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Seahawks' legend Pete Carrol reacts to strange Lumen Field homecoming

After 14 seasons and one Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, legendary Pete Carroll returns to Lumen Field Thursday night as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Richie Whitt|
Jan 7, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll signs items for fans prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll signs items for fans prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

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The vibrant, gum-chomping, 73-year-old legend is coming home Thursday night. But don't expect too much sentimentality from Pete Carroll.

Sure, it's only a preseason game - and an opener at that - but the only Seattle Seahawks head coach to win a Super Bowl coming back to Lumen Field is a big deal. Whether he wants to admit it or not.

RELATED: What former Seahawks QB Geno Smith said about perception of Raiders

"It's the only game we got," Carroll joked this week to the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week. "It happens to be in Seattle."

After 14 mostly glorious seasons with the Seahawks, Carroll returns as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead of pumping up Russell Wilson or energizing the Legion of Boom, this time Carroll will be evaluating Raiders' rookies such as No. 6 overall draft pick Ashton Jeanty and overshadowing the return to Seattle of another former Seahawks' star: quarterback Geno Smith.

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"I loved my time in Seattle, loved the fans and the people that we met, and dealt with, and competed with," Carroll said. "But it's a game for us. We're going to go play ball."

With the Seahawks from 2010-23, Carroll went 137-89-1 and won Super Bowl XLVIII at the end of the 2013 season. He had mutual parting with Seattle after the 2023 season and served as a "senior advisor" with the organization last season. Away from football only one year, he returns to football for his 19th season in the NFL.

Pete Carroll Geno Smith
Jul 24, 2025; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) with coach Pete Carroll during training camp at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Richie Whitt has been a sports media fixture in Dallas-Fort Worth since graduating from UT-Arlington in 1986. His career is highlighted by successful stints in print (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), TV (NBC5) and radio (105.3 The Fan). During his almost 40-year tenure, he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbledons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL since 1989, and in 1993 authored The 'Boys Are Back, a book chronicling the Dallas Cowboys' run to Super Bowl XXVII.

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