Tag: Pete Carroll

Washington State Senate honors former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll

Washington State Senate honors Pete Carroll

It no secret to anyone in our great country that we are divided politically. It is all the more evident as we enter into another presidential election year. But it is encouraging to see brief moments in the political arena where those on either side of the aisle can come together in unity.

Sports are often a vessel for such unity. Sure, there are rivalries between teams and opposing fan bases. But for those in the same fanbase? Harmony.

Such is the case for the 12th Man. Seattle and the Puget Sound area is more liberal, whereas the rest of the state is more conservative. Yet those who are red or blue put those differences aside on Sundays to become neon green.

It is currently towards the end of the legislative session in Washington, but the State Senate did take time earlier in February to honor former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. Senator Ann Rivers from La Center (R-LD18) introduced a resolution in the Senate to thank Carroll for his 14 years. While Senator Rivers was the prime sponsor, twenty other senators co-sponsored the resolution. Both Democrats and Republicans, from all over the state.

A copy of the resolution can be seen here.

Fortunately, this was not a divisive political issue in the State Senate, as the resolution passed.

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Commanders fill the last spot of Dan Quinn’s initial coaching staff

Dan Quinn’s coaching staff is complete.

Dan Quinn wanted one final coach, and he got him on Tuesday.

The Commanders head coach, in his first season, has added what the team announced is the last coach for this inaugural season of Quinn’s in Washington.

After serving as the Seahawks linebacker coach since 2018, Glenn now becomes a Commanders coach for Quinn, serving as the assistant special teams coach. Quinn leaves Seattle as one of 14 members of Pete Carroll’s 2023 staff who have relocated to other NFL teams. Carroll was fired after the completion of the 2023 season.

The connection here is that Quinn was the Seahawks defensive coordinator during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Glenn was employed by the Seahawks as well during those seasons, getting started in Seattle in 2012.

Also on that Seahawks staff those two seasons under Quinn was Ken Norton Jr, the linebackers coach. Norton has joined Quinn in Washington and will be the Commanders linebackers coach.

Also joining Quinn from Seattle is Larry Izzo who had served as the Seahawks Special Teams Coordinator during the 2018-2023 NFL seasons.

Spending his last 12 NFL seasons on the Pete Carroll Seahawks staff, Glenn also coached in the state of Washington with the Huskies as a quality control coach in 2010 and 2011. Prior to the University of Washington, Glenn was a linebackers coach for North Carolina Wesleyan College from 2006-08.

Glenn is married to his wife, Leigh, and they have three sons: Nate, Luke, and Will.

Commanders hire Tom Donatell as defensive backs coach

Donatell is the son of a longtime NFL assistant coach.

Dan Quinn filled another position on his defensive staff Wednesday, naming Tom Donatell as Washington’s new defensive backs coach.

Donatell, 34, played defensive back at Iowa and began his coaching career at the college level as a graduate assistant at the University of South Florida in 2013. After two seasons there, he took the position at UCLA for the next two seasons.

He came to the NFL in 2017, joining Pete Carroll’s staff with the Seattle Seahawks. Donatell was a quality control/defensive assistant in Seattle. It was there that Donatell worked with new Commanders linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. Norton was Seattle’s defensive coordinator for three of Donatell’s four seasons with the Seahawks.

He joined Brandon Staley’s staff with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 as the assistant defensive backs coach. He was promoted to defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach in 2023, but Staley and his staff were fired at the conclusion of the season.

Donatell is the son of longtime NFL assistant Ed Donatell. The elder Donatell has coached the secondary for numerous NFL teams and has been the defensive coordinator for the Packers, Falcons and Vikings.

Donatell joins Jason Simmons, who was named Washington’s defensive pass game coordinator last week.

Former Seahawks DB DeShawn Shead joining Dolphins coaching staff

DeShawn Shead says he’ll be moving on to join Mike McDaniel’s staff on the Miami Dolphins.

One of the less-famous members of the Legion of Boom when they were at their peak was cornerback DeShawn Shead, who played for the Seattle Seahawks for five years (from 2013 to 2017). In 54 games he totaled 153 tackles, 24 pass breakups and two interceptions. After his time in Seattle ended he spent one season with the Lions, then retired as a player.

Since the 2021 season Shead had been working as an assistant on former head coach Pete Carroll’s staff, working as an assistant defensive backs coach. Now Shead says he’ll be moving on to join Mike McDaniel’s staff on the Miami Dolphins.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3TnRxIvInq/?hl=en&img_index=1

It’s a good landing spot for Shead, as Mcdaniel’s staff is one of the most forward-thinking in the league and Miami is a team on the rise in a crowded AFC contender picture. Shead will get a chance to work with one of the best secondary units in the league, featuring Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland.

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Jim Harbaugh talks Chargers, national championship, Pete Carroll, and Justin Herbert

In a recent one-on-one with Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh discussed his new job, the national championship, and much more.

This week, I spoke with new Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh about several subjects — both Super Bowl LVIII, and not, courtesy of Verizon, the official 5G network of the NFL.

Here’s what we discussed:

  • Why it was time for him to return to the NFL for the first time since 2014.
  • The responsibilities inherent in coaching a quarterback with Justin Herbert’s insane athletic potential.
  • How much winning the National Championship with Michigan factored into his decision.
  • Harbaugh’s thoughts on Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes.
  • His remembrances of the Seattle Seahawks’ former coach Pete Carroll (against whom he battled at the NCAA and NFL levels).
  • His thoughts on new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who was Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2021.
  • And of course, the Seahawks’ new special teams coordinator — his son, Jay Harbaugh.

