I’m tired of Carroll and all his crap. I want this franchise to move on from him yesterday and I don’t have any intention of bothering with his spew any longer.

    Russ: be a freaking man, say to hell with your image and tell Jody flat out, “it’s him or me, your call”. Then we can watch Pete Carroll go 5-12 in Seattle and then we can see how Mike Salk and his ilk try and spin that.

    • GaiusMarius

      If Wilson does not think that we are close to making a championship, I can’t see how that is not communicated in some way. I am taking Wilson at face value when he says that he wants to win more rings. The clock is definitely ticking.

  38. DC

    Just starting thinking about all the major changes that should be taken, I though I’d take a look at BWagz stats. Even though his play has really dropped off, and honestly I wouldn’t bring him back on a restructured deal, but he’s definitely a future HOFamer.

    in 10 years, he has 1,298 tackles, 23.5 sacks, 1 safety, 60 PDFs and 11 INTs and 1 TD. Dude has only missed 10 games in 10 years playing one of the most violent positions. Honestly, I’d prefer to see him retire then continue to see his play decline if he tries to keep going.

  39. SeaTown

    The thought of Jody Allen doing nothing and PC/JS just running it back is soul crushing especially knowing that RW will probably be traded.

    I feel today they way I used to feel during the Behring days–deflated. No hope.

    • SeaTown

      Just got around to watching the PC post game presser. His opening “joke” about not having a parade in Seattle is exhibit A as to why this guy needs to go. He has zero self awareness. He really thinks he’s so funny and so smart and yet has not idea that he’s the complete opposite–unfunny and not the smartest guy in the room. I mean after dealing with all the BS this year to trot out a line like that is insulting to everyone who really cares about this team.. He really needs to go. Another year of this will be really hard to stomach.

    • Blitzy the Clown

      Way back, more than a decade ago, the Seahawks’ last worst regular season (the 2009 season) ended on January 3rd, 2010.

      There was nothing from the organization regarding a potential coaching change, let alone an actual change, until 5 days later, on January 8th.

      That was when Paul Allen called the shots. Since he’s not anymore, if change at the top is coming, I’d expect that change to take a little longer this time around.

      Also, back in 2010, Jim Mora was an undeniable failed 1-year experiment, whereas this time Pete Carroll is the best HC in franchise history. For that reason as well, I’d expect change at the top to take longer.

      I suspect, as do many of us, that Carroll wants to stay, provided Wilson stays as well. Now that the season is over, I think Carroll wants the opportunity to convince Wilson to return. That process may take a couple of weeks. But I also suspect, rather strongly, that it will fail and Wilson will not agree to return to the Seahawks with Carroll as HC.

      Once that reality sets in, I think Carroll will make the decision to step down. I agree completely with Rob that a 71 yo Carroll doesn’t want to undertake a search for a new franchise QB.

      I also think that the recent whispers from UCLA about Carroll coaching the Bruins may ultimately play a deciding factor. When, after a week or two, it becomes increasingly clear to Carroll that if he remains the Seahawks’ HC, he’ll have to do it without Wilson, I wouldn’t be surprised if Carroll negotiates with UCLA, such that the first thing we hear about actual HC change coming to the Seahawks is a statement from UCLA that they’ve agreed to terms with Carroll. Or something similar.

      Regardless of how it actually goes down, my point is that there will be significant change this offseason, but it will take a while, certainly longer than it did the last time significant change came to Seattle. And even then, it took about a week after the season ended. I wasn’t expecting any news today; I don’t expect any tomorrow, or even for the rest of the week.

      • Big Mike

        I sincerely hope it plays out as you predict, no matter if it does take a couple of weeks.

      • Simo

        This all makes perfect sense, decisions this big take time to figure out. Everyone involved needs a little time, and clear minds, to process their feelings about their future in Seattle.

        As Rob has suggested in the past, I also hope the Seahawks brain trust has already been formulating a plan for the future of the club, and that they don’t let these last two games play too big a part in their decision making.

        It really does feel like it’s time for a change. It’s likely gonna take Russ stating his position very emphatically though. He can’t be passive Russ, and I don’t want to rock the boat to much Russ. He has to make it very clear that he does not want to play here anymore if Pete remains the coach, and perhaps if John remains GM. Then the ball is squarely in ownership’s court. No running it back after that, Jody will have to make a decision — Russ or Pete/John. Can’t wait to see how it plays out!

  40. TheOtherJordan

    It’s pretty simple for me. Pete can talk all the BS he wants. The Seahawks have one playoff win in five years. Pete Carroll is responsible for that. If you took any random coach and said if they won one playoff game in five years with Russell Wilson would that be good enough? The answer is no. It isn’t good enough and Seahawks fans shouldn’t accept it as good enough. And to expect a different result with a minor “retooling” is insanity. It’s been five years of this! I get Pete’s position. He’s got a great gig. He has complete control of an NFL franchise and is accountable to no one. Of course he doesnt want to give that up because he’s basically a defacto owner. But if you don’t fire a coach who has one playoff win in 5 years with the best franchise QB in his prime then you no longer care about winning as a franchise.

