It's Surreal: A New Era... Letting Go and Moving On

[Jville]

Kinda makes me sympathize with cowboy fans.
The Landry thing comes to my mind.

For me as well.

I grew up a fan of the combo of Tom Landry & Tex Schramm. Kept an ever active track of every player on Cowboy rosters for years. I didn't take the firing of Tom Landry well. Tex Schramm's departure followed shortly after as did my departure as a Cowboy fan.

I've witnessed two great combos. Landry and Schramm followed by Carroll and Schneider.

I don't know that it gets much better than that for any fan.

 

[morgulon1]

Well its happened. The Seahawks have a new coach. I was originally going to take some more time to digest all of this and stay quiet about it, but people keep asking me to weigh in. I talked with my therapist about this and she agreed I should make my thoughts public. So I've decided, due to popular demand, to make my feelings clear here.

As many know I took the loss of Pete hard and have been processing it the past couple of weeks. My wife and I even got in a huge fight about it and she said I was more upset when Pete got fired then I was about family dying. I'm a grown man who rarely ever cries... I cried for Pete.

I will never agree with firing Pete. He did too much for this city and this team and winning is too hard in the NFL. He was too consistently good and it made expectations too high. It kills me to think he won't have another chance to win here.

BUT, with all that said, my verdict is... this is a great hire. If they we're gonna move on from Pete, a guy like this was the right way to do it. From the oldest coach to the youngest. From a guy very set in his ways to a guy who is very innovative and ready to implement new schemes.

I was personally hoping for an offensive guy but in Macdonald's case I'm good with it. This defense has under-performed and has a ton of talent, and in his hands could be elite. He's young and innovative and he will hopefully surround himself with people who can bring that same innovation to the offense. Macdonald, by my accounts, is a grade A hire. Well played JS.

Regardless of how you feel about Pete, it's going to be surreal to watch the Seahawks next year without him chewing gum on the sideline. Its been so long and I identify the guys on this team with him in so many different ways that it's almost hard to believe. But it's real and I feel that even if personnel remains largely the same, we will be looking at a entirely different Seahawks team out there next year.

It's scary, but also incredibly exciting. I'd be a liar to say there isn't a ton of upside to this. I still don't think the grass is always greener, and personally I still would have stayed with Pete, but this great hire is really helping me reconcile my feelings and get read for a NEW ERA of Seattle Seahawks football.

It has been very charged on this forum at times. Certain posters even have a certain amount of animosity for Pete or anyone who supported him. I hope we can all just step back from this and agree this is a great hire and we are excited about next season.

For some of you, maybe stop jumping on the grave of Pete and try being happy about the future. Personally I'm going to do my best to let go and stop mourning him and do the same. It's a new era. Time to move on, even for me, and even for a guy like @Fade who is on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Thanks for everything Pete, and here's to a bright future with Mike Macdonald!

You can still watch Pete chew gum.

 

[Flyingsquad23]

Going to be a big hill to climb for Mac to eclipse what Pete did for the Hawks.
If he is truly going to elevate the team past the bar that has been set we are in store for an epic run.

 

[IndyHawk]

Build a statue of Pete. Remember the past, but the future is here and boy does it look good.

Great idea and put him into ROH next season.
I'd love to see him come onto the field at halftime and soak in the
crazy applause from the fans with a farewell speech to all.

 

[Mistashoesta]

Great idea and put him into ROH next season.
I'd love to see him come onto the field at halftime and soak in the
crazy applause from the fans with a farewell speech to all.

Wait till he raises the 12th flag. Building is going to go nuts.

 

[Welshers2]

You can still watch Pete chew gum.

Not on a Seahawks sideline brother

 

[RiverDog]

Well its happened. The Seahawks have a new coach. I was originally going to take some more time to digest all of this and stay quiet about it, but people keep asking me to weigh in. I talked with my therapist about this and she agreed I should make my thoughts public. So I've decided, due to popular demand, to make my feelings clear here.

