Pete Carroll talks about return to Seattle as he faces former team

Thursday’s preseason game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks will not count at the end of the day, but the storylines surrounding it deliver serious intrigue.

Chief among them is the return of Raiders head coach Pete Carroll to Seattle. In his 14 years at the helm for the Seahawks, the head coach compiled a 137-89-1 record. Carroll oversaw the greatest stretch in franchise history, including the team’s lone Super Bowl victory in 2014 over the Denver Broncos.

The return of Carroll will obviously be a huge deal for the Seahawks and their fans, but he is not allowing himself to be blinded by nostalgia.

Carroll is embracing an all business mentality when he returns to Lumen Field.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Carroll tried to downplay what the experience will be like returning to Seattle on the opposing sideline.

“It’s the only game we got,” Carroll said, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It happens to be in Seattle.”

Carroll is part of a group of former Seahawks returning to Seattle for the first time on Thursday, with quarterback Geno Smith and linebacker Jamal
Adams also heading back to the Pacific Northwest.

In the end, however, Carroll’s primary focus will be on the team he’s currently coaching. Between the position battles and changes throughout the lineup, this is his first chance to see how his team operates in a game setting. While Carroll is willing to reminisce about his time in Seattle, the pleasantries end once kickoff ensues.

“I loved my time in Seattle, loved the fans and the people that we met, and dealt with, and competed with,” Carroll said. “But it’s a game for us. We’re going to go play ball.”