    • Peter

      I knew Rob’s analog about the packers was on to something.

      But i didn’t know mccarthy was the 2nd winningest coach for green bay. Pete’s been great but mccarthy took the packers to 8 straight playoff appearances. Only three other coaches did that.

      I wonder how many of their fans taked about “but, culture,” or look at the wins? Green bay a nothing town in nowheresville believes they are a legendary franchise and acts like it.

      Seattle since I was a kid is this grateful try hard little place just glad to be asked to the dance.

      When what it should actually be is a city that has come to expect greatness having had one of the most succesful runs this whole century.

      • TheOtherJordan

        And you can see those expectation differences clearly. Seattle sports fans have almost been programmed to accept mediocrity. The Seattle media doesn’t have to ask the difficult, probing questions because people don’t demand it. Yet Salk gets run out of town on the east coast? But his say nothing, ask nothing routine is fine in Seattle. Same with Clayton. There is a difference and the fans need to expect more.

      • BA

        Meanwhile, the fans don’t hesitate run the QB out of town if he has the audacity to put up anything less than a 40 to 3 TD to INT ratio, while simultaneously clamoring for Geno Smith and Sam Darnold and praising a coach that just oversaw a losing season. Makes zero sense (well, on the surface. We know exactly why this sort of thing happens).

        • Peter

          Fans that want him replaced are gonna love some of the FA’s this year. The qb’s with near 1:1 td/int careers.

          Or ask the browns who spent in the order of 7 picks in rounds one through three over 11 years how it grabs them to yet again be looking for a QB.

    • Tomas

      Very well put. Exactly so.

  41. L80

    After watching the games, reading every article, chiming in occasionally, listening to media pundits and everyone else……I’m sorry to say I see no changes forthcoming. The ONLY hope wityh that scenario is that all of this “talk” going on will allow the proverbial lightbulb to go off in PC & JS head that their jobs are actually being scrutinized.

    That being said, Jody Allen is not a passionate owner , shes a placeholder. She fired the people in Portland because of a toxic work environment which is hardly the Seahawks.

    These last 2 games were the worst thing to happen for those of us that want the changes to occur. It’s like a smoke and mirrors show, totally masking all the ineptitude, and will totally cloud the overall picture.

    Sad but most likely true. This offseason will be even worse than last if that is the case…

  42. A Martin

    Agreed wholeheartedly.

    I’m going to take the past few weeks at face value. This team has the talent to be in the playoffs, and should have been. However, whether for political reasons or pride players weren’t in the right positions or even properly evaluated until the last few weeks of the season. And how much of this was chance, injuries and covid forcing different team configurations that just happened to be better? Take Tre Flowers, it seems whoever started in his stead has outperformed him significantly. Take Damien Lewis’ Sophmore slump after a position switch. Take the ignition of the running game. How much of this is Penny, how much is oline configuration, I haven’t a clue, but it’s hard to believe such a subpar running game can just explode like that even against subpar opposition. Rashaad seems very talented, but I highly doubt he’s a generational talent.

    It’s something you’ve suggested the past few seasons I think. Terrible (with a capital T), historically bad starts at defense two years running when all the pieces to put out a serviceable defense were already on your team.

    If Pete and John are retained, they really need to be challenged on accepting the reality of what their team is and the modern game. Looking outside their philosophy and accepting what is true to mutate into something superior

  43. cha

    FWIW Frye was lauded for the job he did on UCLA’s OL and was considered one of the top coaches on Chip’s staff.

    Pete Thamel
    @PeteThamel
    Ohio State is hiring UCLA OC/OLine coach Justin Frye, per sources.
    6:10 AM · Jan 10, 2022

  44. Rob Staton

    Cowherd very interesting on the Seahawks here:

    https://youtu.be/CcbcUtdlh_4

    Cites a source who worked for the Seahawks FO.

    • cha

      https://i.redd.it/vz4ginp3qva81.jpg

      Cowherd, LaCanfora, Silver, Schefter, hopefully in the very near future.

    • Big Mike

      Starts at 9:00 on the link Rob posted.

    • MychestisBeastmode

      Is this a power play by Schneider!?

      Scouting department isn’t TOO big and if Cowherd’s source it’s someone with insider knowledge from the last 5 years, that list shrinks even smaller.

      To me it’s either Schneider making a play for Carrol to cede his personnel authority or it speaks to what is likely a near consensus of the lesser known individuals in the scouting office who feel the same.

      • cha

        I doubt it is a power play.

        He had the chance to go to Detroit and probably be the top dog there and decided to sign on for more time with PC.

        As well, Pete more than once this year has said John is the main contact for Jody. If Pete were concerned about consolidating power he’d be Jody’s first and only contact (as far as he could control anyway, Jody is free to talk to anyone she likes).

        I’d think this is more about scouts wondering why they are logging all those hours and miles looking at prospects just so the Dir of Ops can ignore their board and recommendations. You look at ‘the last 5 years’, the proof is in the pudding. It hasn’t been a winning strategy.