As many know I took the loss of Pete hard and have been processing it the past couple of weeks. My wife and I even got in a huge fight about it and she said I was more upset when Pete got fired then I was about family dying. I'm a grown man who rarely ever cries... I cried for Pete.

I will never agree with firing Pete. He did too much for this city and this team and winning is too hard in the NFL. He was too consistently good and it made expectations too high. It kills me to think he won't have another chance to win here.

BUT, with all that said, my verdict is... this is a great hire. If they we're gonna move on from Pete, a guy like this was the right way to do it. From the oldest coach to the youngest. From a guy very set in his ways to a guy who is very innovative and ready to implement new schemes.

I was personally hoping for an offensive guy but in Macdonald's case I'm good with it. This defense has under-performed and has a ton of talent, and in his hands could be elite. He's young and innovative and he will hopefully surround himself with people who can bring that same innovation to the offense. Macdonald, by my accounts, is a grade A hire. Well played JS.

Regardless of how you feel about Pete, it's going to be surreal to watch the Seahawks next year without him chewing gum on the sideline. Its been so long and I identify the guys on this team with him in so many different ways that it's almost hard to believe. But it's real and I feel that even if personnel remains largely the same, we will be looking at a entirely different Seahawks team out there next year.

It's scary, but also incredibly exciting. I'd be a liar to say there isn't a ton of upside to this. I still don't think the grass is always greener, and personally I still would have stayed with Pete, but this great hire is really helping me reconcile my feelings and get read for a NEW ERA of Seattle Seahawks football.

It has been very charged on this forum at times. Certain posters even have a certain amount of animosity for Pete or anyone who supported him. I hope we can all just step back from this and agree this is a great hire and we are excited about next season.

For some of you, maybe stop jumping on the grave of Pete and try being happy about the future. Personally I'm going to do my best to let go and stop mourning him and do the same. It's a new era. Time to move on, even for me, and even for a guy like @Fade who is on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Thanks for everything Pete, and here's to a bright future with Mike Macdonald!

Nice post. You poured your soul out in your comments.

Outside of the first 3 paragraphs, I agree with everything you said, especially about our new HC. I, too, was hoping for an offensive minded coach as that seems to be a common thread with most successful teams. But the more I read and hear of Mike Macdonald, the more I like him. He's not going to be the fire and brimstone, steely eyes, in your face type of coach that Dan Campbell is, but the players and coaches sure seem to like him.

I, too, am very appreciative of what Pete has given us, and have defended him in several threads in this forum.

 

[RiverDog]

Kinda makes me sympathize with cowboy fans.
The Landry thing comes to my mind.

That's a good analogy except for one thing: Jody Allen handled the firing one helluva lot better than that scum sucking Jerry Jones. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt that it was the Jones-Landry incident that guided her and the boys at Vulcan as to how NOT to handle the dismissal of a long-time coach.

This might not be a good thread to discuss it, but that incident is what caused me to truly despise the Dallas Cowboys. I was a huge Cowboys fan back in the mid 60's, with Dandy Don Meredith, Bullet Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly, Dan Reeves, Don Perkins, et al. I watched the Ice Bowl live. My allegiance shifted to the Dolphins prior to my heart being permanently stolen in 1976.

Ever since Jones tossed Tom Landry aside with no more thought than throwing yesterday's newspaper in the trash can, I've loathed the Cowboys more than any other sporting franchise. Landry was a class guy, and didn't deserve to be treated the way he was.

I guess it's due to my mindset about professional athletes and coaches in general that allows me to be a little more objective about them than many of my friends and colleagues. I refuse to wear another player's name or number on my back and I don't allow myself to get emotionally attached to them. I'm all about the team, not the player or the coach. I didn't shed a tear when we traded Russell. But I do understand and respect guys like @Welshers2.

