After a year away from the NFL, former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is ready to get back on an NFL sideline, and he has his eye on a specific sideline. There are currently three jobs that will be interviewing candidates for next season: the Bears, Jets, and Saints. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it’s the job in Chicago that Carroll has his eyes on. 
Carroll has taken breaks from NFL coaching jobs in the past to much success. After his first stint as a head for the Jets, as a result of promotion from defensive coordinator, ended unceremoniously after one year, Carroll rebounded as a defensive coordinator for the 49ers before earning his second head coaching job with the Patriots, whom he took twice to the playoffs and with whom he never had a losing record. Despite the surface-level success in New England, team owner Robert Kraft fired Carroll after a late-season slide cost them a playoff spot in 1999.
Carroll then chose to become a head coach at the collegiate level, as opposed to returning to the NFL as a defensive coordinator again. After a rough 6-6 inaugural year as a college head coach with USC, Carroll quickly turned the Trojans into a powerhouse program, winning the conference seven straight years and winning back-to-back national championships in 2003 and 2004, not to mention just missing out on a three-peat after falling to Vince Young and the Longhorns in 2005.
Carroll turned his college success into another opportunity to coach in the NFL, landing the job in Seattle that he held for 14 years. In all that time, Carroll only had three losing seasons (twice going 7-9 and once going 7-10), amassing a career-record in Seattle of 137-89-1. He made the playoffs 10 times and twice made it to the sport’s season finale, winning the franchise’s only Super Bowl title. When the Seahawks narrowly missed the postseason last year due to a tiebreaker, Carroll and Seattle mutually agreed that he would step down from his post as head coach.
Nearly a year later, Carroll is ready to put his hat back in the ring. The question is: where could he go? This year’s crop of head coaching candidates has been deemed as a weaker class, especially after one of the stronger candidates, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, made the decision to take a head coaching at the collegiate level with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Schefter’s report claims that Carroll is interested in the Chicago job, but is he a good fit?
The Bears have made it known in preliminary conversations about who will replace Matt Eberflus that they are hoping to bring someone in who can develop and mold rookie No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. While Williams shares a USC connection with Carroll, the two were never there at the same time. Additionally, Carroll’s defensive-minded background would require him to come in with a plan on which assistants he could bring in to develop Williams. The Bears’ supposed preference leads many to believe that an offensive-minded coordinator like Kliff Kingsbury or Ben Johnson would be a better fit, especially since Kingsbury was a mentor of Williams at USC just last year.
So, if not Chicago, what city seems to make more sense as Carroll’s next destination? The Jets have a history of hiring defensive-minded head coaches, as well as a history of hiring guys named “Pete Carroll.” They just fired a former defensive coordinator in Robert Saleh, but their foray with Adam Gase, a former offensive coordinator, was brief and unsuccessful. Before that, was a defensive coordinator in Todd Bowles and, before him, Rex Ryan, who led the team to their last playoff appearance and back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in 2009 and 2010. There may be a bit of bad blood over his firing the first time around, but over the last 30 years, he may have let bygones be bygones.
The Saints are the other option, though a few more pop up at the end of the season. Regardless, Carroll is ready to take a stab at another NFL job, and though he seems to favor Chicago early on, he may have to keep his options open and explore the other positions available to him.
He would not be a bad choice…at least interview him
I admire the man, but the Bears need to turn the page. Ben Johnson with a new GM. Poles had his chance.
Well whomever Da’ Bears want
Maybe Ditka…..he did move back to Chicago from Naples Florida
Define bad
Ha
I have to credit the writer. Not a word about Carroll’s age (73)
Have to wonder why someone his age would want the aggravation of coaching an organization as dysfunctional as the Bears.
Man, I had the same thought. I had to re-scan the article to see if I missed it. Strange considering that his age is the #1 reason why the Bears would not be interested.
Carrol is a very good coach… He looks great physically speaking… Age is just a number until not…
That’s an interesting idea actually. The guy runs a strong program. Even though he’s old, he’s always been young and energetic at heart. The Bears desperately need competence.
I became fond of Pete over the years but he has a weakness for reclamation projects. How many washed up players would he bring to Chicago? He’d probably keep Marcedes Lewis around for another 10 years…lol.
On the plus side he has plenty of experience coaching teams with terrible offensive lines.
Pete Carrol is the youngest 73 year old on the planet. He still has plenty of gas left in the tank. The Bears would be lucky to have him.
No more retreats. Pete is too old. Won’t be around long. Not a good choice.
Retreads*
He might be up for USC job if Riley gets canned. Last time Trojans were feared he was @helm. The game evolves n leaves some behind sooner than others. There’s “use by” date before message n concepts grow stale. Worth it to have em back in league just to watch him n Jim Harbaugh compete against eachother. He’s still got the itch.
All 3 teams that have already fired their HC’s were all defensive minded coaches. Seems like it could lower the probability they go back to another defense minded choice. Plus the Bears with a #1 overall QB and a decent group around him (need to work on Oline) they may not want a long plan.
If Carroll had a strong OC he was going to bring in with him, it could sweeten the deal, but I have no idea who that would be.
Marvelous Marvin Lewis is tan, rested and ready. He may not be spectacular, but he’s steady. Why take a flyer on an OC or DC who may or may not pan out? Marvin is a good coach who doesn’t micro-manage his players. He takes care of his players and that’s why they play so hard for him.
Marvin was great at getting his teams almost there year after year.. No thanks.
Never said he was great. But he was steady and you knew the team was going to at least be in the running for the playoffs.
Had Chicago only picked the obviously superior QB. I banged the table for a year that, while good, Caleb was not better than Jayden and few agreed with me. Not even pointing out him following Riley from OU to USC seemed to matter.
Good for him to capitalize financially on the media hype; not so good for Bears fans nor franchise.
I have no idea why Carroll would want to try climbing this kind of mountain ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That would be something.
There might nearer 5 open HC gigs and possibly 7 – so Petey might just get a gig