Pete Carroll? The Bears could do worse.
Carroll is 73 going on 50. The power of his personality makes a difference. He’s got a unique enthusiasm that would fit well in Halas Hall and shake it up at the same time. He’s won a Super Bowl and was a bad break from winning another one. Carroll knows what makes people tick. And he gets the most out of everyone — or at least more than the Bears usually do. When Carroll hired Shane Waldron, the quarterback made the Pro Bowl all three seasons, with Geno Smith going from NFL journeyman to $40 million man. When the Bears hired Waldron, he lasted nine games. One strong personality with football sense makes a huge difference.
But as much as the Bears could use this Pete Carroll, what they need is the next Pete Carroll. With Caleb Williams in place but badly in need of direction heading into his second season, the Bears need an offensive-minded head coach thinks and acts like Carroll, and can mentor and nurture Williams over the long haul.
Carroll, who made the playoffs 10 times in 14 seasons with the Seahawks before being pushed aside after the Seahawks missed the playoffs at 9-8 last season, is looking to return to the NFL and is interested in coaching the Bears, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
That trial balloon was shot down in Chicago almost as soon as it went up. He’s too old. He hasn’t won a playoff game since 2019. His last three Seahawks teams were a combined 25-26. He’s a defensive coach who needs a good offensive coordinator. And the last one he hired was Waldron.
All fair points. But Carroll’s apparent candidacy is a reminder of how much the Bears need someone like Carroll at Halas Hall. His aggressiveness elicits aggressiveness in his teams and everyone around him. He has a knack for finding players who might not necessarily be kumbaya good guys, but are often winners and leaders — something the Bears desperately need. You think it was a coincidence that Marshawn Lynch became an intimidating “Beastmode” running back under Pete Carroll?
Carroll’s Legion of Boom defense with the Seahawks epitomized this — the embodiment of what the H.I.T.S. principle was supposed to be. His best teams played hard, or as hard as a team could in this era of the NFL. The NFC Championship Game between Carroll’s Seahawks and Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers after the 2014 season was one of the most hard-hitting games you’ll ever see — two old-school teams slugging it out with a relentless aggressiveness that was a lesson for the rest of the league. That’s the impact of good, football-driven head coaches.
Carroll has an open-mindedness to match his aggressiveness. How many other coaches would have given a 5-foot-11 quarterback drafted in the third round a fair shot to win the starting job as a rookie after signing Matt Flynn to a three-year, $26 million contract (starters money in those days) to be the starting quarterback. Carroll did that and Russell Wilson not only became a starter but a star who made eight Pro Bowls and won nine playoff games, including Super Bowl XLVIII — and was one play from winning Super Bowl XLIX.
So maybe the timing isn’t right for Carroll. But he’s the kind of coach the Bears need — a combination of Mike Vrabel/Dan Campbell’s “leader of men” persona and Ben Johnson’s inventive offensive acumen. In fact, if Bears had this Pete Carroll in Kevin Warren’s or Ryan Poles’ office at Halas Hall, they’d have a much better chance of finding the next Pete Carroll.
