The Seattle Seahawks entered the season as a team many were bullish on. Geno Smith was coming off a Pro Bowl season after leading Seattle on an unexpected run to the playoffs.
With the additions of Bobby Wagner and draftee Devon Witherspoon to the defense along with rookies Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet to the offense, Seattle reloaded and was ready for another playoff assault.
But despite being 6-3, the Seahawks stuttered down the stretch and ultimately missed the playoffs. As such, the need for change was wanted and Pete Carroll was relieved of his duties.
Seattle general manager John Schneider, who is tasked with finding Carroll's replacement, couldn't hide his dissatisfaction with how the season played out when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“Disappointed," Schneider said on how he felt about the season. "I think everybody was very disappointed. We had several games that got out of control a little bit. I would say disappointed. I’m not going to get into specifics. I hope you can respect that.”
After having a stranglehold on a playoff spot at 6-3, a four-game losing streak halted the momentum and Seattle struggled to get it back.
Needing to win their final two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, the Seahawks faltered at home and were run over by the Steelers in a 30-23 loss before beating the Cardinals in what turned out to be a meaningless Week 18 win.
That took their playoff destiny out of their own hands and as such, missed the postseason on the final week of the regular season.
With so much talent on this roster, the incoming head coach will have several key pieces to work with on both sides of the ball. Playoffs will again be the number one priority for the Seahawks in 2024 and in truth, they have too much talent to be missing out again.
When asked if this team is close to being a "championship-caliber" unit, Schneider was definitive in his answer.
"I do," he said.
Seattle has a number of decisions to make this offseason, and hiring the right head coach who can bring this talented team together and go on a playoff run is no doubt at the top of the wishlist.
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