The idea for a top-10 list of NFL coaches came from a segment two weeks ago on KJR radio in Seattle. Dick Fain pointed out that one of the various slow-time lists omitted Seahawks coach Pete Carroll from the ten best coaches.
Is Carroll a top-10 coach? he asked me.
The problem with answering that question in a vacuum is that, once you get through all 32 teams, you’ll have 20 top-10 coaches.
So I started making a list, focusing just on the top 10. And, yes, Carroll absolutely gets a spot. He has a high spot. As the headline to this blurb reveals, he’s No. 5.
With 161 regular-season career wins and 172 total victories including the postseason, Carroll is moving toward the top 10 in both all-time lists. Last year, he passed Hall of Famers Joe Gibbs and Bud Grant. Over the next year or two, Carroll will likely catch Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.
Carroll, who coached the Jets and Patriots before becoming a college-football legend at USC, has seen his best NFL work come in Seattle. He quickly turned a franchise that had fallen post-Super Bowl XL into a champion and perennial contender. Currently, he’s in the process of nudging a new-age Seattle team back to the top of the mountain, with the Seahawks entering 2023 in the second cut of contenders behind the Eagles and 49ers in the NFC.
Carroll has done it largely with defense and a balanced offense. Tensions with Russell Wilson, who craved the chance to be a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen-style quarterback, resulted in a divorce that for years seemed to be inevitable. And the Seahawks are better for it. The credit for that should flow to Carroll.
He’ll likely stay put as long as he wants. Even as he closes in on 72, he moves and acts on the field like a far younger man.
Owner Jody Allen eventually will sell the team pursuit to her late brother Paul’s wishes. But she has no firm timetable for doing so — and she seems to be in no hurry to do so. She also seems to be in no hurry to hire a coach other than Carroll.
And that’s smart. They’ve been one of the best teams in the NFL since Carroll arrived, and they’ll likely stay there for as long as he sticks around.
