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Pete Carroll out as Seattle Seahawks coach in stunning end to 14-year run leading team
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- Pete Carroll out as Seattle Seahawks coach in stunning end to 14-year run leading team
Pete Carroll's 14-year run as the Seattle Seahawks coach is over, marking a stunning end to the most successful chapter in franchise history.
The Seahawks announced Wednesday that Carroll and the team reached the decision for the coach to move on to an advisory role within the organization.
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Carroll helped the franchise win its only Super Bowl in the 2013 season. He compiled a 137-89-1 record in the regular season and led the organization to the playoffs 10 times. His 170 career regular-season wins leave him tied for 15th in league history and put him behind only Bill Belichick, Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin among active coaches.
The Seahawks have not claimed a postseason win since 2019, however, with the team finishing 9-8 this season for the second consecutive year. A 4-6 finish helped keep the team out of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, with a Week 17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers proving particularly costly.
"Pete is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, brought the city its first Super Bowl title, and created a tremendous impact over the past 14 years on the field and in the community," Seahawks chair Jody Allen said in a statement. "His expertise in leadership and building a championship culture will continue as an integral part of our organization moving forward."
Though Allen's statement said the two sides "amicably agreed" on the move, Carroll indicated in his news conference that the final call was not his.
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Asked what went into the decision to no longer be the coach, Carroll said, "I competed pretty hard to be the head coach, just so you know."
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.
Carroll, who at 72 was the oldest active coach in the NFL, had initially said after the regular-season finale that he expected to return.
"I'm not tired. I'm not worn down. ... What's coming? I don't know," Carroll said Wednesday.
Asked if he would consider coaching somewhere else, Carroll said, "Today's about today. I don't know that."
Carroll was hired as the Seahawks' coach in 2010 after a storied run with the University of Southern California, where he won two national titles. In taking on the job, which was his third in the NFL after one year leading the New York Jets and a three-season stretch with the New England Patriots , he said at his introductory news conference he "can't pass up this challenge."
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His final foray into pro coaching would be much more prosperous than his previous attempts.
Teaming with general manager John Schneider, Carroll built Seattle into a playoff mainstay, as the team won at least 10 games and made the postseason in all but one year from 2012-20. His "Legion of Boom" defenses long reigned over the rest of the league, with an imposing secondary proving perplexing to opposing offenses.
The Seahawks appeared to be on the brink of repeating as champions in Super Bowl 49, but New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler 's goal-line interception of Russell Wilson denied the franchise another title.
From there, the Seahawks would not reach the NFC title game again under Carroll.
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While Carroll's rosters throughout his run were dotted with star players – including Wilson, running back Marshawn Lynch and cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas , among others – the coach had a fair number of high-profile splits with marquee contributors. Thomas gave the middle finger to Carroll in 2018 while being carted off with a broken leg, as the injury would end his final season with the franchise. The Seahawks traded Wilson, the nine-time Pro Bowl signal-caller, to the Denver Broncos in March 2022.
Despite the feud that led to their split – Wilson asked for Carroll and Schneider to be fired in February 2022, The Athletic reported – the former Seahawks standout took Wedneday to social media to congratulate his former coach.
The Seahawks become the seventh team to face a coaching change this offseason .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Carroll out as Seattle Seahawks coach in stunning move
