Seahawks GM – Proprietor desires new coach to keep up ‘optimistic tradition’

RENTON, Wash. — With Pete Carroll out, normal supervisor John Schneider’s new function with the Seattle Seahawks will embrace management over personnel and oversight of the teaching workers.

However as Schneider leads the primary head-coaching search of his 14-year tenure with the Seahawks, workforce proprietor Jody Allen has given him one directive.

“It is clear. It is concise. We need to maintain our optimistic tradition, the whole lot that is been created right here,” Schneider stated. “There’s so many particular folks on this constructing. It is superb to be on the cellphone with all these brokers and the folks which might be on this place and to have the ability to clarify to them, ‘Hey, there is a basis right here that is unimaginable.'”

Schneider spoke with reporters on Tuesday for the primary time since Allen introduced Wednesday she was transferring Carroll into an advisory function with the group. Schneider confirmed what Carroll had alluded to in his farewell information convention — that the GM may have remaining say over personnel issues no matter which coach is employed to interchange him. That is a change from the earlier energy construction through which Carroll had remaining say and reported on to possession.

“Our setup earlier was … the teaching workers didn’t fall below my umbrella, and now it should,” stated Schneider, who’s signed by means of the 2027 draft after his contract was prolonged in January 2021. “It isn’t essentially a Jody Allen resolution or selecting this individual or that individual; it is only a contractual state of affairs.”

With administrative duties taken care of, the seek for Carroll’s alternative started in earnest this week. The checklist of reported interview requests included eight names as of Tuesday afternoon.

Two of them, in response to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, are Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. Carolina Panthers D-coordinator Ejiro Evero is ready to interview with Seattle on Wednesday, a supply advised ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Seahawks even have requested interviews with Dallas Cowboys D-coordinator Dan Quinn, a supply advised ESPN’s Todd Archer, and Houston Texans O-coordinator Bobby Slowik, a supply advised ESPN’s Dan Graziano. As well as, the workforce has requested interviews with Las Vegas Raiders D-coordinator Patrick Graham, Detroit Lions O-coordinator Ben Johnson and Miami Dolphins O-coordinator Frank Smith, in response to the NFL Community.

As a result of every of the eight candidates are below contract with one other NFL workforce, these interviews can solely be performed just about this week, with in-person interviews allowed starting Monday, offered the candidate’s workforce is just not getting ready for a convention championship sport.

Schneider stated there is not such a factor as having too many candidates and that the turn-over-every-stone strategy the Seahawks have used with free company and the draft will apply to their teaching search, as effectively. They’ve but to determine whether or not they’ll take into account any faculty coaches.

“It is huge open nonetheless,” he stated. “There’s a lot motion in faculty soccer already.”

Schneider stated he has needed to be prepared for a number of years to rent a head coach, realizing the 72-year-old Carroll might stroll away at any time. Whereas Schneider is main the seek for Carroll’s alternative, he stated Allen — who assumed management of the workforce when her brother, Paul Allen, died in 2018 — may have “lots” of say over the rent.

Schneider stated there isn’t any extra readability as to what Carroll’s advisory function will entail. His ouster as head coach got here on the heels of a 9-8 end through which the Seahawks missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. In Schneider’s phrases, the Seahawks “underachieved” in 2023 after they’d “overachieved” the season earlier than, when in addition they went 9-8 however made the playoffs as a wild-card workforce after buying and selling quarterback Russell Wilson.

Carroll made it clear that he argued with Allen to maintain his job. Requested about his conversations with Allen over Carroll’s standing, Schneider declined to debate specifics.

“These are very confidential and really personal,” he stated. “I’d say that Pete knew how I felt about issues and the place we wanted to enhance, and Jody knew my opinions, as effectively.”

Employed collectively in 2010, Carroll and Schneider guided the Seahawks by means of essentially the most profitable stretch in franchise historical past, which included 10 playoff appearances, the group’s lone Tremendous Bowl championship and a second Tremendous Bowl look.

Throughout his opening assertion on Tuesday, Schneider grew to become emotional whereas speaking about teaming with Carroll the previous 14 years.

“Very, very blessed to have labored with Pete and all of the optimistic classes and the management classes and ideas and philosophies,” Schneider stated. “Fairly emotional press convention the opposite day. Once I say your feelings are in all places, it is transferring on from a really, very historic partnership and superb, superb degree of success and achievement that Pete and myself are extraordinarily pleased with.

“I stay up for with the ability to name Pete and textual content him. He is already texting me like loopy on a regular basis, like, ‘Hey, Johnny, what is going on on with this and that?'”

Schneider then paused to assemble himself.

“Yeah, it has been a terrific expertise,” he stated. “So, right here we go.”