He came back for a very team-friendly contract with incentives in 2023, then again in 2024 for the first year without Pete Carroll as head coach in Seattle since 2010. His numbers have not been bad since, but his QB Rating has fallen each season: 100.9 in 2022, 92.1 in 2023, and 90.5 in 2024. The Seattle Seahawks have, so far, been a 9-win outfit each of those years. This year’s figure ranks him 19th in the NFL this year… that’s Derek Carr territory .

You could blame some of this on the deterioration of the offensive line in Seattle: ranked bottom-5 in run-block win-rate (according to ESPN) and 2nd-worst in the league at allowing pressure (39.9% of drop backs). I think, however, the theme around Seattle over the last couple of years is frustration. Frustration at always being slightly better than average. Frustration at the same results over and over and over again. That consternated vibe carried Carroll out of the PNW and ushered in Mike Macdonald and his crew of cronies.

Mike Macdonald himself (partnered with John Schneider, no doubt) ha(ve)s been unafraid to let solid players go to seek the outstanding. Tyler Lockett got demoted, Stone Forsythe sat on IR, Zach Charbonnet finally got run, 6th and 7th round rookies (Sataoa Laumea and Michael Jerrell, respectively) were given a shot on the offensive line, Sam Howell was traded for, Darrell Taylor, Mike Jackson and Jerome Baker were all shipped out, Josh Jobe took Tre Brown’s job, Coby Bryant took Rayshawn Jenkins’ job, Riq Woolen was once again benched, and the Hawks’ leader in tackles (up until that point) in Tyrel Dodson was straight up cut. It’s a new era, and everyone has a shot to make some noise and prove something to the new head man. This isn’t just ho-hum try your best buds… every position will be evaluated.

I do believe that it is in the best interests of the team to bring back Geno Smith if you can get him on a relatively cheap contract. I mean, the man is 34 years old… a grandpappy in NFL eyes. Seattle already fired its offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, so a little continuity in another transition year couldn’t hurt. That’s also the reason I think the Hawks hire an experienced play caller this time around, but that may be an article for another day. Bring the offensive leader back at a figure that doesn’t break the bank, and if he can’t get it done, you have Sam Howell and hopefully some kind of draft pick as the contingency plans. You’ve got to believe all of the chemistry and good will Smith has banked in Seattle could lead him to offer a hometown discount at this point in his career as well. If the team around his is elite and cohesive next year, if he is not under constant siege in the pocket, he is a capable trigger man that knows his weapons.

Having that been said, let’s dive into the possible destinations that could beckon to Geno Smith, if the Seahawks ring of trust disagrees with me and wants to do a clean sweep. If Smith winds up parting with Seattle as a part of the next steps of the Mike Macdonald era (which Kenneth Arthur seems pretty convinced will happen), there should be demand for a capable passer. Maybe not from former teams in the Jets and Giants, but there will be a market for his services. Wherever he goes (especially be it in Seattle), I’ll wish him success.

In Alphabetical Order:

Carolina Panthers

• This is an absolute wild card to start with, but the QB coach for Geno during his breakout year is now the HC in Carolina. Smith could be very attracted to playing in a similar system that he found a lot of success in, proving that it’s his surroundings and not his age that’s responsible for regression. Los Panteras invested in the offensive line this past offseason, signing OG’s Robert Hunt and (former Seahawk teammate) Damien Lewis. Dave Canales know the value of this, as the team he just left his post as OC for (the Buccaneers) have the 4th-ranked line (according to PFN) going into Week 18. Think Smith disagrees with the Seattle GM’s stance on guards after this season of hell behind John’s joke of a line? This would also be the locale with the shakiest hold on the job, as Bryce Young has shown a bit of improvement late in the season.

Cleveland Browns

• What if there is a true competition with Deshaun Watson? Watson has been underreported as the worst trade of all-time… don’t give that to Russ! Watson has been bad, even despite Cleveland’s OL being 11th in pass block win rate, according to ESPN. Our guy G. would pray for line play that solid. The Browns chose the wrong guy, seeing Baker Mayfield (who they basically said wasn’t a grown up (lol)) advance to the playoffs with the Bucs once again. There are a couple of Seattle boys on the line there as well, and Cedric Tillman could come to life as a downfield threat once again. Divisional matchups against Russ, ladies and gentlemen?