    • Timothy Burch

      JS defers to Pete Carroll too much. Is very interesting and now we know who was behind all these trade first round picks and players for Harvin, Graham, and now Adam’s. When they did pick in first round it was Pete
      It’s a tad bit early but it looks like PC an JS are not going anywhere. Balls in RW court and cowherd just performed a layup for Wilson camp.

    • Mr. Drucker in hooterville

      interesting, but Cowherd’s known to overstate his relationships with sources. As far as we know, he read a comment in a blog by someone claiming to have worked for the Seahawks. (could be a photo copy repairman)

      • Timothy Burch

        Cowherd a nationally syndicated show talking to photo copy repairman for sources. Okay i got some oceanfront property in Wyoming I want to sell…very cheap!

        • Rob Staton

          Say what you want about Cowherd.

          But don’t question his sources.

          They are legit.

          Not many reporters get invited to sit in draft rooms on draft day. Cowherd does.

          He has a lot of great contacts.

          You don’t have to agree with him. Some of his takes are ‘out there’. But he is connected.

  45. Turp

    I wish he’d also asked about Pete’s influence on trades too, not just their bombed draft picks.

    Not surprising that Pete did some flexing over the scouting dept and here we are…

    • Peter

      Well he did put his kid eith no experience at age 23 in scouting…..

  46. cha

    Samuel Gold’s workup on Penny is definitely worth a look.

    A healthy, balanced dose on Penny purely as a runner.

    Cliffs Notes: He ran against light boxes 81% of the time and the OL opened holes for him. When those two things aren’t there, he doesn’t have the skill to create yards for himself.

    Also it cannot be denied that the bulk of his success has come against some of the NFL’s worst run defense teams.

    https://youtu.be/C1AfB22yvj8

    • Jordan

      Man, look at that dude fly. And that’s before including the 190 vs AZ. Rare to see a dude that size who can hit the home run. Thanks for sharing the link.

    • MychestisBeastmode

      Mostly agree. Only thing I’d highlight is Arizona’s rush Def was 11th prior to Penny dropping 190 yards on them. Now, they finish at 20th. Which is also interesting to see that much fluctuation after a single game and additionally speaks to the parity of good vs poor defenses, at least through the scope of rush defenses.

      I definitely want Penny back after his late season explosiona. Give him a “Thunder” compliment RB to his “Lightning.” I don’t want to pay Melvin Gordon money and am worried some desperate team would do something wild like that poaching him. I hope it’s less than 5 mil, but if it were a 1 year prove it deal, I’d be open to paying 5 mil +/- 2 million depending on market demand for him. Fingers crossed we can get a <4 mil aav salary, but I fear that ship might have sailed.

      • Peter

        It’s really gard to say what he gets paid. The top paid RB’s añl were good/great their first contract.

        I think he may be cheaper than some fans expect. His contract maybe a bit of an anomaly since the difference from high end to JAG veterans is pretty stark.

        For different reasons I csn’t see him getting much more than what Carson got.

    • Norman

      On the other hand, a home run hitter who excels against light boxes (more so than most anyway), paired with a QB who excels at punishing light back-end coverage, seems a prime combo for an efficient, opportunistic offense (obviously predicated on health).

      Bring in a situational ‘goal-line’ style runner who excels at getting tough yards against heavy boxes, when you’ve gotta run despite the opponent knowing it’s coming, and seems to me you’ve got an effective backfield (again, predicated on health).

      • cha

        Confirms the crazy notion those of us on the lunatic fringe have been preaching for years…you’ve got to have a good offensive line to make this offense work to its potential.

        It’s radical thinking, I know.

        • Norman

          Never in doubt.

        • Big Mike

          Good o-line? What a concept.

    • BobbyK

      If Penny is gaining these chunk yards at a greater pace than any RB in the NFL but the counter is “look at the defenses he’s doing it against” then I want to know why every other RB doesn’t do it against those defenses, too. Penny can breakaway at an elite level. It’s his durability that scares the crap out of me.

      • cha

        That’s not to say every time Penny runs against a weaker team he’s going to explode, nor every time he comes against a stronger team he’ll be awful.

        I don’t think it is an attempt to put Penny down so much as to get a full picture of why he’s been so successful. If you have a good DL that can win at the LOS and is disciplined with their gaps, you can bottle him up, as the Rams did this year.

        • Pran

          Is Penny someone like Henry, Jonathan Taylor, Zeke, Chubb etc who defenses need to game plan against. until he proves he belongs there is no point in depending on him. its just a few games after 3.5 years.

          • Peter

            Interesting point to consider.

            Penny has played 39 of 65 regular season games. 1572 career yards and over half of them these last five games. 11 tds.

            Meanwhile everyone knows what Chubb’s gonna do.

            58 of 65 games. 4816 yards with his second best total this year. 36 tds.

            I think I’m slowly getting off the pay Penny train. I get this has been fun to watch but what’s the value? It’s like matt flynn at his end with greenbay. Probably going to get paid. Most likely won’t be worth it.

