Russell Wilson or Pete Carroll: Who Is to Blame for Disaster in Seattle?

Since being selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of 2012’s NFL Draft, Russell Wilson has been the face of football in Seattle. He led the team to a Super Bowl win and is an eight-time Pro Bowler. Wilson hasn’t done it all on his own thought.

His head coach, Pete Carroll, has been there since draft day to lead and teach his young quarterback. However, as we head into 2022, Wilson is no longer young and Carroll might have shared all the wisdom he has. 

Now, as we approach Week 13 of the NFL season, the extended pairing of these two future Hall of Famers might be coming to an end. The Seattle Seahawks are currently 3-8 and in need of a rebuild. It appears a divorce is on the horizon for these two. And much like when a romantic marriage ends, there are signs and signals from both parties leading up to the eventual announcement. Those things are beginning to happen as the Seahawks continue to fall apart. 

The latest, and greatest, sign that these two are heading for a split came back before the season even started. After last year’s Super Bowl, Wilson commented that he was “frustrated with getting hit too much.” As the trade rumors grew, Wilson even fanned the flames by saying he want to be more involved with personnel decisions like other top-level quarterbacks.

This, for me, was the beginning of the end for Seattle. In my opinion, what Wilson is saying here is that he can do a better job than Carroll in certain situations. 

The trade rumors disappeared once the season started with Wilson under center in a Week 1 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. But, after the Seahawks started losing, and Wilson missed the first start of his career, those whispers are becoming chatter again. With the season lost, and Wilson coming off the most serious injury of his pro career, Seattle has some decisions to make. 

The situation came to a boiling point following the team’s most recent loss to Washington when Pete Carroll left a postgame press conference and did not return. This is a very un-Pete Carroll thing to do. Before he left, he did say that he didn’t know what to make of the loss and that, “I felt like there are some guys open tonight with some chances and unfortunately didn't pick it up.”

This sounds suspicious like, “I saw some open guys that Wilson didn’t get the ball to.” 

As far as who is to blame for the downfall of the Seahawks? I would lean a lot more toward Carroll and the front office who haven’t done enough to surround Wilson with talent during his prime years. I think it’s not so much a coaching issue, aside from the call not to run the ball with Marshawn Lynch against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl (a story for another day), as it is a GM and personnel issue. It’s no wonder that Wilson wanted more say in those team decisions. 

This will be Wilson’s first losing season in his 10-year career and the seventh in a row that the Seahawks haven't reached the NFC title game. At 33-years old, Wilson has precious time left to continue playing at a high level and would do well to get himself on a better team for 2022.