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The Seahawks’ Week 17 got off to an interesting start well before their game against the 49ers kicked off. Sunday began with a report, via Ian Rapoport, that the Detroit Lions and another unnamed team were expected to pursue Seattle general manager John Schneider for their vacant GM position.
Since Pete Carroll has final say over the Seahawks’ roster, Schneider could be interviewed elsewhere should it be for a job with personnel control, per Rapoport. While there were conflicting reports about the simplicity of that, it was certainly an eyebrow-raising report, with Schneider’s contract set to end after the 2021 NFL Draft—while Carroll’s contract had recently been extended through 2025.
During Schneider’s pre-game interview with 710 ESPN Seattle later on Sunday, he was asked about the report and did his best to pour cold water on it, saying his family loves the area and that this time of year leads to a lot of rumors.
Schneider called it an interesting morning when asked by @RaibleKIRO7 about the NFL Network report stating that Detroit will pursue him. Here was Schneider's full response: pic.twitter.com/dcc6d4IRCA
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) January 3, 2021
It always seemed to be a longshot for any team to pry Schneider away from the Seahawks, especially after the Packers’ job came and went in 2018, and he appears to have confirmed as much on Sunday. However, an extension for Seattle’s GM should still come, preferably one that ties him to Carroll and the Seahawks through 2025.