You can watch the video right here.

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4 scenarios for Geno Smith and the Seahawks with key date looming

Here are four scenarios to consider as the Seahawks approach a major deadline in regards to Geno Smith’s contract.

Geno Smith has done a splendid job leading the Seahawks offense these last two years. His contract is reasonable, his attitude is exactly what you would hope for from a QB1 and he’s easily the most qualified candidate to lead this team heading into the 2024 season. However, a lot of factors are working against his possible return.

For one thing, Smith lost his biggest supporter in the building after the team removed Pete Carroll as their head coach. Smith also has his relatively advanced age (he’s 33 years old now) and a very strong 2024 draft class at quarterback to contend with.

So, what should Seattle do with Smith? It’s a hot debate on Twitter right now with not a whole lot of nuance between the two camps – one of which that seems to believe Smith is an elite QB, and the other which is inexplicably desperate to see Drew Lock (or more accurately literally anyone but Smith) get a chance to start.

Let’s see if we can offer some better alternatives. Here are four scenarios to consider as the Seahawks approach a major deadline in regards to Smith’s contract – if he’s still on the roster one week from today he’ll get $12.7 million of his 2024 salary fully guaranteed.

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Bobby Wagner talks about his future with the Seahawks

One key factor in that will be his relationship with the team’s new head coach, Mike Macdonald.

Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner played in his ninth Pro Bowl game yesterday, the most of any player on the field. Now heading into his 13th season in the NFL, Wagner faces an uncertain offseason. While he has said he wants to continue playing, his contract is up so he’ll either thave to re-sign with the Seahawks or find work somewhere else – as he did in 2022 with the Rams. If Wagner does decide to stay, he’ll be doing it under a new head coach.

Earlier in the weekend Cameron Wolfe caught up with Wagner, who shared some of his thoughts on Mike Macdonald and the organization.

 

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Today is the 10th anniversary of Seattle’s triumph in Super Bowl XLVIII

Today is the 10th anniversary of Seattle’s triumph in Super Bowl XLVIII

Pop the champagne bottles tonight, 12s. This isn’t just any ordinary Friday night, it is the 10th anniversary of the Seattle Seahawks’ triumphant and dominant 43-8 victory in Super Bowl XLVIII.

It has been a recent joke about how much the city of Seattle owns Denver, specifically when it comes to the Seahawks and Broncos. But Feb. 2, 2014, is where the one-sided bullying truly began.

The greatest single-season offense in NFL history vs. the greatest single-season defense to ever take the field. Peyton Manning vs. the Legion of Boom. A showdown for the ages!

Or so we thought. The Broncos folded like a cheap suit against the immense physicality of the LOB, who shut them out for three whole quarters of play.

It’s truly hard to believe it’s already been a decade since this glorious moment. In many ways it feels like a lifetime ago, and yet it feels like it happened yesterday. The highlights from the single greatest moment in franchise history live on forever, and highlight reels are most assuredly revisited countless times by the 12th Man.

While these memories are still fun, I cannot help but feel something I haven’t felt before when it comes to this Super Bowl: a sense of finality. This is the first anniversary of Super Bowl XLVIII where Pete Carroll, the grand architect of Seattle’s first championship, is no longer the head coach. They say all good things must end, and we’ve reached the conclusion to this story.

But with this sense of finality is a renewed sense of gratitude. What Carroll built in the Pacific Northwest was truly the golden era of Seahawks football. While Seattle was certainly no stranger to making the playoffs before Carroll, they weren’t going to be confused for an NFL blueblood either. Typically, when teams that aren’t routine Super Bowl contenders finally win one, they quickly fade back into obscurity, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Not Carroll’s Seahawks. It says a lot about Carroll that he remained with Seattle for a decade after winning a Lombardi. His team returned to the Super Bowl the following year and remained contenders for the remainder of his tenure in the Pacific Northwest.

So take a moment tonight, 12s, to raise a glass to Carroll and soak in the glory from Super Bowl XLVIII. Watch highlights, wear the old championship hat or T-shirts, and reminisce. Not every fan gets to say they watched their favorite team win their first championship, and we did because of Pete Carroll.

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Here’s how 12s are reacting to the news on Twitter.

The Seahawks got their guy. After waiting three weeks for the Ravens to get bounced from the playoffs, they are hiring Baltimore’s 36-year old defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their next head coach. He’s going to be here a while too, as NFL Network is reporting he’s signing a six-year deal.

Macdonald was arguably the best defensive playcaller in the league this season, which should help this current Seattle team where they need it most. Despite having talent at all three levels, they got disappointing results on this side of the ball in 2023. Let’s see how fans are taking the news.

Here’s how 12s are reacting to the news on Twitter.

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Seahawks giving Mike Macdonald a 6-year deal as their head coach

According to Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, Macdonald is getting a six-year deal with Seattle.

The Seahawks have a new head coach. News just broke that the team is expected to hire Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to replace Pete Carroll, although the deal is not officially official as of yet.

According to Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, Macdonald is getting a six-year deal with Seattle.

Macdonald got his first coaching gig at the high school level, serving as linebackers and running backs coach for Cedar Shoals in Georgia. From there he moved up to Georgia as a graduate assistant, then two years as their defensive quality control assistant.

In 2014 he got his first job in the NFL as a coaching intern with the Ravens. From there, he worked his way up to defensive assistant, then defensive backs coach, then linebackers coach. In 2021 he spent a year under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan as his defensive coordinator, then he returned and spent the last two seasons as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator.

At just 36 years old, Maconald is now the youngest head coach in the league.

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