Pete Carroll’s Seahawks Future

OK, there has been a lull in the news developments. In checking with John Wooten of the Fritz Pollard Alliance about the Rooney Rule ramifications of a coaching change, I also asked for clarification about how that policy applies to front-office positions.

He explained that the rule applies to high-level football operations positions such as general manager, executive vice presidents. It did not, however, apply to presidents because many of the presidents across the league — perhaps most — don’t have any involvement in football operations. Now that wasn’t the case in Seattle with Tim Ruskell, who was both president and general manager. Wooten then said that the indications from Seattle would be that those positions would be split.

Read that last sentence. Now, it’s not the final word on what Seattle plans to do because the Seahawks could always change their mind, but with Pete Carroll now firmly identified as part of Seattle’s future, it could be a hint as to what will happen.

Seattle could name Carroll as president and head coach and hire a general manager, and Wooten confirmed that Seattle had expressed the intention to interview Marc Ross, the director of college scouting for the New York Giants. Wooten said another minority candidate had been identified by Seattle, but did not reveal that.

Combine a couple of things here:

• Carroll has previously talked to NFL teams about coaching vacancies. Everywhere from Atlanta to Miami. The fact he would choose to go to the NFL would lead you to believe he’s getting something this time around that he wasn’t offered in the past.
• The fact that Seattle has indicated it intends to split the position of general manager and president and yet has multiple identified minority candidates for that general manager position leaves open the possibility that someone will come in as coach and have final authority over football decisions as president.

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