            • BobbyK

              Good point with the Flynn comparison. Scary.

              I just keep seeing these chunk plays that Penny is capable of. That’s not normal. You can’t accidentally have that many more long runs than every other runner in the NFL in terms of those chunk plays per carry.

              • Peter

                Oh i get it. That’s why I am not off the train entirely. I’m just worried because i can’t think of a fair pay comp. Maybe the comp is on the team. Carson. A good back when healthy but not a workhorse. Penny is an even more exciting talent but even less reliable….though not the sustained near decade long injuy risk.

          • BobbyK

            If there was game next week, the opposing defense would need to prioritize slowing him down. But his injury history scares me. To resign him and then do nothing with RB2 would be unforgivable to me. I believe they should also prioritize a RB in the draft. A guy guy who could pair with Penny. A guy with no durability issues.

            One of the most irresponsible things the Seahawks could do is think a “healthy” Carson would be a great pairing with Penny. Not unless they drafted a RB in the first 4 rounds, too.

            On paper a Penny/Carson combo looks wonderful, but the health issues only mean that backfield is good in fantasyland, not the real world where they’re missing time all the time.

            The Penny debate is such a weird one because we could be sitting here next year saying, “I told you so. He gets hurt all the time.” Or we could be saying, “He became so dominant.” It’s so weird. I think we all have theories about Penny next season but I don’t think any of us know with any certainty what will happen to him. I can totally see Penny rushing for 1,500 yards next season. I can also see him playing 7 games and only gaining 300 yards.

            • cha

              I definitely think the best play is to build up the OL and maximize the system. Forget trying to piece it together, build it so if you have RBs who aren’t SPARQ gods on every level you can still run the ball with regularity.

              See what offers Penny gets and try to sell him that a reasonably priced year or two in Seattle is the best opportunity to land a nice third paycheck. Then draft a running back assuming that Penny is not the centerpiece of your run game.

              • BobbyK

                I would be thrilled to paid Penny with Kenneth Walker at 41, assuming Brown is retained to play LT and they can upgrade with a veteran C in FA. Just get that part of the running game stacked.

                Imagine what DK, Tyler, and Eskridge would be able to do next year with opposing defenses going into games with stopping the run as priority #1. I think DK would explode.

  47. Jordan

    For tonight, some longer odds/not impossible, but potential decent payouts that I like:

    Adjusted line: Alabama -6.5 (+225)
    Ja’Corey Brooks 2 or more TDs (+4000)
    Game to go to overtime (+1225)
    Bryce Young first touchdown scorer (+2500)

  48. Peppapig

    Carroll comes across like everything is just fine.
    A 7-10 season and he’s jumping around like a clown.
    I’m kind of gobsmacked by his front.
    I get the feeling he’s the HC for another season at least. 😞

  49. Jordan

    So Cowherd mentions that Pete has pulled rank on Schneider and the scouting staff frequently – that is really easy to believe and definitely a problem.

    Merely guessing on my part, but:

    -Pete insists on a DE, John says “all the good ones are gone but our next highest grade is Collier in the 2nd-3rd” Pete insists on the position.

    -Pete insists on a RB, John says “Chubb’s knee is a concern, so our next highest grade is Penny” Pete insists on the position.

    -Pete “I can make it work with McDowell”

    -Pete probably says to get Jamal no matter the cost.

    This can be salvaged.. if Pete shows humility by:

    -gives up the EVP title and defers personnel to Schneider for a change of approach. It’s very arrogant for him to think he knows more about personnel than someone who has spent their adult life in it.

    -Fires Norton, and anyone named Carroll.

    – Hires and has a hands off approach with a new DC: Zimmer, Flores, Fangio, Wade

    -Hires, in bigtime consultation with Russ, a new OC of Russ’s approval, and has a hands off approach with the offense: perhaps Nagy or Pederson (if he doesn’t get an HC job)

    Can Pete cede this much and just be an overseer/culture builder/belief builder? No clue. But he might have to if he wants to win.

    Tom Couhglin was old and on the brink of being fired. He reflected, changed some things about his approach and won 2 Super Bowls.

    • BobbyK

      The Jamal Adams trade totally reeks of Carroll. No sane GM would offer that package for a strong safety unless it was Kenny Easley. If they did, it would be to move him to free safety. Not keep him as an in the box type of guy. It’s just so damn dumb to trade what they did for Adams AND then be forced to pay that massive contract to him too.

      To me the Jamal Adams trade will always be:

      We get Adams AND pay that much in salary;

      vs.

      Javonte Williams and Trevor Penning (young stud RB and LT both on rookie contacts they could/should have had instead – then you’d still have a lot of leftover money for a quality FA or two… not the Benson Mayowa’s of the world).

      Going into this off-season, I don’t consider the Seahawks having also traded a 3rd round pick with the pair of ones because we gave up a late 3rd but gained an early 4th a year later. That still sucks but doesn’t destroy an organization.

