Jim Mora FIRED
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Seahawks ready to give Carroll keys to the kingdom
Why exactly is USC coach Pete Carroll on the verge of becoming both president and head coach of the Seattle Seahawks?
From his perspective, there are the usual suspects:
-- Paul Allen's money.
-- All the keys to the castle, with the increasingly rare opportunity to be an NFL head coach with the power over personnel and front-office decisions as well, while bringing in a general manager to do the day-to-day work.
-- And don't overlook the element of timing, with the wheels wobbling for the first time in Los Angeles for Carroll's powerhouse program as NCAA investigators are circling and two players -- running back Joe McKnight and wide receiver Damian Williams -- both declared early for the NFL draft on Friday.
It's worth reading this piece by Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, who delves into the trouble building in Los Angeles around the Trojans' program and why Carroll is interested now in leaving USC after spurning previous NFL overtures.
But Carroll isn't the only one changing his tune. Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke said just five weeks ago -- at Tim Ruskell's resignation -- he was looking for someone to fit in with what the Seahawks were doing and not the other way around.
But at that time, Leiweke was also married to the idea of retaining Mora. In the ensuing weeks, the Seahawks spiraled into an ugly four-game losing streak to end the season, several players publicly complained about things and expected improvement was nowhere to be seen despite a healthier roster.
So Allen decided change was in order. And that meant Leiweke was suddenly looking for a head coach, president and general manager.
Mike Holmgren had pushed for one of those titles -- team president -- but opted for more money and power in Cleveland before the season had ended and Mora's ouster was cemented.
Ironically, having decided a major, one-time makeover was preferable to bringing in a new GM to work with a struggling coaching staff, Allen obviously pushed for a new splash similar to the one he made with Holmgren's hiring in 1999.
The Seahawks needed a face of the franchise who could be smoother with the press and more of a natural leader with the team than Mora, who appeared to be flailing at times with his public reactions to the mounting defeats.
It all added up to the perfect storm to lure Carroll north and that deal appears imminent.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting Carroll is close to finalizing a five-year deal for $7 million a year.
Given Allen's resources and the Seahawks desire to make a big splash and turn around their struggling franchise, it wouldn't be surprising if that number climbs even higher when the contract is finalized.
The Seahawks can't make any announcement until they satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires interviewing a minority candidate for any head coaching opening, so don't expect a final proclamation until possibly Monday.
Team officials are flying to Minneapolis to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier on Saturday, so the Seahawks can't officially proclaim any sort of decision until after that meeting.
No offense to Frazier, but all signs are pointing toward Carroll being the Seahawks' solution to two problems, replacing both Mora and team president Tim Ruskell.
Carroll would then bring in a general manager or personnel director to head his scouting and football operation.
Baltimore's Eric DeCosta and Philadelphia's Tom Heckert have both withdrawn their names from consideration from the GM opening, but Carroll might have his own candidate in mind -- such as former New York Jets associate Pat Kirwan -- and the Seahawks are known to be bringing in Giants scouting director Marc Ross for an interview next week.
Carroll's NFL head coaching background was mixed as he was fired by the New York Jets after one year and then the New England Patriots three years after taking over a Super Bowl team and seeing the team's record decline each season.
But Carroll has since become one of college football's most-visible and successful leaders in winning two NCAA championships and seven straight Pac-10 titles with the Trojans.
So now the wheels are spinning forward on a change that would shake up not only the Seahawks' organization, but the Pac-10 and college football world.
And while many will wonder why Carroll is making this move now, an equally intriguing question for Seahawks' fans would seem to be why Allen is interested in giving Carroll the keys to the franchise when the same power structure didn't work with Holmgren.
That and other answers will eventually be forthcoming. Just don't expect to get official word on Carroll until later this weekend, or more likely on Monday when the Seahawks can line all their ducks up in a row and present the new face of the franchise in proper fashion.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/190555.asp
Why exactly is USC coach Pete Carroll on the verge of becoming both president and head coach of the Seattle Seahawks?
From his perspective, there are the usual suspects:
-- Paul Allen's money.
-- All the keys to the castle, with the increasingly rare opportunity to be an NFL head coach with the power over personnel and front-office decisions as well, while bringing in a general manager to do the day-to-day work.
-- And don't overlook the element of timing, with the wheels wobbling for the first time in Los Angeles for Carroll's powerhouse program as NCAA investigators are circling and two players -- running back Joe McKnight and wide receiver Damian Williams -- both declared early for the NFL draft on Friday.
