Paul Allen is, first and foremost, an incredibly successful businessman. He stays out of the day to day football operations, but I am sure he has his finger on the pulse of the business side of the Seahawks operation. Maybe through focus groups, maybe through managers, but he is keenly aware of where the business is going.
I can't be the only person out here who, after several years of looking for season tickets, suddenly has several offers on the table, some of which were conditional on what happens with Cable and Bevell.
I have to think that Allen and his management group have heard of this, and see the writing on the wall. For that reason, I actually do think that he very well may have called a meeting with Carroll and Schneider to discuss this. I'm sure they all knew what needed to happen, but I would be very surprised if, given the looming business situation, Paul Allen didn't get directly involved.
I doubt he would have in any year prior, when there wasn't a potential business issue, but it is different this year, and it certainly appeared that Carroll wasn't making the move on his own, and any pressure from Schneider wasn't moving him.