      • Jordan

        The frustrating part is that I feel that there are DCs available who can make it work with Jamal and put him back in place to play similarly as he did when he was an All-Pro / Pro Bowl quality player to start his career.

        • BobbyK

          Both seasons marred by upper body injuries. Jamal is a 32-year old in a 26-year old body. How much more can he take? Such a waste.

      • DT

        Not to mention the precedent it set.
        If you are DK, are you thinking you are any less of a player than Jamal?
        Doesn’t really matter if he is or isn’t, only what he thinks/his agent tells him.
        His path forward using Jamal as a model is to “hold in” and become one of the highest paid WR in the last year of his rookie contract.
        Might be worth it, sure would be nice to have that conversation mid-season next year vs in training camp….

  50. Dan

    Here’s a thought.Let Pete Carol go hire Kellen Moore of Prosser.Most likely his dream job. Probably has Friends and family here in the PNW. He would put some great electricity around our program. May hire Chris Richard to coach defense and maybe even Jimmy Lake to coach safety and secondary. He has been around some great coaches and staffs and is looked at as one of the top up and coming coaches. It’s a risk but look what he has done with the Cowboys already.

    • Big Mike

      Love that you mentioned Moore is from Prosser.

  51. Mr. Drucker in hooterville

    Hey Rob, who speaks into Jody? Who is Pete’s boss in Seattle? Someone other than Pete has to talk to her about football things. Bert Kolde is Vulcan. Chuck Arnold? Who is the equivalent of Leiwecke?

    • Rob Staton

      No idea

    • Big Mike

      LOVE your username. Petticoat Junction & Beverly Hillbilles reference. Genius

      • Mr drucker in hooterville

        Green acres

        • Big Mike

          Even better

  52. Rob Staton

    Jay Glazer said he thinks the Seahawks will look different next season, when he was reviewing which coaches were in danger of being fired

    I’m eager to know what that looks like

    I want to fast forward 3-4 days

    • JJ

      Any indication what “different” means? Tater promoted?

      • RyanL

        Well, we’ve tried Pete in charge with Tater in the advisor/accountability role. What we haven’t tried yet is Tater being the head man and Pete being his minion. Tater as President/Head Coach, Pete for Defensive Coordinator.

        Any of Pete’s grandsons of age yet?

        • Peter

          Brutal. But funny.

      • Peter

        Action green is now the home uniform.

    • Tomas

      I believe that the Giants crazy retention of Joe Judge means there’s no possibility of Russ ending up there, anyway.

    • Timothy Burch

      Link?

      • Tomas

        Jay Glazer tweeted this before the Giants last, horrible game, but I guess it was speculative – seems that Judge’s future still in doubt after week 18 performance.

    • BobbyK

      I’m not predicting it – but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Bevell come back as OC. Stranger things have happened.

      I don’t know what they can/will do on defense.

      This off-season will almost be like the reset in terms of change, perhaps? That offseason pretty much every assistant coach (it seemed) was fired. Results have sucked since. Need to be a lot better this time around if it’s going to be status quo with Carroll, JS and Wilson.

      • Peter

        Call up schotty then when Wilson was throwing middle high 30 tds w/o many turnovers. Since you csn rearrange the deck chairs on offense all you want but this defense sucks.

  53. Timothy Burch

    Is it such a crazy thought that Pete Carroll will actually move on from Russell Wilson and use all the draft picks resulting from trade to give it another try. if he cant schmooze RW to stay.

  54. Rob Staton

    Pete Carroll is talking absolute bollocks in this press conference

    It’s staggering

    • cha

      This is crazy.

      • James Cr.

        Does he really believe fans are that naive? I find it rather insulting – I get being positive but cmon.

        • Rob Staton

          He is insulting our intelligence, yes

        • BA

          I mean, our fans kind of are that naive. After all, the bulk of them seem to be legitimately excited after a 7-10 season and enjoy having the wool pulled over their eyes. No different than Jags or Lions fans with their “just happy to be here” mentality, and you know Pete plays into it every chance he gets.

          • GaiusMarius

            That was my thought. Go onto a lot of spots and you’ll find fear that any change will automatically doom us to the early 90s.

            I’m also disappointed in people taking what someone says as gospel (Hasselbeck’s recent comments).

      • Rob Staton

        When Carroll isn’t just flat out wrong or in denial about aspects of this team, he’s rambling on. Talking for the sake of it.

        It’s a painful listen.

        There’s clearly no accountability from ownership. Nobody is pointing out the issues to him. The mistakes. The problems. He is a law unto himself.

        This press conference is a shining example of one of Wilson’s main issues —- that Carroll has too much sway and is left unchecked.

    • Cysco

      Can someone summarize? Missed it.

      • Rob Staton

        Trust me, you don’t want to know.

        Everything is peachy.

        And there was a lot of rambling on.

        That’s it.

        He did say they need to fix the pass rush. The last time he said that, they turned Clowney into Mayowa and Irvin.

        • Timothy Burch

          Just hoping Jody Allen Sees through it. My question would be to Pete Carroll is how to plan to handle RW and him wanting to leave?

