A disappointing 2021 season has left some Seahawks fans demanding that certain members of the organization be fired, specifically coach Pete Carroll. However, other fans have opposed the notion that Seattle should part ways with its head coach who has led them to sustained success over the past decade, along with former Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril.
Avril sat down with 710 ESPN Seattle and declared that the “Fire Carroll” crowd is overreacting to this season and that significant changes should not be made unless Seattle consistently misses the postseason.
“Is that a real question? Twelve seasons and you have one bad season and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, we change.’” Avril said. “No, the grass is not greener on the other side. If this is a consistent thing for the next three years, OK, now we’ve got to have that conversation. But one bad season? I feel like it’s kind of unnecessary.”
It is true that this is the Seahawks’ first losing season in a decade, but that does not necessarily mean it has been their only bad season in that time span. The 2016 Seahawks team benefitted from being in the worst division in the NFL and barely managed a winning record while some questionable officiating played a role in a few victories.
The 2017 squad featured an anemic offense with one of the worst running games of all time carried by Russell Wilson and kicking woes spearheaded by the scorned Blair Walsh, and nobody should be fooled by the 9-7 record. They have played down to the level of inferior opponents for several years and continue to do so.
External factors such as injuries have come into play over the years, but the fact of the matter is that Seattle has not looked like a legitimate championship contender since Super Bowl XLIX with the exception of 2020, in which they started out 5-0 and finished 12-4, suffering a humiliating wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams soon after. Different players and coordinators have come and gone, but the one constant here is Carroll.
However, Avril has argued that the lack of a solid defense and running game in recent years has made the Seahawks’ continued achievement of 10+ win seasons under Carroll all the more impressive.
“None of that has been around the last couple of years. And they still have won double-digit games,” Avril said. “They might not have gone far in the playoffs per se, but they still are winning ball games and we can’t negate that.”
That sentence is fairly key, though: “They might not have gone far in the playoffs.” They have not. Strong regular seasons do not mean much when a team consistently gets bounced in the first or second round and many 12s seem to share that sentiment. Carroll has retained his job for now, but will he last much longer?
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