Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas reacts alongside head coach Pete Carroll against the Arizona Cardinals. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Pete Carroll comments on relationship with disgruntled ex-Seahawks star Earl Thomas

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Most Seattle Seahawks players who played under former head coach Pete Carroll have nothing but positive things to say about him, and considering that he's one of the more player-friendly coaches of this era, it's not too hard to see why.

However, not all players look back on their time with Carroll fondly.

Earl Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and a founding member of the Legion of Boom, had a notoriously messy breakup with the Seahawks. After suffering a leg injury against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 of the 2018 season, Thomas gave a middle finger to the Seahawks' sideline while on the cart, and it's not hard to figure out who he directed it at. That was his final game in a Seattle jersey, and the aftermath of that incident, or perhaps what led to it, still persists to this day.

During an appearance on "Da Get Got" podcast, hosted by former Seahawks Marshawn Lynch and Michael Robinson, Carroll detailed his tense relationship with Thomas today, nearly seven years after the infamous middle finger.

"I kind of keep track of everybody as best I can, and for those guys just to be available, if they’ve got questions, they’ve got thoughts, they’ve got whatevers, you know...and when we go through this thing together, there’s a connection that’s made," Carroll said. "It doesn’t fall away. It doesn’t go apart unless you’re talking to Earl or something like that, you know. I still love Earl....He doesn’t love me."

Thomas, 36, has unfortunately had a host of issues since he last played in the NFL. His one-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens came to an end in 2020 when he got into an altercation with fellow safety Chuck Clark during training camp, and he hasn't played since. He's also gone through an extremely messy divorce (to put it mildly) and was arrested in 2022.

Hopefully at some point down the line, the two Seahawks legends will be able to put their differences aside and make amends. Without either of them, the Seahawks likely wouldn't have become the powerhouse they did in the early 2010s.

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

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