 

[pmedic920]

That's a good analogy except for one thing: Jody Allen handled the firing one helluva lot better than that scum sucking Jerry Jones. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt that it was the Jones-Landry incident that guided her and the boys at Vulcan as to how NOT to handle the dismissal of a long-time coach.

This might not be a good thread to discuss it, but that incident is what caused me to truly despise the Dallas Cowboys. I was a huge Cowboys fan back in the mid 60's, with Dandy Don Meredith, Bullet Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly, Dan Reeves, Don Perkins, et al. I watched the Ice Bowl live. My allegiance shifted to the Dolphins prior to my heart being permanently stolen in 1976.

Ever since Jones tossed Tom Landry aside with no more thought than throwing yesterday's newspaper in the trash can, I've loathed the Cowboys more than any other sporting franchise. Landry was a class guy, and didn't deserve to be treated the way he was.

I guess it's due to my mindset about professional athletes and coaches in general that allows me to be a little more objective about them than many of my friends and colleagues. I refuse to wear another player's name or number on my back and I don't allow myself to get emotionally attached to them. I'm all about the team, not the player or the coach. I didn't shed a tear when we traded Russell. But I do understand and respect guys like @Welshers2.

I myself am a fan of the team regardless of staff, players, or ownership.

I’ll be a Seattle Seahawk fan until they are no longer Thee SEATTLE Seahawks, move the team and I’m out.
(Sonics)

 

[IndyHawk]

Nice post. You poured your soul out in your comments.

Outside of the first 3 paragraphs, I agree with everything you said, especially about our new HC. I, too, was hoping for an offensive minded coach as that seems to be a common thread with most successful teams. But the more I read and hear of Mike Macdonald, the more I like him. He's not going to be the fire and brimstone, steely eyes, in your face type of coach that Dan Campbell is, but the players and coaches sure seem to like him.

I, too, am very appreciative of what Pete has given us, and have defended him in several threads in this forum.

He had a soul pouring post on RW as well when we dumped him off to Denver.
He got me with that one

 

[olyfan63]

Not on a Seahawks sideline brother

Somebody make Welshers an animated GIF of Pete Carroll chewing gum, and post it here!

 

[olyfan63]

For me as well.

I grew up a fan of the combo of Tom Landry & Tex Schramm. Kept an ever active track of every player on Cowboy rosters for years. I didn't take the firing of Tom Landry well. Tex Schramm's departure followed shortly after as did my departure as a Cowboy fan.

I've witnessed two great combos. Landry and Schramm followed by Carroll and Schneider.

I don't know that it gets much better than that for any fan.

More of a Cowboy-hater, not really a fan, but...

Roger Staubach deserves a call-out as an all-time great. I hated him for it. He was so damn good, it was almost unfair. 3rd and 13, everybody covered, he'd run for 20 and the first down. Smart, tough, good. I think we could even call him the Patrick Mahomes of his day.

 

[olyfan63]

That's a good analogy except for one thing: Jody Allen handled the firing one helluva lot better than that scum sucking Jerry Jones. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt that it was the Jones-Landry incident that guided her and the boys at Vulcan as to how NOT to handle the dismissal of a long-time coach.

This might not be a good thread to discuss it, but that incident is what caused me to truly despise the Dallas Cowboys. I was a huge Cowboys fan back in the mid 60's, with Dandy Don Meredith, Bullet Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly, Dan Reeves, Don Perkins, et al. I watched the Ice Bowl live. My allegiance shifted to the Dolphins prior to my heart being permanently stolen in 1976.

Ever since Jones tossed Tom Landry aside with no more thought than throwing yesterday's newspaper in the trash can, I've loathed the Cowboys more than any other sporting franchise. Landry was a class guy, and didn't deserve to be treated the way he was.

I guess it's due to my mindset about professional athletes and coaches in general that allows me to be a little more objective about them than many of my friends and colleagues. I refuse to wear another player's name or number on my back and I don't allow myself to get emotionally attached to them. I'm all about the team, not the player or the coach. I didn't shed a tear when we traded Russell. But I do understand and respect guys like @Welshers2.

