Pete Carroll out as Seahawks coach after 14 seasons،
SEATTLE — After 14 seasons, 10 playoff appearances and the franchise's only Super Bowl championship, Pete Carroll is no longer the coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Team owner Jody Allen said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was made “after thoughtful meetings and careful consideration in the best interest of the franchise.” Carroll will remain with the team in an unspecified advisory role.
At an emotional farewell news conference Wednesday, Carroll, reading from a prepared statement, said he and the owners had “mutually agreed to set a new course.” However, he said he “competed pretty hard” to remain Seattle's coach and ultimately “supported their intentions.” Carroll said his comments after the Seahawks' season finale that he wanted to continue coaching the team were “true to the bone.”
“I want to make sure it's clear because things have changed so quickly from most people's perspective,” Carroll said. “It's been an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this program and I've loved every minute of it. You've seen me love it.”
When asked if he would consider another head coaching job if the right opportunity presented itself, Carroll said he didn't know, adding that “today is today.” . Carroll said it was still to be determined what his advisory role would entail, but would not include assisting Chief Executive John Schneider in the search for his successor.
Carroll's assistant coaches have been allowed to seek work elsewhere, a source told ESPN.
“Pete is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, brought the city its first Super Bowl title and has created a tremendous impact over the past 14 years on the field and in the community,” said Allen said. “His expertise in leadership and building a championship culture will continue to be an integral part of our organization moving forward.”
The Seahawks are expected to be interested in Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, among others, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Quinn was an assistant with the Seahawks from 2009 to 2010 and their defensive coordinator from 2013 to 2014.
The role change comes after Carroll said Sunday during his postgame news conference, and reiterated Monday in a radio interview, that he intends to return as coach for the 2024 season.
“I plan on coaching this team,” Carroll told Seattle Sports at 7:10. “I told you I like these guys, and that's what I'd like to do and see up “where I can go. I'm not exhausted. I'm not tired. I'm not one of those things. I I need to do a better job and I need to help my coaches more and we need to do a better job of coach, and there are a lot of things to improve.”
The Seahawks finished their season Sunday with a win over the Arizona Cardinals, but missed out on a wild card spot with a 9-8 record. They got off to a 5-2 start that briefly put them in first place in the NFC West, but a second-half skid doomed their playoff hopes.
That second-half stretch included the Seahawks' only four-game losing streak of the Carroll era. Among those losses was a 31-13 defeat on Thanksgiving night at the hands of division rivals the San Francisco 49ers, who beat the Seahawks five straight times (including the wild-card round of last season) by a combined score of 148-72. The Seahawks also lost 37-3 to the Baltimore Ravens in November, their second-worst losing margin under Carroll.
Hired by the Seahawks in 2010, Carroll has had the fourth-longest tenure with his current team among all head coaches, behind Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh. At 72, Carroll was the NFL's oldest head coach in several years, but had given no indication he was close to retiring. The five-year extension he signed in 2020 put him under contract with the Seahawks through the 2025 season.
The Seahawks have no obvious head coaching candidate on their current team. General manager John Schneider, who arrived with Carroll in 2010 and signed in the 2027 draft, is now the only highest-ranking member of their football operations department.
Carroll is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, with a record of 137-89-1 and 10 playoff victories. Including his head coaching stints with the New York Jets and New England Patriots, his career record of 181-131-1 ranks him 13th in NFL history for wins in regular season and playoffs. Along with Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer, Carroll is one of only three coaches to win both a college national championship and a Super Bowl.
The Seahawks marked Carroll's third tenure — and by far his most successful — as an NFL coach. He lasted one season with the Jets, who went 6-10 in 1994, and was fired by the Patriots after three seasons, going 27-21 with two playoff appearances.
After spending the 2000 season away from football and reshaping his coaching philosophy, Carroll was hired by USC, beginning a dominant nine-year run that included seven consecutive Pac-10 titles and two national championships.
The Seahawks lured him away from USC in 2010 with the promise of final say in personnel moves, something he hadn't had in either of his previous two head coaching stops. Carroll, who also held the title of executive vice president of football operations, teamed with Schneider to lead the Seahawks through their most successful run in franchise history. Seattle's 10 playoff appearances since 2010 match the number of times the Seahawks reached the playoffs in their 34-year history before Carroll and Schneider arrived.
The Seahawks defeated Peyton Manning and the Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. Their hopes of repeating as world champions next year against the Patriots were dashed when Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson's pass at the goal line in the final seconds. The Seahawks made the playoffs six times over the next nine seasons, but did not advance past the divisional round.