Indianapolis Colts

• This one could make a lot of sense. Indy has a strong tradition of very good offensive line performance (something Geno should covet at this point in his career), stout defense and is chock-full with playmakers. Sounds like the kind of environment that Russell Wilson got at the start of his career! Ok, enough about him, this is #7 we are talking about. Anthony Richardson is physically astounding, but 38 out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks in QB Rating this year. That’s bad, and Shane Steichen is coaching for his job this year… Flacco ain’t gonna cut it.

Las Vegas Raiders

• Edit: Removed the New Orleans Saints here, replacing the Black and Gold of NOLA with the Silver and Black that now colors the desert. Pete Carroll is back and he will rise again! (Ok, maybe a LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO HOME there ) The man known to chew gum, rock Nike Monarchs and find elite DB’s everywhere he goes could look for a little help from one of his “all-time favorite guys“! The new head man of the Raiders is an enjoyer of savvy vet QB’s on cheap deals who can take care of the ball and rally the troops. Or cheap rookies… but the team may be too far off from the top of the draft to go the young route. G-Money rolling the dice down the seams in Sin City could bring some needed excitement to town.

Tennessee Titans

• The Titans finally benched the mayo man, Will Levis. There are a lot of similarities between the offenses and defenses of both Tennesse and Seattle, so the transition could be eased down in Cashville. The Seahawks even conducted joint practices with the Titans this past offseason, getting intimate with an opposing squad in a hostile environment. Coach Callahan brought his POPS in to help fortify the offensive trenches and may prefer a more traditional pocket passer than what he has in Levis.

You don’t want to go to these teams Geno, what can we do to make this thing work for one more year?!

It would be a treat to see Geno Smith back with a commiserate contract. We’ve seen him play at a high level, he can navigate pressure well, he is a respected leader and he’s still hungry. Worst case scenario, if Father Time has him in his clutches and his play sinks next year… maybe you roll with him until the wheels come off and put you in position to draft a young prospect. That or Sam Howell saves the day… J.J. McCarthy? Joe Milton??? One thing is for sure: Seattle won’t be able to properly evaluate the effectiveness of any quarterback until they fix the offensive trenches and blocking schemes.

This is one of those seismic events that most 12’s will remember exactly where they were when they heard the news. Is it a universal truth that you don’t realize it’s the golden years of your life until that time period has passed? Sometimes the sense of finality in sports is wild.

Why is Pete Carroll no longer head coach of the Seattle Seahawks? He racked up the most wins and the highest win percentage of any coach who has ever walked the sidelines for the Hawks, shocking the world, garnering rare national spotlight for Seattle, Washington and bringing the city its first ever Lombardi trophy. Didn’t he deserve to walk out on his own terms as a 72-year-old legend?

Straight off top, I don’t necessarily agree with the decision. I thought that Pete Carroll should’ve been given at least one more year to guide this young core and reap the rewards now that he finally got to spend the entirety of the bounty of draft capital that he received for the trade of Russell Wilson.

I don’t necessarily agree with the decision, but I can see how one could justify it. Let’s explore.

When I look at the roster situation of the Seattle Seahawks, it appears ‘fairly straightforward’ how you could set about improving the offense: resign Damien Lewis, let the award-winning Olu Oluwatimi start at center as a sophomore and draft an elite offensive guard and a versatile TE at some point. Boom, we can cook with that. Geno (Pro Bowler) Smith can cook with that, along with all of the other weapons in-house.

