FPG: Pete Carroll and the Eroding Future

Thanks for the podcast!

I had to go listen to that song after hearing the intro.

Should we recognize Carroll as a strong leader? How much is his leadership a part of what his new role will be? Also, is Kirwan a foregone conclusion? Sounds like we’ll still interview Ross and Schneider for GM. If Carroll can hire a good staff and be an excellent leader, I think he’s got a decent chance to succeed.

Bravo.

Or, Snead sits and develops. Lots of interesting possibilities.

that Seattle drafts a QB?

Does someone have an alarm clock they can set?

I.com’s Jim Trotter reports that Seahawks owner Paul Allen is unwilling to offer head coaching candidate Pete Carroll total control over football matters.
And we have a potential hitch. “Allen has been through that once with Mike Holmgren and is not going to go through that again,” said Fritz Pollard Alliance chairman John Wooten, who has knowledge of the situation. It’s long been believed that if Carroll was to return to the NFL, he’d want GM duties in addition to the head coaching job. A deal no longer appears to be imminent.

Excellent podcast and probably (and sadly) 100% accurate. I don’t really have a problem with Pete Carroll, per se, but the thinking that goes along with hiring Carroll is what’s so troubling.

Especially the tax code…it’s ridiculous. Can we go kill some FO members now?

Mora gets fired – “Hallelujah and Praise the Lord!”

Carroll likely to be hired as replacement – “OK… I can get behind that… kinda…”

Carroll likely to be hired as coach/GM/President/some hybrid of the three, DeCosta drops out of GM running, Kirwin likely to come on board – “Oh shit, we’re going to suck for the next 5 years.”

I don’t want this post to turn into a tell all book, but trust me, potholes should be the least of your worries.

I agree that a heavy RFA offseason could lead to an increased trade market. I’m not sure how much value Kerney/Branch/Grant would have, simply because their contracts would have to be restructured to be considered. Of course, I’d trade any of them for a late round pick. Hasselbeck still has a decent reputation around the league. I could see Holmgren offering a 4th or 5th for him. Trufant’s reputation has taken a beating. His value is probably a mid-rounder at best. I’d have mixed feelings about trading Tru, losing him would be a blow to the secondary and it would almost be like playing to win the Jake Locker sweepstakes.

The only player we have that I think has significant trade value is Housh. Housh was pretty much every bit the player we thought he’d be, isn’t on a ridiculous contract, and if shopped, might be the best WR available period depending if other teams shop WR. I could see Housh getting a 2nd rounder easily.

This makes no sense to me. (In the other thread, I listed some reasons why this isn’t good timing to switch to 3-4, but that’s just my opinion). Carroll is a defensive coach who once worked with Monte Kiffin. For almost his entire career at USC, he ran a 4-3 Under defense. He experimented in 2006 with 3-4 but quickly reverted back. The 4-3 is what Carroll knows and claims to know well. So whats the point of hiring a defensive coach to run a system he has almost no familiarity with? That seems fairly audacious considering that Carroll is already dealing with a high number of unknown elements.

I’m not as down on hiring Carroll as most, but that is really dependent on the GM situation. If Carroll is allowed to focus on coaching while a real GM handles the GM duties, the downside of this hiring would be far less than most think. Carroll strikes me as Mora+ as a coach, a motivator type, (although Mora always struck me as an idiot- whereas Carroll seems clever, shrewd, and sly).

One big positive to Carroll is he might bring some USC coaches with him. In particular, Ken Norton Jr. (USC’s LB coach) could be a nice get. He’s done a fantastic job coaching and developing USC’s LB, which have been sensational in the NFL the last 5 years. Seattle really needs a good LB coach to reign in Curry and Hawthorne.

Carroll seems like the kind of perfect non-impact coach. I don’t think he’ll help much or hurt much. Its the struggle for the GM position which concerns me far more at this point. It seems like Allen is smart enough to know our GM should be someone who is qualified and experienced. So until our new GM becomes official, I’m holding out hope.

Between Director of Football Operations and El Presidente?

During one of Carroll’s many NFL stints, including the NYJ/NE head coaching jobs, and being defensive coordinator for the 49er’s, he was DB’s coach for Vikes, ‘85-89. In those five years in Minnesota, that defense averaged 25 interceptions a season. In 1988, his fourth year of developed rapport with the secondary, they had 36 picks. This year the Seahawks had 13. Last year, with Mora still a DB’s coach, we had nine.

In the five seasons before Carroll arrived, they averaged far less than 25 interceptions (17.6) a season, and after Carroll left, the interception average dropped to less than 22 (21.8) interceptions a year. So it is a fact (though a blunt, nigh-meaningless one) that the Vikings secondary had more interceptions with Carroll than without him.

Obviously these stats aren’t proof that Carroll does fine in the NFL. Not every interception is performed by a DB, interceptions alone aren’t the end-all, be-all of good secondary play, and there’s no tangible measurement for showing how his coaching influenced the influx of interceptions. I acknowledge that these kinds of numbers aren’t Pete has a positive overall record as an NFL head coach, but so did Mora before Seattle.

Yes, he is a player’s coach, and used to the college system. But maybe that’s not all. Maybe he does understand NFL defenses and players. It’s not ridiculous to ponder.

Cardinals will reign supreme for the next 5 years.

Pete Carroll might not survive that long either— especially if its Valley Forge time. Jim Mora Jr. showed that there isn’t any George Washington in him to lead this team thru winter.

Condolences I guess.

I thought Mora was doing a good job so far.

Too bad he wasn’t given a second chance.

Would Pete Carroll be an upgrade?