Would Seattle Seahawks Really Fire Coach Pete Carroll With Week 18 Loss - Joining Bill Belichick?
If the Patriots' Bill Belichick is in limbo in New England, can the greatest coach in Seattle Seahawks' history also be on the hot seat in Seattle?
Indeed, Pete Carroll might be coaching for a long-shot chance at the playoffs Sunday in Arizona ... and also his job. The Seahawks can back into the postseason with a win over the lowly Cardinals and a Chicago Bears upset of the Green Bay Packers.
But a year after a surprising Wild Card berth, big contract to quarterback Geno Smith and high draft picks in Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks have taken a disappointing step backward.
After 24 years - and a record six Super Bowls - in Foxboro, the 71-year-old Belichick might be coaching his final game for the Patriots Sunday. A couple hours later it could be the same for the 72-year-old Carroll - after 14 years and the one championship.
The Seahawks were 5-2 and trending in the right direction after that exhilarating rally to beat the Cleveland Browns on Halloween weekend. Now, two months later, they're limping into the New Year having lost six of nine and in the unenviable position of needing help from the Bears.
Are 9-8 seasons with Hail Mary's to get into the playoffs and early-round exits still good enough to keep Pete?
Smith has regressed this season. Kenneth Walker III hasn't taken a big leap. DK Metcalf has gone emotionally unchecked. And the defense was manhandled in last week's crucial home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Since he's under contract through 2025, the odds of Carroll being axed seem long. He's not, in fact, among the Top 10 betting favorites to be fired at season's end. But what about a retirement? A "mutual parting''? A move upstairs?
Belichick is a no-nonsense curmudgeon. Carroll exudes boundless energy and relentless optimism. Despite their opposing styles, they both are headed for the same destination in Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But is time up for the two oldest coaches in the NFL? With their teams similarly underachieving - if not nosediving - are Carroll and Belichick dinosaurs peering into imminent extinction?
