Let’s remember that Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks is the oldest head coach in the NFL.
Carroll is almost seven months to the day older than New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, seven years older than Kansas City’s Andy Reid, 11 years older than the next two oldest coaches, Washington’s Ron Rivera and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh, and 35 years older than the youngest head coach, Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams.
Yet you would be hard-pressed to find any head coach with as much energy and optimism as the ageless and timeless Pete Carroll has.
Carroll, in his 14th season as Seattle’s head coach, still gets fired up after a victory, as he showed Monday night after his Seahawks stunned the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-17, in the final minute of the game on a touchdown pass from Drew Lock to rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Pete Carroll gave a locker room speech that was vintage Carroll.
What about Pete Carroll’s future?
There’s been speculation about whether Pete Carroll will retire or return for a 15th season in Seattle.
Yet Lock’s TD pass literally saved the Seahawks, who came into Week 15 with only a one-in-five chance of making the playoffs.
Now, Pete Carroll has the Seahawks (7-7) within striking distance of yet another playoff berth. Sitting currently as the No. 8 seed in the NFC, the Seahawks have a 57-percent chance of advancing to the NFL postseason. That number jumps to 64 percent if the Seahawks beat Tennessee on the road Sunday.
During Pete Carroll’s tenure, the Seahawks have only missed the playoffs three times. Chances are, if the Seahawks advance for a second straight year, with either Lock or Geno Smith as the starting quarterback, we might see more excitement in 2024 out of the effervescent Carroll, whether he’s chomping gum on the sidelines or making impassioned postgame speeches.