GM Schneider casting wide net in Seahawks’ coach search, to learn new, post-Carroll ways
You, Jody Allen, Seattle, the Pacific Northwest all deserve better.
So who is the new coach that is going to bring you better Seahawks? We’re casting wide net to find him.
That was the essence of the roughly half hour general manager John Schneider spent Tuesday explaining the franchise’s transition to its first new coach and regime in 14 years.
Jody Allen, the team’s chair, decided last week, the day after the 2023 season ended, to fire Carroll as Seattle’s coach, the most successful one the team’s ever had. She chose Schneider’s vision for the Seahawks’ present and future over Carroll’s. She made the GM the franchise’s top and final football authority, for the first time.
Carroll hired Schneider to the Seahawks in January 2010.
“Hey, emotions have been all over the place, right?” Schneider said Tuesday morning inside the team’s lakeside headquarters, in the same auditorium where Carroll said his public Seahawks goodbye six days earlier.
“Unfortunately — or fortunately, however you look at this — we are all here today because we underachieved in 2023. We all did,” Schneider said.
“And now we’re in a situation where we all need to get better. We understand that the 12s, the fans, the community, Jody, everybody in this building deserves better. We had high expectations for 2023. We overachieved in 2022 (a playoff season after trading quarterback Russell Wilson). Quite frankly, we underachieved in 2023. I think everybody recognizes that.”
Last week the Seahawks finished a regular season 9-8 for the second consecutive year. They didn’t make the playoffs, for only the third time in 12 years. The defense, Carroll’s pride as a defense-first coach, regressed during the 2023 season.
Worse, for the last decade the Seahawks essentially have been stagnant. They haven’t won a playoff game since the end of the 2019 season. They haven’t gotten past the second, divisional round of the postseason in nine years, since Seattle’s last Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2014 season.
“Disappointed,” Schneider said of this past season.
The Seahawks got run over four times in four games against the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, losing inside the NFC West.
“I think everybody was very disappointed. We had several games that got out of control a little bit,” the GM said.
“I would say disappointed. I’m not going to get into specifics. I hope you can respect that.”
Schneider also didn’t detail what the differences were between his and Carroll’s vision for how to improve the team for 2024 and get it back in contention for the Super Bowl Seattle hasn’t been to since consecutive appearances in the NFL title game at the end of the 2013 and ‘14 seasons.
“I’m not going to get into specifics about the conversations. Those are very confidential and very private,” Schneider said.
“I would say Pete knew how I felt about things and where we needed to improve. And Jody knew my opinions, as well.”
Coaching staff responsibility
One of the only revelations to come from Schneider’s talk to reporters Tuesday was him defining the new responsibilities Allen has given him, post-Carroll.
Carroll was the team’s top and final football authority for all 14 of his seasons running the franchise. Late owner Paul Allen, Jody’s brother, and then-Seahawks chief executive Tod Leiweke got Carroll to come from USC to Seattle in January 2010 by giving him total control of the Seahawks’ football operations.
About 10 days after Carroll arrived 14 winters ago, the coach hired Schneider to be a first-time general manager. That’s backwards to most professional-sports arrangements — and to what the Seahawks will now be with Schneider in charge of everything for the first time in Seattle.
Now, if Schneider wants to change a defensive or offensive coordinator, he will. Carroll used to make that call, ultimately, with his Seahawks coordinators.
“Basically, the role changes,” Schneider said. “Our setup earlier was — and it’s been a question for a number of years — the coaching staff did not fall under my umbrella. And now it will.”
Asked if he will have final say over the personnel decisions regardless of who the next head coach is, the GM said, “Yes.”
The new coach is going to have to be fine with that. Most, particularly those without previous head-coaching experience, will be.
And the Seahawks are looking at, so far, at least a half dozen coaches with no previous head-coaching experience.
How Seahawks can learn to get better
Schneider said he expects Seattle’s interviews for a new coach to begin Wednesday.
The GM is using this likely weeks-long process to learn various new ways to play, practice and train. That is, other than Carroll’s ways Seattle’s had since 2010.
To do that, Schneider is casting a wide net. His early candidates are already varied. Some offensive minds. Some defensive minds. Some with head-coaching experiences. Most with none.
Two — Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowik — are half Carroll’s age.
The Seahawks are known to be seeking permission to talk to or already are in line to interview eight known candidates to replace Carroll:
- Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
- Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
- Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik
- Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka
- Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham
- Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith
- Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero
- Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris
Of those, six have zero head-coaching experience, at any level: Johnson, Slowik, Kafka, Graham, Smith and Evero.
Schneider said he might also include college coaches. The more varied, the more the GM and the Seahawks will learn possible ways to beat the 49ers and Rams and win the NFC West, for starters. That is, of course, job one for the new coach.
Asked what qualities he is seeking in that guy, Schneider described the Seahawks’ need to change and to learn, post-Carroll.
“Our culture and how are we evolving,” Schneider said. “Who’s going to help us move to the next level? How are we going to compete with everybody that we need to compete with and advance this organization moving forward?
“We’re going to learn so much in this process about the ideas. I’m proud about all of the connections we have around the National Football League. And we’ve learned a lot already.
“To be able to understand what that looks like — different opinions, different philosophies, open the door to different ideas, whether it’s a defensive head coach or an offensive head coach or a special teams guy that is becoming a head coach — I think that’s all really important.”
Schneider calls these weeks between Carroll’s exit and a new coach “a time for all of us to look in the mirror in this organization, myself included, obviously, and improve. Learn, and move forward.”
The GM reiterated how difficult parting with Carroll after 14 years together has been for him. He paused, lowered his head and became emotional Wednesday talking about his partnership with Carroll.
“Again, just very blessed to have worked with Pete, and all of the positive lessons, the leadership lessons and thoughts and philosophies,” Schneider said. “I can’t even begin to explain to you ... pretty emotional press conference the other day. When I say your emotions are all over the place, it’s moving on from a very historic partnership and amazing level of success and achievement that Pete and myself are extremely proud of.
“I look forward to being able to call up Pete and text him.”
In fact Carroll has been texting Schneider “like crazy,” the GM said, in the week since the coach left the Seahawks.
“Like, ‘Hey, Johnny. What’s going on with this and that?’” Schneider said. “It’s been a great experience.”
It will never be the same.
A new Seahawks era
For all Allen, Schneider and Seahawks official statements have said, Carroll as an “advisor” appears to mean very little to the franchise’s present and future.
When he was describing his Seattle tenure and end at his exit press conference last week, Carroll wasn’t interested in detailing what that advisory role may look like or if he even cared much about it.
No, this is a completely new era of Seahawks football.
Schneider’s era.
Allen and her right-hand man Bert Kolde of Paul Allen’s Vulcan, Inc., operating company have chosen Schneider’s vision over Carroll’s ways.
“Here we go,” Schneider said. “We have a clear directive from Jody Allen moving forward as we embark on our new coaching search. It’s clear. It’s concise. We want to keep our positive culture. Everything that’s been created here, everything in this building. There are so many special people in this building.
“It’s amazing to be on the phone with all of these agents and people that are interested in this position, and to be able to explain to them like, ‘Hey. There’s a foundation here. And it’s incredible.’”
This story was originally published January 17, 2024 at 5:01 AM.