It's worth reading this piece by Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, who delves into the trouble building in Los Angeles around the Trojans' program and why Carroll is interested now in leaving USC after spurning previous NFL overtures.
But Carroll isn't the only one changing his tune. Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke said just five weeks ago -- at Tim Ruskell's resignation -- he was looking for someone to fit in with what the Seahawks were doing and not the other way around.
But at that time, Leiweke was also married to the idea of retaining Mora. In the ensuing weeks, the Seahawks spiraled into an ugly four-game losing streak to end the season, several players publicly complained about things and expected improvement was nowhere to be seen despite a healthier roster.
So Allen decided change was in order. And that meant Leiweke was suddenly looking for a head coach, president and general manager.
Mike Holmgren had pushed for one of those titles -- team president -- but opted for more money and power in Cleveland before the season had ended and Mora's ouster was cemented.
Ironically, having decided a major, one-time makeover was preferable to bringing in a new GM to work with a struggling coaching staff, Allen obviously pushed for a new splash similar to the one he made with Holmgren's hiring in 1999.
The Seahawks needed a face of the franchise who could be smoother with the press and more of a natural leader with the team than Mora, who appeared to be flailing at times with his public reactions to the mounting defeats.
It all added up to the perfect storm to lure Carroll north and that deal appears imminent.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting Carroll is close to finalizing a five-year deal for $7 million a year.
Given Allen's resources and the Seahawks desire to make a big splash and turn around their struggling franchise, it wouldn't be surprising if that number climbs even higher when the contract is finalized.
The Seahawks can't make any announcement until they satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires interviewing a minority candidate for any head coaching opening, so don't expect a final proclamation until possibly Monday.
Team officials are flying to Minneapolis to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier on Saturday, so the Seahawks can't officially proclaim any sort of decision until after that meeting.
No offense to Frazier, but all signs are pointing toward Carroll being the Seahawks' solution to two problems, replacing both Mora and team president Tim Ruskell.
Carroll would then bring in a general manager or personnel director to head his scouting and football operation.
Baltimore's Eric DeCosta and Philadelphia's Tom Heckert have both withdrawn their names from consideration from the GM opening, but Carroll might have his own candidate in mind -- such as former New York Jets associate Pat Kirwan -- and the Seahawks are known to be bringing in Giants scouting director Marc Ross for an interview next week.
Carroll's NFL head coaching background was mixed as he was fired by the New York Jets after one year and then the New England Patriots three years after taking over a Super Bowl team and seeing the team's record decline each season.
But Carroll has since become one of college football's most-visible and successful leaders in winning two NCAA championships and seven straight Pac-10 titles with the Trojans.
So now the wheels are spinning forward on a change that would shake up not only the Seahawks' organization, but the Pac-10 and college football world.
And while many will wonder why Carroll is making this move now, an equally intriguing question for Seahawks' fans would seem to be why Allen is interested in giving Carroll the keys to the franchise when the same power structure didn't work with Holmgren.
That and other answers will eventually be forthcoming. Just don't expect to get official word on Carroll until later this weekend, or more likely on Monday when the Seahawks can line all their ducks up in a row and present the new face of the franchise in proper fashion.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/190555.asp
jimmy johnson won the super bowl in 92 and 93 and barry switzer won the SB in 95 with mainly johnsons players. just hoping carrol is as good of a talent evaluator as jimmy johnson was. all your other points were spot on though. i dont know how i feel about it yet. kindof indifferent to it all right now
Sources: Seahawks hire USC's Carroll
Pete Carroll has reached agreement with the Seahawks on a deal to be their next head coach, multiple NFL sources confirmed early Saturday morning.
Carroll was fully expected to be introduced by the Seahawks as early as Monday, assuming they comply with the Rooney Rule this weekend.
The hangup could be locating a candidate to interview that would put the Seahawks in compliance with the rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head-coaching hires.
On Friday, Jim Mora became the first Seahawks coach to be let go after one season.
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier could agree to interview, but he is unwilling to do so if Carroll has been promised full control of the Seahawks -- and multiple sources say he has.
Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke told Frazier that Carroll definitely does not have Seattle's job.
Believing Leiweke, Frazier will interview for the Seahawks head coach job Saturday morning.
Seattle also contacted the agent for Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, but as of Saturday morning nothing had been set up.
But the bottom line is, Carroll's agreement with Seattle is "100 percent done," one NFL source close to the situation said.
In a text message to ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Friday, Carroll said, "You know I haven't responded to a NFL question in two years."
