No Legion of Boom means new life for Pete Carroll in Seattle

Pete Carroll is wiping the slate clean in Seattle, starting with the end of the Legion of Boom. Could the Seahawks actually be better off in 2018?

For the Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl XLIX will always be remembered as the championship they let slip away. As for Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, it’s a backbreaking experience he’d rather forget, even if it means dumping those that remind him along the way.

You know the story.

It’s second-and-goal with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is watching helplessly from the sidelines as Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and the human battering ram, Marshawn Lynch, line up with the intention of driving the final stake into the heart of Patriots nation.

Every armchair coach in the world would have called a running play to Lynch in that situation, and yet Carroll, with all of his infinite football wisdom, went along with the decision to let Wilson drop back for a pass to try and win the game.

Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the route and picked off the pass intended for receiver Ricardo Lockette to ice the Super Bowl.

Game over.

The narrative of a potential football dynasty in Seattle quickly transformed into a cataclysmic infatuation with one of the worst play-calling decisions in Super Bowl history.

Carroll, an astute head coach with a tendency of flying by the seat of his pants, never regained the full trust of his team after that play, particularly among the starring members of the Legion of Boom.

The heralded Seahawks defense was key in the team’s return to prominence, as well as the smooth transition for Carroll in his triumphant return to NFL coaching.

But the former University of Southern California head coach was quickly reminded the difference between coaching grown, professional athletes and kids in a college football program.

There simply was no getting off the hook for the infamous Super Bowl blunder with alpha standouts like Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril on the roster.

ESPN’s Sam Wickersham dropped a bombshell story last year depicting the souring after effects of that game against the Patriots, but no one needed to read a news article to get a sense of the growing tension in the locker room.

Frustrations boiled over into the public through sideline blow-ups and controversial interview quotes. The Seahawks had literally reached a point of no return. Whether it was the Legion of Boom or Carroll, somebody needed to go.

"“Sometimes it’s tough, because two is better than one, obviously,” former Seahawks defensive end Avril said, when speaking to NFL.com’s Dave Dameshek. “You think about what could have happened — if we win that Super Bowl, I think we probably would have won another one in the two years that went by. I do think the team would have bought in more to what Coach Carroll was saying, instead of going the opposite way of, hey, this is what we thought the foundation of the team was, and that’s not what happened in that particular play.”"

Now Carroll has discovered a new foundation to build his team on, and it’s one that isn’t constantly reminding him of the greatest shortcoming of his coaching career.

Lynch left for Oakland, and Bennett was shipped away in a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles. Sherman, Avril and cornerback Jeremy Lane were all released after the 2017 season, while Chancellor’s future remains up in the air with a neck injury.

The smash-mouth team founded on defense has shifted its philosophy to an offense centered on Wilson.

Carroll can once again walk the halls of CenturyLink Field with no concerns of dissension in the locker room over a game that happened three years ago. For most of the players on the current roster, Super Bowl XLIX is nothing more than an old tape gathering dust in a film room.

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As for the few remaining members of the original team, like Earl Thomas and Bobby Wagner, that game is a subject best forgotten for now. In one fell swoop, for better or worse, Carroll has retaken control of the Seahawks.

While they may not be equally as talented as the team that once boasted the best defense in football, they are finally united under one coaching voice.

A player’s coach flying by the seat of his pants and being the most important voice in the room—Carroll wouldn’t have it any other way.