The problem is, I don’t know how to fix the defense Seattle’s defense (Pete’s expertise) was supposed to have sneaky good potential this year… but it fell flat, even leading the league in missed tackles

The team spent on Dre’Mont Jones, brought back Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks made a miraculous return from a torn ACL to have a breakout year, Boye Mafe broke the franchise record for consecutive games with a sack, Jamal Adams came back from injury, (Ta)Riq Woolen was a DROY runner-up last year, Devon Witherspoon might win DROY this year, Quandre Diggs finally had a healthy offseason, Uchenna Nwosu was coming into his own as our top pass rusher, Jarran Reed had a CPOY type season, Derrick Hall was drafted in the 2nd round, Julian Love was a captain from NYC that joined up, Michael Jackson, Coby Bryant, Tre Brown and Devin Bush provided depth *INHALES*.

This defense had flashes of ability, but gradually morphed into a liability on the ground, and one of the league’s worst in general.

That last sentence is not hyperbole: Seattle’s run defense and total defense the last two years have been worst in the NFL. That’s with supposed playmakers littered throughout. Maybe that’s why Pete had to go.

My personal favorite candidate for successor would be Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, Mike MacDonald at this point. He took a defense that ranked 19th in points and 25th in yards the previous year and had them ranked 3rd in points and 9th in yards the next!

As an encore, MacDonald’s Baltimore defense was 1st in points and 6th in yards in 2023. Additionally, the Ravens were 1st in takeaways, 2nd in red zone defense, 7th against third downs and 2nd against 4th downs (some categories that Seattle was very poor in this year). He pulled off a similar resurrection job for the other Harbaugh brother at Michigan and is known as being a hard worker.

Say that Seattle ends up hiring Dan Quinn… that in itself will usher in a philosophical change to this defense. DQ’s scheme (which was 1st in takeaways the two years previous to this one) in Dallas is modified from what he ran in Seattle under Pete Carroll, and he has seen success everywhere he’s been.

If the Hawks decide to go with someone like Lions OC, Ben Johnson as head man, that may signal that general manager, John Schneider could believe the league is moving closer and closer to a QB-dominant game. While I think it somewhat minimizes the impact of Mike McDonald’s scheme contributions in a disguising defense, this well-written think piece almost convinced me in the last hour before publishing this article that Johnson could be the right choice. Do you go and get B.J. and offer Ejiro Eviro the defensive coordinator job for a young, dynamic tandem of new school football minds?

It simply could’ve been time for a change not only in scheme, but also with a new voice and a new vibe. The Seahawks got absolutely bullied in a must-win game at home against a Steelers team struggling to score points (the league’s 5th worst in this category), and down to its 3rd string QB, bruh. The Steelers shredded Seattle for 202 yards on the ground (132 of which being after contact)!

In one of the most sad and deflating Seahawks losses I can remember in some time, Pittsburgh rushed for over 100 yards less than 1/3 of the way through the 2nd quarter. Pittsburgh racked up more total yards (468) than at any time in their last 5 years as a franchise. Pete himself, after the loss to Pittsburgh: “Mindset needs to be different than it was”.

Isn’t mindset what has always so clearly defined what Carroll is able to instill in his team? By almost all measures, you can state that there was regression this year, not improvement. Seattle regressed in: points per game, points per game allowed, turnovers, turnovers forced, penalties, passing TDs, completion rate, rushing yards, run defense, etc.

John and Pete even took a big swing this year, mortgaging a bit of the 2024 future by trading a 2nd-round draft pick for defensive tackle Leonard Williams, in an attempt to go for it this year. That stab failed.

Team Chair, Jody Allen (sister of the late owner, Paul Allen) made the bold move last year to allow her mildly criticized (at the time) head coach and general manager to trade away the most popular quarterback in franchise history, in an unprecedented move. For a year, it looked like it worked: Pete shocked the world and snuck into the playoffs with a reborn Geno Smith at the helm.

This year, Jody boldly let go of an all-time franchise coach. Coach Carroll embraced adversity and attacked every game, every practice with childlike fervor and focus. We Seattle fans owe him much awe and gratitude for the winning culture he instilled, and for all the ways he made us smile and cheer.