But a league source told Mortensen that Carroll was trying to persuade USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates to join him in Seattle -- as opposed to Bates pursuing the same position with the Chicago Bears.
Mora attended a meeting Friday morning with management, at which time he was told by Leiweke, the Seahawks' CEO, that he did not win enough games to save his job.
The Seahawks ended the season on a four-game losing streak to finish 5-11.
Mora was shocked by his dismissal, believing that when he was called to Leiweke's office that he would be in a discussion about the team's vacant general manager's job, Seahawks sources told Mortensen.
"This team, more importantly this community, means so much to me that it hurts not being able to see this through," Mora said in a team-issued statement. "I am disappointed I did not get the chance to complete my contract. This is a tough business that sometimes demands immediate gratification."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4810861
Pete Carroll has reached agreement with the Seahawks on a deal to be their next head coach, multiple NFL sources confirmed early Saturday morning.
Carroll was fully expected to be introduced by the Seahawks as early as Monday, assuming they comply with the Rooney Rule this weekend.
The hangup could be locating a candidate to interview that would put the Seahawks in compliance with the rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head-coaching hires.
On Friday, Jim Mora became the first Seahawks coach to be let go after one season.
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier could agree to interview, but he is unwilling to do so if Carroll has been promised full control of the Seahawks -- and multiple sources say he has.
Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke told Frazier that Carroll definitely does not have Seattle's job.
Believing Leiweke, Frazier will interview for the Seahawks head coach job Saturday morning.
Seattle also contacted the agent for Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, but as of Saturday morning nothing had been set up.
But the bottom line is, Carroll's agreement with Seattle is "100 percent done," one NFL source close to the situation said.
In a text message to ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Friday, Carroll said, "You know I haven't responded to a NFL question in two years."
But a league source told Mortensen that Carroll was trying to persuade USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates to join him in Seattle -- as opposed to Bates pursuing the same position with the Chicago Bears.
Mora attended a meeting Friday morning with management, at which time he was told by Leiweke, the Seahawks' CEO, that he did not win enough games to save his job.
The Seahawks ended the season on a four-game losing streak to finish 5-11.
Mora was shocked by his dismissal, believing that when he was called to Leiweke's office that he would be in a discussion about the team's vacant general manager's job, Seahawks sources told Mortensen.
"This team, more importantly this community, means so much to me that it hurts not being able to see this through," Mora said in a team-issued statement. "I am disappointed I did not get the chance to complete my contract. This is a tough business that sometimes demands immediate gratification."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4810861
I thought seahawks would do alot better than what they did this year, but take into consideration the injuries, they have a decent roster. Lets be realistic here, you guys have good fans, good stadium and a good team, stay healthy next year you will be competing for the division + a nice pick in the first, dont be so down..
not that I was a fan of Jim Mora but if you think of it he really got stabbed in the back on this one.
I mean, those weren't his players. It's a new system. Massive amounts of injuries. Basically no o-line. 1 year isn't enough time for shit, especially considering those things. He finished with a better season (5-11) than Mike Holmgren's final year (4-12).
Again, probably a good decision but from his perspective he got fucked.
I mean, those weren't his players. It's a new system. Massive amounts of injuries. Basically no o-line. 1 year isn't enough time for shit, especially considering those things. He finished with a better season (5-11) than Mike Holmgren's final year (4-12).
Again, probably a good decision but from his perspective he got fucked.
Someone else said this in that article I posted up there: http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/190555.asp
thats true to a certain degree
but tell me u wuldnt watch a good match up like...Colts n Pats, Vikings n Packers, Cowboys n Saints?
Shit i consider this Cinci vs NY game on rite now a good game...n id prolly still watch it if there was other games on...
i aint watch a seahawks game in YEARS...since Sean Alexander was on the cover of madden n shit
but tell me u wuldnt watch a good match up like...Colts n Pats, Vikings n Packers, Cowboys n Saints?
Shit i consider this Cinci vs NY game on rite now a good game...n id prolly still watch it if there was other games on...
i aint watch a seahawks game in YEARS...since Sean Alexander was on the cover of madden n shit
Wow, Jim Moore is bringing hate to another level on this one.
Karma's going to bite the Seahawks on this one
By JIM MOORE
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM
I don't know how long the term's been around, much longer than I've known about it, that's for sure:
"Hater."
Defined as someone with intense animosity or dislike. It applies today because I've officially become a Seahawks hater after their firing of Jim Mora and hiring of Pete Carroll.
