Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll during training camp at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Mike Macdonald shares expectations for Pete Carroll's welcome from Seahawks fans

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Randy Gurzi | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Pete Carroll is the greatest head coach in Seattle Seahawks history. This can't be debated as he has the most regular season wins in franchise history (137), the best winning percentage (.606), the most playoff games (19), the most playoff wins (10), and led them to their only Super Bowl win.

For 14 seasons, Carroll was the coach, and every year with him on the sideline, the fans knew they had a chance to make a run. All good things must end, however, and Carroll's tenure ended following the 2023 season. He took the following year off and returned to the league in 2025 as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

As fate would have it, his debut game with Vegas will be in Seattle against the Seahawks. Carroll will make his return on Thursday, August 7, and will have former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith with him as well.

How should Seattle Seahawks fans respong to Pete Carroll?

How will the fans react to seeing these two on the opposing sidelines? According to current head coach Mike Macdonald, it should be a warm greeting.

"We should be cheering Pete when he gets here, we should be cheering Geno, how can we not? We should be cheering those guys... I hope Pete gets a great ovation, he deserves it." — Macdonald on Carroll and Smith's return to Seattle.

Mike Macdonald on the possibility of an opposing coach & QB getting big cheers from fans next week: "We should be cheering Pete when he gets here, we should be cheering Geno, how can we not? We should be cheering those guys... I hope Pete gets a great ovation, he deserves it."
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) August 3, 2025

Macdonald is spot-on with his take. Seattle should show nothing but respect to Carroll for all he accomplished with the franchise. The same goes for Smith, who revived his career under Carroll and gave the Seahawks hope following the departure of Russell Wilson.

Throw in the fact that it's a preseason game that counts for nothing, and it makes even more sense to show love.

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

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