NFL Rumors: Russell Wilson asked for Pete Carroll to be fired, QB denies report

Russell Wilson denies the rumors that he wanted Pete Carroll and John Schneider to be fired.

Fences need to be mended after the fractured relationship between Russell Wilson and his former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

Despite playing big parts in their Pro Football Hall of Fame careers, all good things must come to an end. The Athletic reported that Wilson apparently wanted Seattle to fire Carroll (subscription required) and general manager John Schneider before he was inevitably traded to the Denver Broncos last offseason. Wilson believed they prohibited him from being able to receive accolades and win Super Bowls.

Supposedly, Wilson put in a request for Carroll and Schneider’s termination in February 2022. This came shortly before he was dealt to Denver. Wilson apparently believed Sean Payton would be the one to get the most out of his talent now firmly in his 30s. Fate would have it, Payton was hired by the Broncos after the unmitigated disaster that was the Nathaniel Hackett hiring last offseason.

Of course, Wilson has denied these rumors by sending out a tweet very early on Friday.

"“I love Pete and he was a father figure to me and John believed in me and drafted me as well. I never wanted them fired. All any of us wanted was to win. l’ll always have respect for them and love for Seattle.”"

Seattle won year one of the divorce, but Wilson has a chance to redeem himself with Payton now.

Russell Wilson denies he requested to have Pete Carroll and John Schneider fired

The only way Wilson will silence his critics is to ball out in year one with Payton as his head coach. Wilson was always seen as a bit of the Drew Brees prototype coming out of Wisconsin. Payton achieved coaching greatness previously with Brees as his hall-of-fame quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. However, Wilson did play for a hall-of-fame head coach in Carroll for a decade.

Carroll may have cut his teeth on the defensive side of the ball, but ever since reinventing himself at USC in the early 2000s, he has always seemed to get the best out of his players. Look no further than transforming Wilson’s former backup Geno Smith into a Pro Bowler on a playoff-bound team. Wilson is coming off by far and away his worst year as an NFL starting quarterback.

Look. While there will be winners and losers in this divorce, it does not need to be this lopsided. As long as Wilson can play up to his potential, then it may help us move on from this mess. However, should he be totally washed as a player, then all the credit of what they did together in Seattle will go to Carroll. If Wilson cannot make this work with Payton, then the Legion of Boom was right.

All eyes are on Wilson to prove he can still be a franchise quarterback at this stage of his career.