John Schneider’s partnership with Pete Carroll resulted in one Lombardi Trophy and another Super Bowl appearance. Now, Schneider said he must “look forward” as he helps lead the Seattle Seahawks’ search for a new head coach.
Schneider met with reporters Tuesday for the first time since the Seahawks announced Carroll would not remain their head coach after 14 seasons.
Carroll, 72, will assume an advisory role within the organization instead.
“Pretty emotional press conference the other day,” Schneider said. “When I say your emotions are all over the place, it’s moving on from a very, very historic partnership and amazing, amazing level of success and achievement that Pete and myself are extremely proud of.
“I look forward to being able to call Pete and text him. He’s already texting me like crazy all the time like, ‘Hey Johnny, what’s going on with this and that?'”
It marks Schneider’s first search for a head coach. He and Carroll joined Seattle in the same offseason in 2010. Schneider joked that he was prepared to lead that head-coaching search but found out the franchise had already decided on Carroll.
Carroll reported directly to owner Jody Allen, who has controlled the team since her brother Paul Allen passed away in 2018. But now, the structure will change and the eventual hire and his staff will report to Schneider.
“Our setup earlier was … the coaching staff did not fall under my umbrella, and now it will,” Schneider said. “It’s not necessarily a Jody Allen decision or choosing this person or that person, it’s just a contractual situation.”
Schneider said the team has not decided whether to consider candidates from the college ranks. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh — Carroll’s old rival in both the Pac-12 and the NFC West — is testing the NFL waters again, having interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It’s wide open still,” Schneider said. “There’s so much movement in college football already.”
The Seahawks have requested interviews with at least eight candidates, per multiple reports:
–Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero
–Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham
–Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
–New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka
–Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris
–Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
–Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik
–Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith
Schneider said Jody Allen has been “concise” in describing what she wants the Seahawks’ next head coach to bring.
“We want to keep our positive culture, everything that’s been created here … ” Schneider said.
“There’s so many special people in this building. It’s amazing to be on the phone with all these agents and the people that are interested in this position and to be able to explain to them, ‘Hey, there’s a foundation here that’s incredible.'”
