A lot of people turned their noses up at the idea of the Chicago Bears interviewing for Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. Most of that comes from the fact he is 73 years old. Coaches that age almost never find peak success in the NFL or any professional sport. This doesn’t feel like the right move if the Bears are gunning for championships. Then again, this organization’s track record in recent years doesn’t give them the credibility to just turn away somebody with such glittering accomplishments on his resume. So they wisely chose to speak with him.
That interview was completed on Thursday, the fourth in a series the Bears have set up over the next several days. SM received details of how it went down from sources. Carroll reportedly came across “really well.” He made a positive impression and seemed to have a detailed, well-thought-out plan for what he would do. There was also an important wrinkle involved. Carroll had ideas for a possible succession plan for the eventual point he would retire permanently. One possibility involves luring a top assistant from another team with the title of Assistant Head Coach, putting them in line to inherit the job.
Pete Carroll is operating with clear urgency.
He knows this might be his last chance to land an NFL job before it’s too late. Draft insider Charlie Campbell revealed a few days ago that Carroll wants the Bears job “badly.” It isn’t hard to see why. They have a young quarterback who exhibits similar traits to Russell Wilson, who became a star under the coach in Seattle. There is also the strong defense they’ve built and quality weapons. Carroll isn’t dumb. Put a good staff in place and tweak a few weaker areas so this team could be ready to compete.
Pete Carroll appears to have taken his swing, and it was a good one. Whether it’s enough to sway the Bears remains to be seen. Initial belief around the league is they’d prefer somebody younger who can grow alongside Caleb Williams. That said, if the market turns against him with top options going elsewhere, Carroll would be a pretty solid consolation prize. It sounds like he has a vision for what this team would be. Even if they only get him for four or five years, it would finally make this franchise relevant.
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What always stood out to me about Carroll was that he brought Dan Quinn, Gus Bradley in as defensive coordinators, and Kris Richard as his defensive backs coach. Identifying both coaches and players was significant for any team that doesn’t want to lose their way to top 10 first round picks for decades. When the developed the Legion of Boom. They had one first round picks (Earl Thomas) and Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond were ALL 4th, 5th ,6th picks and UDFAs. It was THE reason I believe in coaching over who you draft. It doesn’t… Read more »
Pete Carroll’s major selling point, and I’m assuming he sold the point, is that he’s built winning ORGANIZATIONS.
Not just teams or a single season, not a side of the ball, the whole damn thing.
That has been the Bears major problem.
Carroll knows how to put people into position to coach, and then win. He knows how to find coaches who can develop unknown players to superstar levels.
The only other person with those qualifications is Belichick (No), Vrabel (No, no), and Monken.
The others are shots in the dark.
While Carroll has proven he can succeed, as I remember he was steering the ship just before sanctions came down against USC. He bailed and left them holding the bag—while I can’t say what he did and didn’t do, it’s not a good look and I’m sure Reggie Bush may have something to say about it. Regardless the fact that Carroll took off and left everyone else to deal with things has always bothered me about him, and truth be told I only watch USC games for their cheerleaders!
No one disputes Carroll’s HC resume. He has the knowledge and expertise to improve the Bears. BUT he’s 73! Aside from the job being demanding, loaded with stress and sleepless nights, Bears need a Head Coach who can transform this poor offensive team into a juggernaut. A younger coach like Ben Johnson or Monken is healthy and will be around in 3 years. Let’s be honest. A lot of NFL coaches have heart and health issues. I want a coach to be successful in Chicago for the next 5-10 years. So a respectful pass on Pete Carroll.
@Plank Thanks, nice to know. Too bad for Maui. Next time I go back to the States from London, I’m going East, not West, so I can stay on Waikiki Beach as usual. I just have to watch out for those damn jellyfish. Here is the likely itinerary: London to Cairo to Abu Dabhi to Shanghai to Tokyo to Honolulu to San Francisco.