    • Starhawk29

      Where can I watch it? It’s not on the team website yet.

    • Tomas

      Pete exudes charisma and an aura of aw-shucks likeability, along with intelligence and a bubbling-over energy (1970) “hey, Pete, for God’s sake, try one of these Quaaludes.” Charisma is neither good nor bad, but Pete sure has it in spades, and it can be blinding, and sometimes deceiving. I think there’s a fair amount of that going on right now. The worse it looks the faster he talks, buoyant, determined (but often meaningless) words spilling out, inspiring and reassuring words. But then there’s that annoying record of play-off failures, and baffling tactical decisions, and that vague feeling that the air’s been coming out of the balloon since Butler’s WTF interception. I think Pete’s an Emperor with some clothes, but less than a full wardrobe. Time to exit the stage, but he doesn’t know it.

  55. Rob Staton

    I was really nervous that a win against Arizona would let a lot of people off the hook, particularly Pete Carroll.

    And that’s exactly what is happening.

    I only hope ownership see through it.

    • Timothy Burch

      Exactly, ask him how does he handle the fact that a Franchise QB wants out of your program?

    • GaiusMarius

      I haven’t judged ownership (there is really nothing to base it on).

      But if dive that deep into recency bias with the Arizona win then they deserve to be pilloried.

    • Pran

      Russ need to stop being the nice man and make it clear unequivocally what he wants. There is no one else to force the issue(except the passive Jody).

    • olyhawksfan

      Shouldn’t ownership have acted by now though? As you mentioned before, they should have made up their minds weeks ago and put their plan into place now. Other teams are getting after it, Seahawks should be too. Unless that’s not their plan. Hello darkness my old friend.

      • Rob Staton

        Yes, they should’ve done.

        But they’ve not even had the meeting with PC yet so…

        And even Paul Allen let Mora do an end of season conference before canning him

  56. Gross MaToast

    I think he truly believes that he’s coming back and that Wilson happily returns and the simple addition of a pass rusher sets this exact team on a path for the Super Bowl. “I wouldn’t want to play us.” It’s an incredible spin job on a shit season.

    If he gets to spend the draft picks the RW trade brings, it’s the worst possible outcome for this situation. It’s franchise Chernobyl.

    He has to be retired from Seattle in the best interests of the franchise and I have to wonder if Jody Allen realizes how nuts this is. Because it’s nuts.

    • Rob Staton

      I think he’s living on Planet Pete at the moment

      • Gross MaToast

        It’s worrisome that he’s not the only inhabitant – plenty of locals love Planet Pete.

        If he did anything else for any aspect of this football team over the past five seasons half as effectively as he’s spinning the narrative of a late-blooming, Super Bowl caliber team, the franchise would be where he seems to think it is.

        He’s got to realize that he’s in trouble and this is all spin.

        I hope.

        • Rob Staton

          Anyone listening to that press conference should be thinking… “oh”

          However much you are a fan of PC.

          It was the polar opposite of 2010 Pete who had a plan and went after it. This Pete is just in survival mode, trying to say the words to protect himself.

          With a lot of rambling thrown in for good measure.

          • cha

            That last story about telling Darrell Taylor about throwing away the past and just focusing on the future, and how the way to success is not dwelling on the negatives in the past and giving guys a chance to show what they’ve got felt like a coded plea to Jody Allen for another shot.

            • Gross MaToast

              He may as well wink at the camera and say, “Jody, who loves you, baby? Big Pete, that’s who.”

              Actually, I predict that within the next 36 hours, if the meeting doesn’t happen before.

          • Timothy Burch

            Definitely feel the recruiting language coming out. He even said let me save my special stuff for Jody Allen. I have tremendous respect and loyalty to Pete Carroll but his absolute control is wasting RW years! I have always been a fan of Pete and trust he and JS would figure it out. But Rob has convinced me its time to move on or atleast JA takes his absolute power and gives it to JS and let Pete just be coach. Het some new fresh eyes as defensive coordinator. I’m alright with Waldron as coordinator. Then again is that enough for Wilson to stay. Ugh the drama
            End of day cant let Wilson go.

    • BA

      Apparently all it takes is literally one semi-impressive win at the end of a season and everything is fantastic. There’s some video of the Lions locker room getting pumped after their win in the last game. It’s at least semi understandable coming from the Lions, and they did have a decent turnaround toward the end of the year, but when you see the same nonsense from a team like the Seahawks it really makes you shake your head. The organization really acts as if its confused and even put off by success.

  57. GaiusMarius

    Well, well, tempers are running high today. I commented over on Thiel’s latest piece, where he essentially concluded that it would be reckless for Allen to shake things up.

    I was staggered by that coming from Thiel. He generally shows good sense and is cynical enough to see through some of Carroll’s spiel. I pointing out the various problems and that if we stay the course next year at this time we’ll be somewhere between 7-10 and 12-5 with at best another fast playoff exit.

    My comment was marked as spam and removed! I was not cutting or insulting and have commented on there before. My comment on the comment thanking the site for its coverage was left up. I guess I was too close to the mark?