The Seahawks have lowered themselves to Dennis Erickson status -- the Go 2 Guy roots against Arizona State because of the way the Sun Devils coach big-timed Idaho.
Isn't it funny how these things turn out? The Vandals won the Humanitarian Bowl 43-42 over Bowling Green when Erickson's replacement, Robb Akey, went for two. He went for two! Man, that was a beautiful thing. I say that for two reasons:
1) I love Akey.
2) I had Idaho +1.
And where was Erickson during the holiday season? Home with his non-bowl-eligible Sun Devils, who were the worst team in the Pac-10 this year, non-Coug division.
In the next year or so, Erickson will get his pink slip from ASU and it will serve him right. Karma's a vindictive customer.
The Seahawks will get theirs too someday. I don't like the way they handled Mora's dismissal, first intimating that he would return and then letting him talk to the media last Wednesday as a coach who thought he still had the job but didn't.
Unbeknownst to Mora and everyone else, Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke was meeting secretly with Carroll in Los Angeles. If not another year as coach, Mora deserved better treatment in his final days.
I'm not on board with Carroll either -- his success at USC doesn't necessarily translate to the NFL. Erickson, for example, was terrific at Miami but never truly made it as an NFL coach in Seattle and San Francisco.
With this move, Leiweke and the Seahawks remind me of Matt Millen and the Lions from a few years ago -- buffoonery loves company, I guess. And to think that Mora was looking for dirtbags … he could have found one just down the hall.
On some levels, I get the firing of Mora -- if you ask me, he should have gotten another year, but you can certainly build a plausible case for his termination anyway; his players either quit on him or did not respect him, maybe both.
But to replace him with Carroll? I'll cut back on the full-time hating if the Seahawks hire him solely as coach. But president and coach? What has Carroll done to deserve that much control in the NFL?
Record-wise, he was an OK coach with the Jets and Patriots, and there are those who would argue that he was much worse than that. I heard Mike Salk on 710 ESPN Seattle saying that Carroll was terrible in New England, and the sports-talk show host was in Boston at the time.
So what is it? Just because he was lights out at USC, does Leiweke really think he's going to be a winner with the Seahawks? Apparently so because he threw $35 million at him, or $7 million a year.
Now if the Seahawks said they had somehow talked Bill Cowher into coming west of the Mississippi, I would have given them a standing ovation and called Big Lo and Mama Blue and Mr. and Mrs. Seahawk and thrown a party.
But Pete Carroll? The only thing I like about this move is that he won't be at USC anymore, and the Trojans will certainly struggle in their transition with the next coach.
It's interesting how divided Seahawks fans are on Carroll's hiring. When asked in a Seattle Times poll if Carroll was a good choice, as of Sunday afternoon, 38 percent of the voters said no, 35 percent said yes and 27 percent weren't sure.
(For whatever it's worth, the Go 2 Wife loves the Carroll hiring. Why? Because he's been so dominant at USC? No, because he's good looking.)
Let me lay it out as I see it. Monday afternoon, a beaming Carroll will be introduced by a beaming Leiweke as they pose for a cheesy photo op at Seahawks headquarters.
Reporters will ask the new coach all kinds of very pertinent but extremely boring football questions. Then someone will ask if he has a dog.
Later, Coach Sark will take Coach Pete on a real estate tour of Medina, and they'll laugh to the point of crying while telling each other: "Can you believe that everyone in Seattle thinks we're football gods just because of our connection to USC?"
In a few months, the NCAA will levy severe sanctions against the Trojans, making the Seahawks' hiring of Carroll look even more dubious than it does now.
Then after the 2012 season in which the Seahawks go 7-9 and fail to make the playoffs, a non-beaming Leiweke will give Carroll a vote of confidence before firing him the next day. Then he'll sneak off to interview Carroll's replacement while making a mockery out of the Rooney Rule again.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh will go on "The Dan Patrick Show" and say that he really, really wishes he had signed with the Vikings in '09 while Salk will be telling his listeners: "I told you so."
The following month, ESPN will hire Carroll as a studio analyst, where he'll be his glib, wonderful, handsome self. Mike Holmgren will be in Cleveland, taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.
Mora will have finished his third season as defensive coordinator with another NFL team, and he'll text Hugh Millen to say: "Jesus, Huey, am I glad I'm not in Seattle anymore."
http://www.seattlepi.com/football/414064_moore11.html?source=rss
Karma's going to bite the Seahawks on this one
By JIM MOORE
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM
I don't know how long the term's been around, much longer than I've known about it, that's for sure:
"Hater."
