It is not a shock to say that football fans want their favorite teams to win lots of games. Seattle Seahawks fans clearly want their team to do well, and if a player or coach goes elsewhere, we might only rarely wish them well. Pete Carroll is one of those exceptions.
Was it the right time for Seattle to relieve Carroll of his coaching duties after the 2023 season? it was. The team was stuck in mediocrity with not much hope of escape, it seemed. A change of philosophy was needed and Mike Macdonald appears to have been the right guy to replace Carroll.
Carroll will be fondly remembered by 12s for years after leaving the Seahawks, though. He was a great coach and his teams were at times highly successful, but he also treated people (not just players, but front office staff, fans, and anyone else) with respect and fairly. He wasn't just a good coach, but he was also a good person.
The real reason Pete Carroll will be missed with the Seahawks is obvious
Former Seahawks defensive coordinator, and current head coach of the Washington Commanders, Dan Quinn is one of many to notice this. He appreciated his time with Seattle because he grew as a coach, but also because of the relationships he made.
In a recent article by The Athletic about how Carroll is aging gracefully while also restarting his career with the Las Vegas Raiders, Quinn said the best thing that nearly anyone can say about another: "He makes people better. And I don’t care if that’s at (age) 32, 42, 52, 72. That’s a trait — and not everybody has it."
That was and is Carroll's real value, of course. It is great that he makes coaching his profession and he is good at it. It is better that he is a good human, and people who know him understand and appreciate that. This is also why he will always be missed to a degree in Seattle.
With Carroll helping run the team, the organization was mostly viewed around the league as one where people liked to play. It has remained so with general manager John Schneider taking on more of a central role. But that is all due to the culture that Carroll put in place.
We all want to work in places where we feel appreciated. That is how the Seahawks were with Carroll, and probably had the Raiders will be as well. The coach's energy and positivity catch on with us, and that helps the entire team.
12s are going to want the Seahawks to win every game, of course, and most other teams fans likely don't care about at all. That might be different with the Raiders now, though. As long as Pete Carroll is there, many Seahawks fans are going to cheer secretly if Las Vegas succeeds.