    Thanks for suffering us football fools on here Rob…

    • Roy Batty

      Thiel realizing that he will have to kowtow to the Carroll regime for at least one more year.

      It is mystifying that the Seattle sports media is so hilariously put under the yoke of Carroll, fearing any reprisals, real or imaginary.

  58. Palatypus

    Okay, so the defender has both of the quarterback’s arms in the grasp, but it’s an incomplete pass because his HAND IS MOVING FORWARD? Either it’s a fumble or it’s a sack.

    POINT SHAVING !!!

  59. Timothy Burch

    Ball is in Jody Allen’s court….time will tell

  60. Ashish

    Looks like Pete sold future dreams to Allen… the one thing i was scared of. May be another day or two before I give up.

  61. Palatypus

    Stetson Bennett will have to make a quantum leap at quarterback to win this game,

    • Peter

      Bryce young…..he’s going to need a quantum leap to not be yet another AL qb that isn’t thst good bit benefits with superior fire power.

  62. ShowMeYourHawk

    Granted, it’s been just over 26 hours since the last second ticked off the season’s clock. Much can happen by this time next week.

    Regardless, I’m more convinced than ever that Pete’s safe. Not because he (and his odious staff) are the best to lead the club forward but because ownership fears the devil they don’t know. A replacement could have some growing pains that leads to the club struggling, which leads to reduced fandom, less tickets sold and ultimately capping the resale value of the club. Jody will likely give Pete another season to finish .500 or better, in an attempt to keep the value up.

  63. SeaTown

    Watching the PC presser. The emperor truly has no clothes. He just said they have the nucleus of championship team. Wow. Just wow.

  64. uptop

    a shame we lost that pic, couldve gotten a BAMF on defense of dean or daivs

  65. Mike

    …and we are where we were last offseason still with no resolution.

    In many ways you have to admire Pete’s total self confidence. Or is it self delusion?

    The ball seems to be firmly planted in Russell’s hands. As much as I am certain he wants many things that he doesn’t have in Seattle with Pete Carroll, I also don’t know if he has the stomach to actually force a trade. Can he be the bad guy?

    I feel like we are 3 levels deep in some advanced game theory simulation. Russell won’t speak out until he knows what the resolution with Pete is. Pete is swinging his dick like there is no way he can be fired. Assuming he isn’t, Russell is sure to push for a trade in the absence of others changes, correct? But then if he does, is Pete really thrilled to lead a rebuild? (No.)

    It’s classic big balls Pete. Gambling (or maybe knows?) his job is safe AND gambling he can convince Russell to stay. Seems like a high wire act destined to not only fail but set the franchise behind weeks in a potential hiring

    How is this all possible?

  66. RyanL

    So much talent on the field this game. One that has really impressed me is Lewis Sine, SS, Georgia. Could be a good fit (since we can’t really count on Blair). Tindall also splashing. Davis is a load. That #0 TE Darnell Washington looks like he’ll be special, as well. Will Anderson is also fantastic against the run while being a plus rusher.

    Would’ve been nice to be able to trade back from #10 and add a couple of these trench players.

    • Peter

      Reason 1 million why some teams succeed and others dog paddle sround going nowhere.

      Before you trade the house for a box safety maybe look into a future draft class.

      There’s about five safeties in this class that have late first through early third round grades. Three I’ve actually watched and thought “cool. Too bad we need a ton of pieces at other positions.”

      Even one single top ten pick costs you just a bit above a quarter of Adams contract.

  67. Alaska Norm

    I’m sorry but did you say fortnight?

  68. Palatypus

    Give me any player on this Georgia defense RIGHT NOW !!!

    • Simo

      I’ll take quite a few from the Alabama side as well. So much speed, even the huge guys are fast!

  69. GerryG

    I know AZ had something to play for, but they are a team that went 4-6 to finish; this isn’t beating the group that went 7-0 to start.

    This is exactly Jake Heaps and others worried about. Hearing Pete all gung ho to run it back with the guys that went 7-10 is pretty facepalm. His babbling rant on drafts over the last 5 years was abysmal.

    • Palatypus

      a You know those “A Place for Mom” commercials? There should be “A place for Pete.”

  70. RIP Sonics

    The way the team plays for carroll and speaks out for carroll make me concerned that if you were to move on now, Russ would be on an island from the team. Especially if he doesnt play well. Only clean ending is if pete retires. He wont. Forcing carroll out and picking a wilson guy could rip the locker room apart if the team doesnt win big. With the lack of resources available, the team is likely not in a strong position to craft a full sale identity shift as has been suggested by many. Best case pete makes changes on the coaching staff and recommits to the trenches with personnel. Worst case is roll back the same roster and trade wilson without using the acquired capital wisely. Potential even worst case is all the offensive difficulties persist with a new coach, locker room loses faith in Wilson, and we are shipping him out for less capital and hiring another new coach the next year. Culture is hard to build and maintain and if pete goes i hope that remains a priority in the new hire rather than just go for a guy wilson wants because of the system he runs. Hopefully both but that is hard to find. Sean Payton? Id take it. Nathaniel Hackett? No thanks.Get some one in who russ listens to and coaches him hard with the resume to back it up so he cant bristle when challenged. Get younger coaches on staff that have been around the college game to improve drafting and innovation. We shall see..

