Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll on radio row during the NFL Scouting Combine . Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Mike Macdonald 'did a great job' in first year with Seahawks, Pete Carroll says

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated May 17, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Pete Carroll may be a legend in both the NFL and college football nowadays, but that wasn't always the case.

In his first two head-coaching jobs, Carroll lasted just one year with the New York Jets in 1994 and three years with the New England Patriots from 1997-99. Though he actually had a solid 33-31 record over those two stints and led New England to the playoffs twice, it was clear that he still had plenty of room to grow.

He did just that at his next stop at USC, leading the Trojans to a top-five finish in seven-straight years and winning a national championship (two if one goes by the AP Poll and not the BCS) over nine seasons. Upon his return to the NFL in 2010, he found similar success with the Seattle Seahawks, guiding them to 10 playoff appearances, five division titles and their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

All of this is to say that even the best coaches can have rocky starts, which is why Carroll is so impressed by what Mike Macdonald, his successor in Seattle, managed to do in his first year as head coach.

“It’s so challenging,” Carroll said on Seattle Sports' "Brock & Salk." “Mike did a great job. It’s so hard to take over a franchise, particularly one like we had, one that had so much flavor to it and all that. And he did a great job.”

Carroll, now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, left Seattle on somewhat rocky terms and spent 2024 away from coaching. Despite that, the 73-year-old was still rooting for his former team.

“I was rooting for them the whole time,” Carroll said. “I wanted to see all those guys transition and do well. … I mean, I love those guys. (It was great) to see them all get going and see ‘Big Cat’ (Leonard Williams) have such a great finish and Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) do his thing and all of it.”

It's not like Carroll was completely away from football, though. He still talked with many of his former players, including Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, who he's now reunited with in Sin City.

“When you do this thing with everything you have and you give every bit you have and every ounce of energy and juice and love and all that, that doesn’t go away,” Carroll said. “When you love ’em, you love ’em. And it was a really fun part of this offseason.”

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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