“It’s been an honor, and a thrill to be a part of this program, and I’ve loved every minute of it. And you’ve watched me love it, in particular”

— Snippet from Pete Carroll’s final press conference

Peter Clay Carroll was clearly the best thing to ever happen to pro football in Seattle. Coming from a dynastic run at USC, he became 1 of 3 coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a national title (Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson), and is the only HC in history to win at least 10 playoff games and 5 college bowl games. I mean DAMN.

From being criticized during his first year on the job for being the first losing team to make the playoffs in 2010, to then upsetting the defending champion New Orleans Saints that same year, unleashing the Beast Quake on the world. From unafraid to let 3rd-round pick, Russell Wilson earn the quarterback job over hyped (at the time) addition, Matt Flynn. From insane and improbable comeback wins against the Packers, to major changing of the guard moments against the 49ers to the most convincing Super Bowl win ever witnessed against the Broncos.

Carroll was a SoCal rockstar hiking up to the oft-gloomy, sometimes shimmering emerald outpost of the PNW to inject energy and confidence into this organization. We need to give him his flowers, as the architect of one of the most sustained and dominant defenses of all-time. Unfortunately, we are far off from that point in time now.

In the immortal words of Harvey Dent: “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”. At least Seattle fans can take solace in Pete Carroll leaving as a hero and legend, his firing a shocking move to most Seattleites after never hitting any marker of ineptitude. Mayyyybe we’ll even get a team to give up a pick for him in the near future??

Someday I will write a proper ode to Pete Carroll and the influence, excitement and passion that he brought to Seattle. For now, we must pivot to picking up the pieces and what must now be done. A man named Schneider is now even more prominently featured as the driving force behind Seahawk football.

The Isley Brothers have made a career out of adapting with the new waves of music, which can sometimes be an elusive trait for many artists. This is John Schneider’s chance to keep the Seahawks riding the summer breeze to stay ahead of the curve of where the league is going. Let’s not forget that he is a competitor as well, and has earned the chance to call the shots.

While it’s easy to be either of (or both) nervous and excited about the future, it’s difficult to say goodbye to an all-time franchise legend. Will the future of the Seahawks hold more triumph than pain? That is never a known, or a given in life or in football.

All we can do as 12’s is journey, with our bindle sticks, into the great unknown. Thank you for everything, Pete Carroll.

Pete said in a recent interview on KJR: “I’ve had the good fortune of coaching some really good safeties over the years and there’s reason to believe that this guy can do just about anything the other guys have ever done”. That list of great safeties includes Polamalu, Chancellor and Thomas III. If that is true… WOW.

I’ve mentioned before that there is generally a 50% hit rate on 1st round draft picks. Half of them work out, and the other half don’t. How many of those become 1st team All-Pros at their position? Even less. Combining this notion with a look back at the track record of the Seattle Seahawks’ recent 1st round draft picks: a bird in the hand. An unfortunate reality that is also part of this whole deal is the instability of next year’s draft due to COVID related college football cancellations. We won’t get the chance to see, scout and evaluate the top prospects in next year’s draft in the same way as usual.

If you can recall, the Jets’ division rival Dolphins wanted their GM fired (Fireland) because of not having the huevos to make big moves. Seattle is the exact opposite. Pete Carroll and John Schneider are going for gold and aggressively reimagining their defense the way they want it. Getting Quinton Dunbar, who was graded as the 2nd best corner in the NFL last season by Pro Football Focus, from the Football Team is another thing to be hyped about. We got a lockdown corner instead of a locked up corner. We’ve now got Quandre Diggs (a pro bowler and former Lions team captain) and Jamal Adams (with his All-Pro talents) at safety. We’ve got Shaquill Griffin (another pro bowler) and Dunbar (with his aforementioned PFF grades) at corner, with Tre Flowers and Ugo Amadi having solid starting experience at outside and slot corner (respectively) coming off the bench. Marquise Blair has been impressing as a 2nd round safety converting to slot. This has transformed into a pretty legit secondary.

