A Seahawks Leap of Faith...

The NFL playoffs are a fascinating time of year. It's a time where every analyst from ESPN to some random sports blogger (*cough*) can break down each game in every direction, and make gimmicky picks against their mothers. It is also a time of transition. The first Monday after the final game is widely known as 'Black Monday' and the couple of weeks following are known for new general managers, new coaches, new staff, and new schemes.

This year, one of the more interesting situations landed in Seattle, which happens to be the team I follow closer than any other in professional sports. It has caused me to be glued to websites such as ESPN.com, and Seahawks message boards.

And after countless hours spent reading articles stating the pros and cons of the Pete Carroll hire, it’s time for me, the Seahawk's #1 twenty-nine year old Calgary-based fan, to chime in! I would like to dissect every part of the story and every criticism against the Pete Carroll hiring... and honestly, I could write 10,000 words on this, but I will try to keep it short(ish).

THE JIM MORA FIRING:

Last Wednesday, Jim Mora took to the podium as Seahawks head coach and delivered what was called the 'State of the Union' speech. He said he is still working hard to improve this team, and once again improve next season. (The Seahawks 'improved' in '09 from '08. They went from 4

wins to 5. At that pace, they would be a playoff team by 2014!) He mentioned that he was excited to see the team on the field next season. Little did he know that the only way he would be seeing the team on the field in '10 was the same way I would be seeing the team on the field in '10: by buying a ticket. Apparently word had come down from the top (Paul Allen, aka Mr.

Weatherbee) that it was time for a new direction. Mora was canned, and almost immediately it was reported by ESPN (Chris Mortenson) that the target for the Seahawks was Pete Carroll.

Was Mora treated poorly? Well, he was shocked by his firing, but more importantly, did Mora and his coaching staff DESERVE another year? In my opinion (once again, self proclaimed Seahawks know-it-all), it all hinged on the offensive coordinator Greg Knapp. In my opinion, the five month old panda cub Yun Zi could guide an offense better than Greg Knapp. If it came down to Mora proclaiming, 'If he goes, I go!', then good riddance!

Seahawks CEO Todd Liewicki was quoted as describing the Seahawks front office situation as 'dysfunctional', and that is understandable. Two seasons ago, there was a major rift between then-coach Mike Holmgren, and then-GM Tim Ruskell. Ruskell forced Holmgren's hand in resigning and named then-Defensive Backs coach Jim Mora Jr. as coach-in-waiting. All hell broke loose, and no one had been able to pull it together. What better way to solve the problem then cleaning house and starting anew.

Marty's Verdict: HELL YES!

THE CARROLL HIRING:

As stated up there ^, the Seahawks were immediately rumoured to be interested in Pete Carroll, and I believe I could even hear the collective voices of Seattle mutter 'pardon me?' when the rumour was announced. I immediately began the six steps of a team rumour:

1. Disbelief - 'That cannot be true!'

2. Anger - 'It better not be true!'

3. Confusion - 'Why would they look to HIM???'

4. Dumbfoundness - 'Bah! Huh?'

5. Rationalization - 'Well, he did win two national titles.'

6. Acceptance - 'Ok, I can handle this!'

It took approximately 90 seconds to get through those initial steps, and since then, I have been in the 'Motivated' phase.

**A side note of this process was the mockery that the Seahawks made of the Rooney Rule, which states that a team must interview at least one minority candidate when hiring for front office positions. The Seahawks reached out to Leslie Frazier (Defensive Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings) to make sure they were in compliance. I have to ask, what good is the Rooney Rule in a situation like this? Isn't it actually LESS effective to make a 'fake' interview? I believe there should be a change to the rule that would read:

Rooney Rule: When interviewing MORE THAN ONE CANDIDATE for a front office position, a minority candidate must be in the mix. Both the situation in Seattle, and also in Washington (The Redskins brought in their own DC Jerry Grey to comply with the rule before hiring Mike Shanahan), only one candidate was ever considered, but a second minority

candidate still HAD to be interviewed. What a sham!

