Pete Carroll’s Future: Do Seahawks & Iconic Coach Need Change

SEATTLE, Wash. – Moments after the Seattle Seahawks finished taking a beating at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Pete Carroll trudged up to the podium at Lumen Field without his usual pep in his step, far from eager to face the music in the aftermath of a damaging 30-23 defeat. Looking downward as he began his weekly post-game remarks, Carroll expressed his disappointment for his team’s failure to capitalize on a critical opportunity, bemoaning Seattle’s defensive struggles allowing over 450 yards of total offense and 202 rushing yards to an opponent playing with a third-string quarterback in Mason Rudolph under center. Between missing tackles in bulk and giving up nine explosive plays, the unit allowed Pittsburgh to possess the ball for more than 37 minutes. “I’m surprised we didn’t play better,” a disconcerted Carroll said. “We did the things we needed in the game plan and we called everything that we had, and we didn’t stop them consistently. Both the running backs did a really nice job against us, and it was just more than we could handle on this day.” If Sunday was a mere one-off, Carroll’s comments may have been met with a bit more understanding. Sitting at 8-8 on the season, the Seahawks still have a path to the playoffs heading into next week’s finale with a win over the Cardinals and help from the Bears defeating the Packers at Lambeau Field. In that sense, not all is lost. But in reality, regardless of whether Seattle has won or lost, everything Carroll said could have been pre-recorded from the majority of the team’s games since the calendar flipped to October. And nothing that transpired on Sunday inspires confidence they would do anything other than bow out quickly in the wild card round if they make the postseason anyway.

Visibly frustrated on the sidelines and at the podium after a devastating loss to the Steelers, Pete Carroll hasn’t been able to find a way to fix a leaky Seahawks run defense that ranks 30th in the NFL.© Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports © Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports After an encouraging start that proved to be a mirage, no defense in the NFL has been worse at getting ran over since Week 7 than the Seahawks, who might as well have worn matador capes as part of their uniforms against the Steelers. All afternoon long, while tallying a whopping 132 yards after contact and forcing 15 missed tackles, the opposition enforced their will pounding the rock against them with ease in an embarrassing performance on their own home turf. Who could blame fans for becoming fatigued and disenchanted hearing the same analysis from Carroll week after week with no tangible signs of improvement? Especially following a de facto playoff game where Seattle had so much at stake and responded with an effort that most would deem unacceptable for an August mock scrimmage?

None of this should be surprising, not with how poorly Seattle has defended the run over the past two months and change, which makes Carroll’s words ring all the more hollow. Pittsburgh joined Baltimore as the second opponent to eclipse 200 rushing yards in a game this year against his defense, which has yielded almost 160 rushing yards per game in the past 11 contests. Lacking in discipline and toughness, the team has lost six of those games to plummet out of a wild card spot. At the center of this ineptitude, the Seahawks have been among the worst tackling teams in the league all season long. Before Sunday’s clunker, per Pro Football Reference, the team ranked fifth with 107 missed tackles. After getting bullied by the Steel Curtain, that number and ranking will only go up, pouring more fuel on the fire for a fan base that has become disillusioned by putrid play from a team that used to pride itself on stingy, physical defense. When asked what Seattle can do to address its tackling woes that hasn’t already been tried, Carroll simply said his team needed to continue preaching fundamentals to see if they can “pull it together.” But while they can drill wrapping and technique, he acknowledged his players’ mindset wasn’t where it needed to be in regard to bringing down ball carriers, a damning admission that suggests they somehow weren’t ready to play in the biggest game of the season.

That’s certainly part of it,” Carroll responded. “We felt like we were jacked and ready to go, and we felt like we really hammered the principles and the scheme this week so that we could play really efficient at the line of scrimmage, and it didn’t work for us. Didn’t work out. They continued to fall forward and make their yards. But mindset, it’s a good question because it needs to be different than it was. Look what just happened. We gave them too much.” One of the NFL’s longest tenured head coaches, Carroll’s ability to reach players and maintain a strong culture has brought the Seahawks sustained success unlike any other time period in franchise history. Last season, he passed Mike Holmgren for the most regular season wins in team history and they have reached the postseason in 10 of his 13 seasons at the helm, including a surprising wild card berth in 2022 as the team vastly exceeded low expectations in the aftermath of trading Russell Wilson. Those accolades can never be taken away from Carroll, who has built a Hall of Fame-worthy candidacy in the Pacific Northwest and belongs in the discussion as one of the best coaches of his era. His resume speaks for itself.

But while it would be ideal for Carroll to walk away on his own terms and preferably after a deep playoff run, there’s reason to wonder whether or not that would be the right course for the Seahawks to take at this point. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2019 and last advanced past the Divisional Round back in 2014 during the height of the “Legion of Boom” years, failing to get over the hump transitioning from a decent playoff team to legitimate title contender. Going into this season, many viewed Seattle as a dark horse in the NFC after winning nine games a year ago. With most of the roster returning, including quarterback Geno Smith, several big name free agents joining the fold, and another highly touted draft class anchored by top-five pick Devon Witherspoon on board, expectations were sky high for an ascending team that appeared to be on the cusp of greatness. Despite a 5-2 start, however, that jump hasn’t happened. If anything, holding the same record as last season at this stage with what has become a predictable second half collapse, the Seahawks appear to have regressed rather than taken a step forward as anticipated.