Defined as someone with intense animosity or dislike. It applies today because I've officially become a Seahawks hater after their firing of Jim Mora and hiring of Pete Carroll.
The Seahawks have lowered themselves to Dennis Erickson status -- the Go 2 Guy roots against Arizona State because of the way the Sun Devils coach big-timed Idaho.
Isn't it funny how these things turn out? The Vandals won the Humanitarian Bowl 43-42 over Bowling Green when Erickson's replacement, Robb Akey, went for two. He went for two! Man, that was a beautiful thing. I say that for two reasons:
1) I love Akey.
2) I had Idaho +1.
And where was Erickson during the holiday season? Home with his non-bowl-eligible Sun Devils, who were the worst team in the Pac-10 this year, non-Coug division.
In the next year or so, Erickson will get his pink slip from ASU and it will serve him right. Karma's a vindictive customer.
The Seahawks will get theirs too someday. I don't like the way they handled Mora's dismissal, first intimating that he would return and then letting him talk to the media last Wednesday as a coach who thought he still had the job but didn't.
Unbeknownst to Mora and everyone else, Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke was meeting secretly with Carroll in Los Angeles. If not another year as coach, Mora deserved better treatment in his final days.
I'm not on board with Carroll either -- his success at USC doesn't necessarily translate to the NFL. Erickson, for example, was terrific at Miami but never truly made it as an NFL coach in Seattle and San Francisco.
With this move, Leiweke and the Seahawks remind me of Matt Millen and the Lions from a few years ago -- buffoonery loves company, I guess. And to think that Mora was looking for dirtbags … he could have found one just down the hall.
On some levels, I get the firing of Mora -- if you ask me, he should have gotten another year, but you can certainly build a plausible case for his termination anyway; his players either quit on him or did not respect him, maybe both.
But to replace him with Carroll? I'll cut back on the full-time hating if the Seahawks hire him solely as coach. But president and coach? What has Carroll done to deserve that much control in the NFL?
Record-wise, he was an OK coach with the Jets and Patriots, and there are those who would argue that he was much worse than that. I heard Mike Salk on 710 ESPN Seattle saying that Carroll was terrible in New England, and the sports-talk show host was in Boston at the time.
So what is it? Just because he was lights out at USC, does Leiweke really think he's going to be a winner with the Seahawks? Apparently so because he threw $35 million at him, or $7 million a year.
Now if the Seahawks said they had somehow talked Bill Cowher into coming west of the Mississippi, I would have given them a standing ovation and called Big Lo and Mama Blue and Mr. and Mrs. Seahawk and thrown a party.
But Pete Carroll? The only thing I like about this move is that he won't be at USC anymore, and the Trojans will certainly struggle in their transition with the next coach.
It's interesting how divided Seahawks fans are on Carroll's hiring. When asked in a Seattle Times poll if Carroll was a good choice, as of Sunday afternoon, 38 percent of the voters said no, 35 percent said yes and 27 percent weren't sure.
(For whatever it's worth, the Go 2 Wife loves the Carroll hiring. Why? Because he's been so dominant at USC? No, because he's good looking.)
Let me lay it out as I see it. Monday afternoon, a beaming Carroll will be introduced by a beaming Leiweke as they pose for a cheesy photo op at Seahawks headquarters.
Reporters will ask the new coach all kinds of very pertinent but extremely boring football questions. Then someone will ask if he has a dog.
Later, Coach Sark will take Coach Pete on a real estate tour of Medina, and they'll laugh to the point of crying while telling each other: "Can you believe that everyone in Seattle thinks we're football gods just because of our connection to USC?"
In a few months, the NCAA will levy severe sanctions against the Trojans, making the Seahawks' hiring of Carroll look even more dubious than it does now.
Then after the 2012 season in which the Seahawks go 7-9 and fail to make the playoffs, a non-beaming Leiweke will give Carroll a vote of confidence before firing him the next day. Then he'll sneak off to interview Carroll's replacement while making a mockery out of the Rooney Rule again.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh will go on "The Dan Patrick Show" and say that he really, really wishes he had signed with the Vikings in '09 while Salk will be telling his listeners: "I told you so."
The following month, ESPN will hire Carroll as a studio analyst, where he'll be his glib, wonderful, handsome self. Mike Holmgren will be in Cleveland, taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.
Mora will have finished his third season as defensive coordinator with another NFL team, and he'll text Hugh Millen to say: "Jesus, Huey, am I glad I'm not in Seattle anymore."
http://www.seattlepi.com/football/414064_moore11.html?source=rss
