Seahawks' franchise-changing decision was the right one

While the US sports world has already moved on to the similarly seismic news surrounding Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, for the Seattle Seahawks the focus remains on the aftermath of their franchise-altering decision to move on from Pete Carroll as their head coach after 14 seasons.

It was a move nobody outside of the organization expected and one that came despite Carroll seemingly putting up a fight to stay in discussions with ownership and general manager John Schneider.

"I competed pretty hard to be the coach, just so you know," said Carroll in a press conference on Wednesday. 

"I wanted to make sure I stood up for all of our coaches and the players and the things we had accomplished -- not so that we could be the coach still but so that we could continue to have a chance to be successful and keep the organization going. That's what I was fighting for. So in that regard, that's what I was representing in our discussions. And we got to a good part, good, clean spot where it made sense, and I went along with their intentions."

Asked what the last few days had been like since Carroll said, with confidence, that he intended to be the head coach in 2024, he replied:

"Just that we had our year-ending meetings with ownership and planning sessions, with Johnny, just talking through stuff, getting ready. It takes us to the point where you get to what's next. And this isn't about me being the head coach. It's about this organization being successful and being on course for the long haul of it as well. I realize that."

Carroll was the oldest head coach in the NFL and would have been entering his age-73 season, but the decision to move on from the most successful head coach in franchise history was the right one not because the game had passed him by, but because both the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams have passed the Seahawks by in the NFC West race in recent weeks.

In-division struggles

Previously the class of the division for so many years under Carroll, the Seahawks haven't won a division title since the pandemic season of 2020, which ended with a Wild Card playoff defeat to the Rams.

They were surprisingly swept by Los Angeles this season and have lost their last five games to the 49ers, including the postseason, none of which have been particularly close. 

The cold, hard truth is that Carroll is no longer able to elevate a young team to a level where they can consistently match the 49ers and Rams, and if the Seahawks can't do that, then they will always be fighting an uphill battle to make the postseason and compete for a Super Bowl.

The lack of elevation is most evident on the defensive side of the ball, Carroll's specialty, in which the Seahawks invested significant resources last offseason. Despite that investment, which included the splash free agent signing of Dre'Mont Jones and using the fifth overall pick on Devon Witherspoon, the results were disappointing.

A defensive drop-off

Witherspoon was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie and there were other standouts such as edge Boye Mafe and safeties Quandre Diggs and Julian Love, but a lack of progress from the interior defensive line and continued problems at linebacker saw the Seahawks finish the regular season 28th in DVOA on defense. 

After an offseason and training camp in which the Seahawks focused on improving the run defense, they allowed 60 rushes of 10 yards or more, the fourth-most in the NFL.

Carroll has done an admirable job keeping the Seahawks competitive in the post-Russell Wilson era following the blockbuster trade of 2022, and there's no denying the positive influence he can have on players, Wilson's successor and 2022 Comeback Player of the Year Geno Smith perhaps the best testament to that.

But when the team isn't making tangible progress in terms of results and the side of the ball a coach is known for is in the lower reaches of the NFL, it becomes difficult for that coach to make a compelling case why he is the man to take the team forward.

Carroll ultimately couldn't make that case and, though Schneider does bear responsibility for the issues in the front seven and the continually disappointing interior offensive line, it's easy to see why, after a fourth successive season without a playoff win, the Seahawks felt a fresh voice at head coach was the best change they could make to induce clear progress from their youthful roster in 2024 and beyond.