Seahawks Interview QB J.J. McCarthy at Combine, Receive Unexpected Visitor
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - As Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy prepared to meet with general manager John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks for a formal interview earlier this week at the 2024 NFL combine, an unexpected visitor decided to crash the party.
As McCarthy told reporters during his media availability session on Friday morning, his path crossed with former Michigan head coach and mentor Jim Harbaugh, who recently returned to the NFL as the new coach of the Chargers. Such an acquaintance normally wouldn't be viewed as an anomaly at the combine, but as the quarterback joked, past history between Harbaugh and an ex-NFC West rival may have prevented the quick reunion from taking place at all a year ago.
"He walked in there all love and all hugs," McCarthy smiled. "And as he was leaving, the Seattle Seahawks guys were saying 'You wouldn't be here if [Pete] Carroll was still our coach,' so that was a good one. But it was great seeing him."
Completing north of 70 percent of his passes with just four interceptions, J.J. McCarthy orchestrated Michigan's offense on the way to a National Championship in 2023.
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Based on recent history, if Carroll still held the Seahawks coaching position, McCarthy would have been on the team's radar as a potential quarterback of the future coming from a pro-style offense and a well-ran program. But it wouldn't have been because he liked Harbaugh, his biggest rival in more than four decades of coaching.
Dating back to their time as head coaches in the Pac-12, Carroll and Harbaugh didn't hide their disdain for one another in numerous encounters. Most notably, Carroll took issue with Harbaugh running up the score in the closing moments when Stanford smoked USC 55-21 at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 2009, infamously asking him "What's your deal?" when they met to shake hands at midfield after the final whistle.
With that moment creating animosity between the two ultra-competitive coaches, Carroll and Harbaugh's rivalry jumped to the NFL when they accepted head coaching positions with the Seahawks and 49ers. While San Francisco beat Seattle the first three times the teams met with the enemies on the sidelines, Carroll's team turned the tide whipping Harbaugh's squad in back-to-back home games, eventually taking over the division in 2013 when they captured a Lombardi Trophy.
Overall, Carroll and Harbaugh went 6-6 against each other all-time as head coaches in college and the NFL. But while the two would never be mistaken as friends, Carroll clearly respected his rival, as the Seahawks drafted several Michigan players who had been coached by Harbaugh over the years, including defensive end Mike Morris and center Olu Oluwatimi in the 2023 NFL Draft last April.
As Carroll now steps into an advisory role, that Seattle/Michigan pipe line may be stronger than ever with Mike Macdonald succeeding the coaching legend. Though he only spent one season on Harbaugh's staff in Ann Arbor, Macdonald quickly transformed the Wolverines into a top-10 defense overnight in 2021, setting the table for the program to win last year's National Championship with several of his former players starring on the top-ranked scoring defense in the nation.
Not surprisingly, the Seahawks have met with multiple Michigan standouts at the combine, including McCarthy, who most draft analysts project to be a first-round selection in April.
Becoming the full-time starter as a sophomore in 2022, McCarthy thrived in Harbaugh's offense with a strong running game complementing his passing and rushing ability. After throwing 22 touchdowns and five interceptions in his first season as the starter, he nearly duplicated those numbers while increasing his completion rate by nearly 10 percent and increasing his yards per attempt from 9.1 to 9.8, helping lead the Wolverines to an undefeated season and a national title.
Aside from his excellent passing numbers, McCarthy delivered as a runner as well, rushing for 340 yards and averaging six yards per carry while scoring three additional touchdowns, showcasing dual-threat capabilities teams look for at the quarterback position in today's NFL.
Holding the 16th overall pick in the first round, Seattle has been active meeting with top quarterbacks in Indianapolis this week, as Schneider and the personnel department have also met with Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and North Carolina star Drake Maye for formal interviews. It's possible all three of those players could go in the top 10 picks, if not the top five selections, which would make moving up to draft any of them difficult and expensive compensation-wise.
But with starter Geno Smith still under contract and recently having his contract restructured, the Seahawks aren't in a position where they have to force the issue drafting a quarterback either. If someone like McCarthy slips close to their selection, they could pull the trigger to land their future franchise signal caller. If that doesn't happen, they could look at day two or day three alternatives, including Tulane's Michael Pratt, who they met with informally this week.
Either way, Schneider appears to be doing his due diligence making sure he speaks with as many top quarterback prospects as possible. After picking only two quarterbacks in 14 years as general manager, this could be the year where they look to add a rookie to the stable, though it remains to be seen when that player will be selected and whether or not they can land a potential future starter in the process.