WTH? All this Cowboys babble and no mention of Staubach? Turn in your star-card, bro!

 

[RiverDog]

WTH? All this Cowboys babble and no mention of Staubach? Turn in your star-card, bro!

Staubach played for the Cowboys in the 70's, and by then, my true allegiance had changed to the Dolphins.

 

[olyfan63]

Well its happened. The Seahawks have a new coach. I was originally going to take some more time to digest all of this and stay quiet about it, but people keep asking me to weigh in. I talked with my therapist about this and she agreed I should make my thoughts public. So I've decided, due to popular demand, to make my feelings clear here.

<snip>
OMG, I accidentally saw papers in the waiting room that your therapist is Lizzie Borden IV too? I'm so excited!

Lizzie gave me the option to pour it all out, pour my heart out in the forum, or to pick up an ax and go find 40 jersey-wearing Rams and 49er fans, and well, you know, give them a few whacks. I decided it would be more satisfying to do the ax thing AFTER the next victory over the Rams or Niners. OK, so she did give a third option, to replay in my head, in advance, some smashing defensive plays, so I've been re-watching the Ravens-49ers game in my head where Purdy got picked 5 times, and just mentally substituting Seahawks unis for the Ravens purple and just visualizing the Hawks D making these plays. It's really been helping!!

Time codes for your own personal visualization exercise from the video below:

0:47
4:15
5:21
8:33
13:42

 

[12forlife]

View attachment 64268
Going to be a big hill to climb for Mac to eclipse what Pete did for the Hawks.
If he is truly going to elevate the team past the bar that has been set we are in store for an epic run.

I may just be optimistic, not counting '24 because of roster turnover / finding their guys, and implementing new schemes, and assuming we find our QBOTF, I hope to see the Hawks winning 10 -14 games a season under Mac! Just a feeling, but I feel the Hawks just put the NFC on notice! This isn't getting turned around in one season, but I can see by '26 we are SB contenders.

 

[olyfan63]

Nice post. You poured your soul out in your comments.

Outside of the first 3 paragraphs, I agree with everything you said, especially about our new HC. I, too, was hoping for an offensive minded coach as that seems to be a common thread with most successful teams. But the more I read and hear of Mike Macdonald, the more I like him. He's not going to be the fire and brimstone, steely eyes, in your face type of coach that Dan Campbell is, but the players and coaches sure seem to like him.

I, too, am very appreciative of what Pete has given us, and have defended him in several threads in this forum.

Funny, I never thought of Dan Campbell as a fire and brimstone guy, more like a straight shooter hold people accountable type, while doing his best to set the example, and caring deeply about each of his players and trying to help each of them reach the highest level of play they are capable of. I would have loved to have a coach like Dan Campbell in my sports career. But that's just me reading between the lines from what I've seen of him, and of course, MY version of that definition.

Fire and Brimstone guys (my definition, and based on superficial information) : Vince Lombardi, Mike Singletary, and then things are fuzzy after that. I'm sure there are more than that.

 

[RiverDog]

Funny, I never thought of Dan Campbell as a fire and brimstone guy, more like a straight shooter hold people accountable type, while doing his best to set the example, and caring deeply about each of his players and trying to help each of them reach the highest level of play they are capable of. I would have loved to have a coach like Dan Campbell in my sports career. But that's just me reading between the lines from what I've seen of him, and of course, MY version of that definition.

Fire and Brimstone guys (my definition, and based on superficial information) : Vince Lombardi, Mike Singletary, and then things are fuzzy after that. I'm sure there are more than that.

Lombardi and Singletary would qualify as fire and brimstone in my definition, too. So would George Allen and Mike Ditka. In more modern days, Jim Hairball would have to be included in that category. So would Pete. That's the opposite of guys like Tom Landry, who was a lot more reserved.

 

[chris98251]

Buddy Ryan could be added.