Pete Carroll seems to be a very polarizing figure these days. Some on Seahawks message boards praise his genius, others think he is a washed up has been that needs to hang it up. I think both sides make good points, but in reality I think the true answer is somewhere in the middle.
Pete Carroll really is giving me Mike Holmgren vibes. Mike Holmgren towards the end of his Seahawk career was extremely rigid. Once upon time he was at the cutting edge but he stopped growing and adapting with the game. He was stuck in his 1990s West Coast offense philosophy. He still was an offensive genius, and quite possibly one of the best coaches to ever coach the game. The league, however caught up with him and he reached a point where he no longer could coach at an elite level. He could still hold his own but it was clear that his best days had passed him by. Just recently Holmgren was on a radio show, and the host asked him "why haven't you looked for a coaching gig again?" He said something really interesting. He essentially said that the game had evolved and it was different than the game he was familiar with.
This is where I see Carroll at this point in time. He isn't a bad coach, not by any means. I just think we're watching a guy that has his best years behind him. He's still a decent coach, but he'll never bring us to the promise land again.
Carroll got to the SuperBowl through really unconventional tactics and drafting. He took players that traditionally were considered fringe NFL talent, and role players and used them in really odd ways. Players such as Sherman and Chancellor were thought to have hips that were too stiff to play their role, and lack the change of direction needed to be anything other than role players. I remember scouts suggesting that Kam Chancellor be switched to LB in scouting reports.
Carroll took players like Wilson, Chancellor, Sherman, Avril/Clemons, Avril/Clemons and used them in unconventional ways. Tweener pass rushers? We used them as 3-4 linebackers in a 4-3 system in the elephant role with great success -- guys that were thought of being nothing but situational pass rushers. Carroll gave a short QB a shot at starting his rookie year, and he used big corners who were originally thought to be unplayable at starting cornerback positions, and a safety that played an almost LB/SS hybrid.
What Carroll did is he saw ways that these players could be utilized that others didn't. He was a mad scientist. Carroll singlehandedly changed the perception of fast, undersized pass rushers, big lumbering safeties, big corners all in one fell swoop. I'd say he was also responsible for ushering in a resurgence of power running games. The league didn't know how to deal with Carroll's defense when he finally assembled it, and even for many years after he gave teams fits. Carroll was a trend setter in many different ways. After 2013 everyone was looking to emulate the Seahawks way, and integrate it into their own system. Big cornerbacks suddenly got lots of attention, short QBs like Johnny Manziel, Kyle Murray, and Baker Mayfield all of the sudden got taken at the top end of the draft.
Carroll changed the league and repurposed players that nobody deemed valuable. Unfortunately when other teams started hiring our coaches, and copying our style the talent pool that was onced untapped got lots of competition.
After the 2012 I saw a big slow down in the drafting prowess of Pete Carroll. We traded away significant picks for Percy Harvin, and then we traded away for Jimmy Graham for a first and our best offensive lineman. We started whiffing on a lot of draft picks and then clear nepotism started taking place. Bevell and Cable stuck around for way past their expiration dates. As a result Carroll lost his locker room to some extent, and he had to purge the problem children along with the coaching staff that had aloud this behavior to propagate.
As a result of a slew of bad trades, poor drafts and nepotism the Seahawks begun a downward trajectory. We went from being world beaters to being a one and done fringe playoff team. It's been that way ever since 2015 and onward. In fact in Carroll's reboot he hired another retread coordinator in Schottenheimer and a DC that was known for being bad in Oakland, and he has lived up to his reputation. Poor coordinator choices all around, less so with Schottenheimer, because at least he was considered one of the best QB coaches/mentors in the NFL.
All of this coupled with some really questionable game planning, and purposely handcuffing your QB and best player for years on end, plus an antiquated offense and you've got the recipe for a coach that isn't utilizing his talent in an efficient manner.
That sounds like a lot of negatives, but fortunately for Carroll he still is a great team manger if nothing else. He knows how to unlock the potential in his players, and he is very good at getting everybody on the same page. If he would do less micromanaging in games I think he would have better results, but unfortunately sometimes he would rather win his way than go with the most efficient tactic available.
Fortunately he seems to understand that this year we need to rely on our offense to get anywhere. I hope a 2015 doesn't happen again where he lets Russell lose then immediately goes back to the same tired offense.
Carroll is still a decent coach, but I think he's ultimately going to be wasting Russ's career if things continue on the same trajectory as it has since 2015. His drafts also have more promise thus far in the last few years than the ones earlier. He hasn't done anything that warrants firing, and he still is a decent coach, though I think Carroll has been bailed out quite a bit by Russell Wilson. I personally don't think that he has another SuperBowl left in him. What it ultimately boils down to is the fact that Carroll is the devil we know. He sells out stadiums, and never has losing seasons. This is why he will stay for as long as he wants. Though, I also think that leaves the Seahawks in a perpetual one and done playoff limbo. That is where we have been since 2015, and I think that is where we stay underneath Carroll. He's peaked, and he has lost his edge, but he is still knows how to guide the Seahawks to winning seasons.