CHICAGO (AP) — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith put in a good word for former coach Pete Carroll, saying any team would be fortunate to have him on the sideline.
So did his teammates.
“Coach Carroll, man, is a special human being,” Smith said after the Seahawks' 6-3 win over the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. “He's a believer. He's a guy who's always gonna be upbeat. He's always going to fight. He has one way about him, and that's what I love about him. I think we're very, very much the same in that way. We just go. There's no stop, nothing like that. We just go.”
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon echoed that.
“He’s a players’ coach, man,” he said. “A lot of players are going to gravitate toward him as soon as he gets there, if he does get that job. He knows how to make work (not) feel work, so that’s what makes it fun playing for him.”
ESPN reported this week that he is interested in returning to coaching after moving into an advisory role with the Seahawks at the end of last season.
Carroll led Seattle to its lone Super Bowl championship during a 14-year run that included 10 trips to the playoffs. He is also won a national championship at USC, making him one of four coaches to win the top NFL and college prizes along with Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer and Jim Harbaugh.
The Bears, who drafted former USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, are looking for a coach to replace the fired Matt Eberflus. The New York Giants and New Orleans Saints also fired coaches this season.
Carroll finished with a 137-69-1 record in the regular season with the Seahawks, leading them to five NFC West titles and 10 playoff victories.
He became the first coach to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Seattle with the Seahawks' Super Bowl 48 victory over Denver. The organization never fully recovered from what happened in the Super Bowl 49 against New England, when Russell Wilson threw a goal-line interception in the final seconds.
“I only played with him for eight weeks, unfortunately,” said defensive end Leonard Williams, who was acquired from the Giants at last year's deadline. “I think he's a great coach. I love playing for him. I would have wanted to play more for him. But the way things worked out, I'm loving where I'm at, obviously.”
Carroll and former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron helped Smith emerge as a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2022 and 2023 after being limited by injuries and playing for struggling teams earlier in his career.
“Coach Carroll, he can help out any team,” Smith said. “He can help out anybody.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Andrew Seligman, The Associated Press
