John Madden: Pete Carroll will forever be haunted by Super Bowl loss
It has been three-plus months since the Seattle Seahawks’ loss in Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, but John Madden doesn’t think time will heal Pete Carroll’s wounds.
It has to be tough making it all the way to the Super Bowl only to fall short by four points with a chance to win the game at the one-yard line. That’s exactly what Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has to deal with even since his team lost 28-24 to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX in that exact scenario.
With just 25 seconds remaining, Carroll had a choice to make as the Seahawks were on the Patriots’ one-yard line with a second and goal call looming.
Carroll even had a timeout left in his back pocket with the league’s biggest bruising running back, Marshawn Lynch, in the backfield. It seemed pretty obvious that the play would be a run and if the Seahawks didn’t make it, they could always use their last timeout.
However, Carroll wanted to catch the Patriots’ defense off-guard, passing the ball with Russell Wilson on a little roll-out, but the play ended in disaster. Wilson threw an interception, ending the game for the Seahawks and a potential Super Bowl repeat.
Former NFL head coach John Madden weighed in on the matter in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
"“That will torment him forever. Winning one game is hard. Getting to the Super Bowl is hard. Then getting that close and losing has to be tough, because we only remember the winners of the Super Bowl.One of the biggest gaps in sports is the difference between the winning and losing teams of the Super Bowl. They don’t invite the losing team to the White House. They don’t have parades for them. They don’t throw confetti on them.Does it haunt you? Hell yes, it haunts you. I’m still haunted by some championship games.”"
Those are strong words coming from a head coach who lost five conference championships and won just one Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders. He’s right, though. It’s going to be tough for Carroll who has been in the league for just a few years even though he still has an entire career ahead of him.
Carroll is always going to remember the title that got away and something that no one will ever remember him for. No one is going to look back and give him half a victory because he had a chance to win before making a terrible play call to lose the game.
He will always be remembered for the wrong call at the one-yard line. Haunting stuff.
H/T: Pro Football Talk
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