I imagined a different route to a defensive resurgence, but hey, this front office has earned my trust. Pete wants to stop deep plays, keep everything in front of them with the safeties, freeing up the corners to jam receivers at the line and make aggressive plays to hit ball carriers immediately and create turnovers. That’s his defensive philosophy. Single-high safety (Quandre) cover 3 scheme allowed for more playmakers in the box (that will be Jamal). This defensive framework has led to unprecedented prosperity in the PNW, so we need to ride with our guy while we still have him. Fingers crossed that the young guys can step up to create a pass rush.

It looks like the Hawks will ride with Rasheem Green + L.J.Collier (last year’s 1st round pick who didn’t play) at strong-side defensive end, and possibly kick inside on pass rushing downs. Across the formation, a combo of Bruce Irvin, Benson Mayowa and rookies Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson will hold down the fort as Leo Edge Rushers, and double up when the strong-side guys move inside. While I’m nervous about this pass rush rotation and it’s lack of a menacing presence, a la Jadeveon Clowney, let’s not overlook the fact that Adams is cheaper this year than McDougald would’ve been (!). That frees up some space to potentially trade (before the season or during) for a player that may come available or who fits a screaming need. Will that be O-line? Will that be pass rush (DE’s or DT’s such as Snacks Harrison & Marcell Dareus)? We can wait to see if Clowney would take $8-12M to chase a trophy… if not, go get someone else. I hate to say it, but if Jordyn Brooks (this year’s surprise 1st round pick) comes along in his development at linebacker, our guy K.J. Wright could be a trade piece that we move during the season to acquire another player/free up cap space. Pete and John are great at evaluating in-season.

The final piece of this is that we not only prevented the fellow NFC-contending Cowboys from unleashing Jamal Adams, but we also successfully stopped the Niners (who we should have a healthy, begrudging respect for) from getting Adams and creating their own version of a neo-L.O.B. PHEW. When you are as consistently good as the Hawks have been, roster construction isn’t just about your team, but also about how you match up with other good teams in your conference. We now have a player that can confidently match up with George Kittle. Remember when Kam Chancellor struck fear into the hearts of the frontrunning Niners and their beast of a tight end a few years back? That helped to usher in a near decade of Seahawks dominance in the NFC West. When you see a bad dude get punked by an even badder dude, it changes the whole tone of the contest. Guys feed off of that energy. Jamal Adams plays the same position, and has the ability to rival Kam’s exploits… no cap.

Now, there could be an acclimation period, with no rookie camp, team minicamps, OTA’s, preseason or extended training camp this year for our defense to get on the same page. Either way, Pete and John have infused talent and energy into this entire team. No risk-it, no biscuit. Jamal Adams could very well be a culture-shifting game-wrecker all over the field who helps to galvanize this defense. We just brought another serious piece with a dawg mentality to the fight because Pete and John play to win. Is it possible that someday when we look back at Pete Carroll’s legacy in Seattle, that we’ll talk about the old and new testaments of the L.O.B.?? We can only hope that our defense lives up to all of its potential. Pete always gives us a swinging chance to be great. Russ is ready and just hitting his prime. If we can win the division, our team has the swagger and the magic to make it to another Super Bowl. I said it. I’m talkin’ really big rings.

Seattle Seahawks order of needs (as it stands):

• Defensive End

• Corner (competition)
• Offensive Tackle
• Defensive Tackle (rotational)
• Center
• Running Back
• Outside Linebacker
• Quarterback

Free Agent Targets:

Ndamukong Suh, Michael Pierce, Timmy Jernigan, Alex Collins, P.J. Walker, Jimmy Smith, Ronald Darby, Daryl Worley, De’Vondre Campbell

So, if defensive end is our most pressing need by far, then why don’t I have Jadeveon Clowney listed in my Free Agent Targets section? As much as I loved the move to get Jadeveon Clowney in a trade, I think that it may be a good idea to consider a different option at this point. While it may sound crazy at first, I think that the Seahawks should let Clowney join another team in free agency and make a blockbuster trade for Yannick Nicolas Ngakoue of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’m in the minority here but let me explain.