    • Peter

      I’m honestly not sure about “culture.”

      Who are these ride or die, Pete Carrol guys? What even is the culture? Some teams msintain a generational or even generations lasting mystic. If you had to pin it down what is it for Seattle? Even when you look at it by position group…

      Msybe the Dline? There’s a lot of try hards and guys with second shots. Dunlap plays hard. I know Irvin love Pete. But who cares what a guy who isn’t playing thinks.

      Bobby loves playing for pete. The rest of LB’s I couldn’t care what they think. Young guys who all could be upgraded.

      We hear tons about the players who don’t like Russel. For me it’s just the customer service maxim that if someone doesn’t like something/someone/ their experience they’ll tell ten people. If someone has a positive impression of something they are likely to say nothing or comment positively to a handful of people.

      Finally. Lose the locker room? Teams and especially one with almost no core players are so transient that in two years the whole roster could be turned over regardless of Pete or russ.

  71. Robert Las Vegas

    Rob my thoughts is one way or another Russell let the team what he wants . Stay or go . Sooner the better.one quick question the Seattle Seahawks upcoming free agents who would you bring back

    • BobbyK

      Who needs Russ? We have drunk Geno!

      • GerryG

        In fairness, probably better than sober Geno

        • BobbyK

          lmao

  72. Palatypus

    ESPN is reporting that Dave Gettleman is gone with the Giants. Did I miss this?

    • Hughz

      Yes, he retired. Apparently judge is still the coach for now.

  73. Andy J

    Y’all…

    It’s clear. Pete Carroll has no intention of resigning. His job is safe.

    I’d wager good money that Wilson will be QB1 next year too. Sure, they might consider a trade. But only a Ricky Williams sized one.

    The important questions now become Carroll’s control over team operations, staffing, free agency, and the draft. I’ll defer to my “Case for Change with Carroll” posted to Rob’s trenches article.

    I hope they come out angry and on-a-mission next year. I hope Carroll proves us all wrong. I also hope that fan dissatisfaction increases the pressure. But I also think fans have become overly wed to their own perceptions of things-behind-the-scenes and the promise of regime change. Turn up the temperature, yes. But… regime status quo remains the most probable outcome. They better deliver.

    • Rokas

      I agree with you 100 %.

    • BobbyK

      The Seahawks went to the Super Bowl shortly after Holmgren had control taken away from him as GM. History needs to repeat itself. It’s obvious Pete has too much control. I’d be fine with his control if he actually signed and drafted good players and wasn’t allowed to trade 1st round picks for overrated bums.

  74. DC

    At this point I’m quite surprised that Pete Carrol didn’t retire. If he was going to so willingly, he would have announced it already.

  75. cha

    Once again I feel compelled to say how bad the Seattle press corps is.

    They might be the only institution in this mess that had a worse year than Pete Carroll.

    More than half of the fanbase is asking for Pete’s job. Whenever they have a press conference on youtube, the great majority of the comments are begging Pete to retire, or shredding the press for not asking real questions.

    The press are supposed to be serving the fans as their voice to the team. They are the ‘constituents’ they should be responding to. But they’re not. They are acting like an outside consulting firm that Pete Carroll has hired.

    It has been annoying, but now it is worse I fear. Without public accountability it may lead to Pete sticking around longer than he should and sinking this franchise further into mediocrity.

    • SeaTown

      Sadly this is the state of the media in the US across the board. They are now advocates rather than reporters.

  76. Canadian Hawk

    Great conversation.

    Obviously not a clue but if I were to guess…..

    If Jody Allens most pressing concern is selling the Seahawks as quickly as possible for the highest price , then I’m assuming stability within the organization would be paramount. If a new buyer wants changes – they can do it after they buy the team. Until that time? Perhaps we get more of the same.

    If winning Super Bowls, reigniting the fan base and selling for an even bigger premium years down the road is the goal – then change has to come. Results matter. So then do you go with the 33 year old HOF QB whose still in his prime or do you go with Coach Carroll?

    To me it’s pretty obvious.

  77. jonny

    agree on Carroll, Adams worst trade ever, Norton has to go but Schneider is quality, last two years draft turning into amazing haul. if wilson is true to his word sign long term at a discount. same with Wagner, best Seahawks ever. bring Flores in say goodbye to Dwayne, Jackson move Lewis back to rightful position. then spend. Chandler Jones and interior d line a must

    what last five weeks showed us we do have talent just beed focus

  78. Robert Las Vegas

    Rob quick question what’s your thoughts on a potential free agent BRADLEY BOZEMAN center of the Baltimore Ravens 6″5 315 played college at Alabama. He is a stud I would love to suit up for the Seahawks

© 2024 Seahawks Draft Blog

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