Pete Carroll was fired as the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach on Wednesday after a franchise-best 14-year run with the team.
Seattle made it sound like the parting was mutual and indicated that Carroll will transition into an advisory role. However, Carroll told reporters later on Wednesday that he fought to keep his job in a meeting with Seahawks owner Jody Allen.
The question here is whether the 72-year-old Carroll will return to coaching. He was the oldest head coach in the NFL at the time of his firing. It would obviously have to be a perfect fit for Carroll to return to the sidelines. Here, we look at four ideal landing spots.
Related: Seattle Seahawks head coach candidates to replace Pete Carroll
UCLA Bruins hire Pete Carroll
There were rumors late during the 2023 college football season that UCLA might fire Chip Kelly after six years. That did not come to fruition after he led the Bruins to a win over the rival USC Trojans. But this doesn’t mean that the Bruins’ brass won’t kick the tires on Carroll.
Remember, Carroll was USC’s head coach from 2001-09. He led that program to its last sustained run of success. Why wouldn’t UCLA look at this as an opportunity? While a return to USC in some capacity makes sense, Carroll would provide the Bruins with that national name to help with recruiting as the program transitions to the Big Ten.
Related: UCLA transfer portal tracker
Tennessee Titans replace Mike Vrabel with Carroll
Tennessee’s surprising decision to fire Mike Vrabel seems to suggest something is up within the organization. After all, he did lead the Titans to three playoff appearances in six seasons. Unfortunately, a lack of talent led to struggles over the past two seasons (13-21 combined record).
Despite this, Tennessee’s brass seems to think that it can compete over the short term. If the team was headed to a rebuild, it likely would’ve hung on to Vrabel. Sure, the Titans need to add more talent to their roster. But hiring the well-respected Carroll would be a nice start.
Related: Tennessee Titans to reach out to future Hall of Fame head coach
Las Vegas Raiders hire Pete Carroll
Vegas is seemingly closer to contention than Tennessee. Again, competing over the short term would have to be in the cards for someone of Carroll’s age. There is also something to be said about Vegas retaining interim head coach Antonio Pierce after he led the team to a 5-4 record following the firing of Josh McDaniels.
What we do know is that Raiders owner Mark Davis is going big-game hunting. That includes eyeing Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh. Should this not come to fruition, Carroll would make a ton of sense.
Related: Top NFL head coach candidates of 2024
Alabama replaces Nick Saban with Pete Carroll
Replaing one 70-plus head coach with another might not make a ton of sense. Alabama is also being linked to young options following Saban’s shocking decision to retire. It makes sense in this new college football climate with the transfer portal as well as NIL money coming into play.
- Pete Carroll college coaching record: 97-19, .836 winning percentage
But as you can see, Carroll enjoyed a ton of success with USC. He’d be a natural transition from Saban’s brilliant tenure in Tuscaloosa.
It also must be noted that the whole Carroll exit from USC amid major scandals took part during another era in college football. That wouldn’t be the case if he opted to return and coach Alabama this time around.
Related: Top Alabama Crimson Tide head coach candidates to replace Nick Saban