Pete Carroll explained how the Marshawn Lynch trade to the Seattle Seahawks happened in 2010, ‘it was a long haul…’

Pete Carroll had kept an eye on Marshawn for years before the trade

When Pete Carroll was the head coach of the USC Trojans, he came across Marshawn Lynch on the recruiting trail. He was a young running back out of Oakland, California, who had been a four-sport star at local high school, Oakland Tech.

He was a popular running back in the state and ended up committing to play for the California Golden Bears.

Carroll then faced him three times in college between 2004 and 2006, and in two of those games Lynch had been the lead rusher for the Bears, with some tough earned yards against Carroll’s talented USC defense.

Lynch had back-to-back 1,200+ yard seasons at Cal, with 21 touchdowns over his two years as the primary running back. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, where he’d spend the first four seasons of his pro career.

The talented back started out with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, but got himself in trouble during the 2009 offseason. He was carrying a gun in a backpack, in the trunk of his car in California, which is a crime in the state. He pleaded guilty and was suspended for the first three games of the 2009 season.

While he came back and played the rest of the year, Lynch was replaced as the Bills’ starter by Fred Jackson. He was now out of favor with limited reps, and Pete Carroll was paying attention.

On the ‘Get Got’ podcast with Marshawn and Mike Robinson, Carroll explained the process of eventually acquiring Lynch in Seattle.

“Going into this program (Seattle), we had nothing at the time. We were just getting started, and I wanted to have somebody that could make a statement with the way he played, and particularly involved in the running game.”

“We tried to trade for him for three months. I kept (telling) John, ‘call again, call again’. We don’t even talk about what the compensation was, but eventually they said okay…. to get you out of Buffalo was a long haul, but it was worth every minute of it.”

Carroll went on to sing the praises of Marshawn Lynch even further, and the impact he had on the coach and his career.

“It’s a marvelous thing, and it’s shown me how, I’ve talked about it for years, about finding what is so extraordinarily unique about each person, and bringing it to the front. Marshawn was always in the back of my mind because he’s an amazing individual. And I’m not talking about all the crazy stuff, I’m talking about the effect you have on people, and the effect of them responding to you.”

Marshawn’s Seattle success revitalized dwindling career

The partnership between Marshawn and Pete Carroll in Seattle brought them to life. Lynch helped to set the tone of a brand new program under Carroll’s command, and in their fourth season together, they won the Super Bowl.

Marshawn took over as the bell-cow back in 2011, and posted four straight 1,000-yard seasons. He had double-digit touchdowns four years in a row, and was named to the Pro Bowl in each and every one of those years.

In both the 2013 and 2014 seasons Lynch led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, the two years Seattle made the Super Bowl.

The second of those Super Bowl trips ended in tragedy, as we all know, just one yard away from being back-to-back champions. But even still, the success the coach and his star running back had together was undeniable.

Lynch is a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with over 10,000 career rushing yards, 85 rushing touchdowns, and a Super Bowl title to his name.