NFL Rumors: Pete Carroll is on Rams’ head coaching wish list

As the Los Angeles Rams start looking for a new head coach, they may have Pete Carroll on their wish list for Santa Claus.

Immediately upon Jeff Fisher’s overdue firing Monday afternoon, a wide range of candidates surfaced to replace him as Los Angeles Rams head coach. Among the rumored names to this point have been Jim Harbaugh and Jon Gruden, but the Rams may have interest in another big name.

According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo!, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is on the Rams’ expanding “wish list” of candidates to be their next head coach. The tie between Carroll and the Rams is a convenient one, if not incredibly flimsy, based on his incredibly successful run as head coach at USC from 2001-2009. But there is no indication of mutual interest right now, and that’s what matters the most.

There was some doubt for a time last offseason, however minimal, that Carroll would be with the Seahawks beyond this season. But a contract extension announced during the summer has him committed to Seattle through the 2019 season. That’s not to say a contract can’t be broken for a new opportunity, but the Rams would likely have to give up multiple draft picks to bring Carroll back to Los Angeles. That may be a price they’re willing to pay, but Carroll has an enviable situation in Seattle that he does not seem inclined to leave.

The Rams are right to aim high in their search for Fisher’s replacement, in a big market where they are competing for attention and trying to spur fan interest. But Carroll is probably the most unrealistic candidate they can consider, including Harbaugh.

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Strange things do happen in the football coaching carousel, and the Rams may place a phone call to Carroll’s agent soon. But they should quickly move on to other candidates, after a polite rejection, and someone else will surely be the Rams’ head coach in 2017.