The first stat that I’ll throw out there is that Yannick Ngakoue has 37.5 sacks over the last 4 years for the Jaguars, without any season total lower than 8. I want to let you know that this means he has been very good at dropping QB’s. For comparison’s sake, Von Miller has 46 sacks the last 4 years. Jadeveon Clowney (who had 3 sacks this past year) has 27.5 sacks in the last 4 years, and 29 sacks in his 4 final years with the Houston Texans. Believe it or not, Clowney has never registered double digit sacks in a season in the NFL. Clowney is a former #1 overall pick in the first round with name recognition. Ngakoue is a former 3rd-round pick. While we can begin to try to justify with points about there being differences from team to scheme, Yannick has taken advantage of opportunities at every point.

But… but! What about everything we’ve invested in Clowney??

Jadeveon Clowney was a nice roll of the dice that didn’t quite land as the Seahawks had hoped. Luckily, we took advantage of the GM-less Texans to not have to give up much to get him (sound familiar?) The real beauty of the Clowney trade is that if he walks in free agency, we can quite possibly recoup the 3rd round pick that we traded for him in the compensatory draft! Seahawks GM, John Schneider doesn’t just do this for praise: he is a shrewd businessman with eyes always to the future who takes calculated shots. He’s also rolled the dice on Marshawn Lynch, Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham, and Sheldon Richardson.

Ultimately, it’s been speculated that Jadeveon may be better suited standing up as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme. Yannick Ngakoue is a designated pass rusher (DPR) who has the chance to be great in the right scheme! Ngakoue was a part of that great ‘Sacksonville”, “Teal Curtain” defense from a couple years ago. He’s already been a consistent producer who outproduced a former 1st round pick (Dante Fowler). He’s made it known that he doesn’t want to continue to play in Jacksonville. He’s just entering his prime and eerily reminds me of a Michael Bennett or Cliff Avril type of addition.

You know the names, but they are not superstars. They are young, ascending pass rushers with time to develop. That’s Yannick. BUT, in his 4 years with the Jags, Yannick has more than double the count of sacks that Bennett had in his 4 years with the Bucs prior to signing in Seattle. Now, Ngakoue was drafted in the 3rd round while Bennett was undrafted… but with Yannick, there is added security since he’s been ballin’ since day 1. I don’t care if it takes a 1st and a 2nd (what we got for Frank Clark) … go get this young bull!! See if I care… We have two 2nds, so there!

It would be nice if, like Dee Ford, this trade would only cost a 2nd. The good/bad news is that Ngakoue has been WAY more consistent than Ford was prior to his trade. Imagine if the compensation is a 1st and a 3rd: We’d most likely get a 3rd back for Clowney walking, and we basically will have only had to give up a 1st round pick (and look better than the Chiefs)! First round picks generally have about a 50% success rate. I’d rather have a young, proven option than take the next confusing Seahawks pick behind door #3 and hoping he doesn’t redshirt like L.J. Collier. A lethal pass rush would take our defense (and, quite possibly the play of our secondary) to the next level. Pete Carroll knows this well.

I’ve heard talk of targeting Everson Griffen, formerly of the Vikings. Pete coached him in college, and could convince him to throw his purple in the sky like a toxic ex. He may be nearing the end of his career and has had some personal issues to work through in the recent past. That may not be the best fit for what this team is currently building. Targeting Jadeveon Clowney has the potential to initiate this whole dance again next year. There are rumors that his lack of a mega contract offer this year makes him want to take a 1-year deal so that he can raise his value and hit the market again in 2021. Yannick may be more amenable to starting over and signing a long-term deal. We want someone who is trying to invest in what we are building. Ask Sherman and Bennett.

We are, of course, not the only team that would be interested in Ngakoue’s services. If we get involved in a bidding war with say, the Bills, Dolphins and Giants, John Schneider may bow out. Even in that scenario, let’s remember that proven pass rushers who are just hitting their prime don’t usually come available. It may be time to follow Lil Jon’s advice and take another shot. Adding a player that could be the catalyst to a lasting defensive revitalization in Seattle should be a priority. Yannick Ngakoue feels like the kind of consistent, driven and prototypical defensive end who the Seahawks would love to deploy. He feels like a guy that belongs in blue and action green.