Marty's Verdict: I'm drinking the Kool-Aid

LEAVING USC BEHIND

The S is hitting the fan at the University of Southern California. It seems as though they have not run the most, uh, reputable program over the last decade, and it’s just now reaching daylight. First, Reggie Bush is taking a house from an agent for his mom, and then Joe McKnight is driving around hummers. Hell, even the recruiting for basketball seems to be done with cruel intentions. It seems like everyone will pay dearly for this one... and it has the talking heads wondering if this is a reason Carroll left USC like a rat fleeing a sinking ship.

...And you know what, it might be true. But the fact of the matter is that he spent nine years at USC and accomplished everything a coach can accomplish at a college. He won seven PAC-10 championships, two national titles, nurtured the skills of three Heisman trophy winners, and apparently hid a pill popping assistant coach on staff for as long as he could. Like I said, what else is there to accomplish?

When he was last seen in the NFL, Pete Carroll had been fired as Head Coach of the New England Patriots after three seasons and a 27-21 record (plus 1-2 in the playoffs). He immediately went to a team in disarray. A team that had had a couple of down years, and had just come off an incompetent coach. The cupboards were bare and talent was slim.

Sound familiar?

In just his second year at USC, they were the top of the conference, and playing meaninful games after the ball in Times Square had dropped.

As a Seahawks fan, I can only hope we are playing in January 2012.

Marty's Verdict: L.A. sucks. Seattle is great. Easy choice.

THE MOTIVATION:

One of the biggest questions of note when thinking about Carroll’s ability to coach in the NFL is, he can motivate 18 year old freshmen, but can he motivate 25 year old millionaires?

I listened intently to the press conference introducing Carroll as the new coach, and with every word passed through his Attention-Deficit-Disordered lips, I wanted week one to be here more and more. I headed to the Seahawks message boards, and the message was clear: 'WE ARE PUMPED ABOUT THIS!’ I received emails just moments after Carroll had stepped off the podium from friends and fellow Seahawks, and once again it was unanimous! I headed to the interwebs, and the twitters, and even Seahawks players were pumped! Aaron Curry even tweeted 'Iight Pete...LET'S DO THIS'. If you can read through the, as Harry Reid called it, 'Negro Dialect', you can clearly see that Curry is pumped.

If Carroll can pump up me, and others like me, then why can't he get those around him pumped up to beat the living hell of the other team on the field?

Marty's Verdict: I am MOTIVATED!!!

THE COACHING STAFF:

Here is what we know:

- Jeremy Bates (pictured left, with Carroll) is on board as Offensive Coordinator. This is the best news of the coaching changes. The one-time Bronco OC is known as a rising star in the coaching world, and was destined to go to join his good friend Jay Cutler in Chicago before his USC boss took a job in Seattle. Now the rising star has landed in the Pacific Northwest and is ready to make a star out of this entire offense.....we hope!

- Handling the O-line is the legendary Alex Gibbs, who is leaving a consultant spot for the Texans in the dust for much brighter days in the overcast skies of Seattle!

- Another rising star and former NFLer, Ken Norton Jr. will be handling LB Coaching duties, and will have TONS to work with: two All-Pros in Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill, along with Aaron Curry, who was touted as the best player in the 2009 draft. If Norton can focus the energy of this crew, they could end up with an awesome nickname like 'Smash-Crash-and-Flash' or something like that. Hell, if RB duo's get nicknames, why can’t we name a LB trio, too? By the way, Lofa would be Flash! That guy is awesome!

What we don’t know yet is who will be the Defensive Coordinator. People were originally saying DeWayne Walker (New Mexico St. Head Coach) would step in, but it now looks like it could be former Bills DC Jerry Grey and Dan Quinn (current Seahawks DL coach, not former NHLer) splitting the duties.

Marty's Verdict: NCAA Goodness!

THE QUESTIONS LEFT TO BE ANSWERED:

- Who will be the GM? The names being thrown around right now are former Titans head-honcho Floyd Reese and Omar Khan from the Steelers. I would love to see Reese as GM, as he is responsible for the drafting on three Rookie of the Years, and that does not include Albert Haynesworth and the late Steve McNair.

- Can Carroll COACH? We know he can motivate and we know he has put together a decent staff, but can he actually put together a game plan?

- Is Carroll a different coach than he was 9 years ago? (Read: Is he ready for an NFL challenge again?) I wish I had the answer to this one. Mike Lombardi seems to think so, and I can only hope so!

After all, this is my team, and he is my coach.