Brennan Carroll

Seahawks Notes: Wilson, Carroll, Dunlap

February 28th, 2021 at 12:24pm CST by Rory Parks

One of the reasons for the trade rumors swirling around Seahawks QB Russell Wilson — and perhaps the primary reason — is Wilson’s relationship with head coach Pete Carroll, which appears to be strained. Apparently, his relationship with Carroll’s sons hasn’t been much better.

According to a tweet from The Athletic, Wilson believes Carroll and his sons, Nolan and Brennan, answer to no one (Nolan serves as the team’s WRs coach, and Brennan had been working as the run game coordinator before accepting a position at the University of Arizona). And, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Wilson is 100% correct.

Former owner Paul Allen “stayed deep in the background” when he was alive, and his sister, Jody Allen, has largely done the same since she inherited the team. Some league sources believe the Seahawks are essentially run by the Allens’ parent company, Vulcan Inc., which in turn defers to the head coach as the club’s de facto CEO. So while Jody Allen could intervene in light of the Wilson trade rumblings, her track record suggests that she will not do so, and that Pete Carroll will ultimately be the one to decide whether to deal Wilson.

While Wilson himself has said he does not expect to be dealt, Florio believes the 32-year-old will ultimately request a trade either this year or next. If QB and HC do not mend fences soon, it’s easy to envision such a scenario.

Now for more from the Emerald City:

Unlike Florio, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com does not believe Wilson will be traded. One of the reasons for that is the fact that — as our Sam Robinson wrote several days ago in the piece linked above — a trade will leave $39MM in dead money on the Seahawks’ cap. While a post-June 1 trade will allow the team to spread out that hit and actually create $19MM in 2021 space, Seattle is lacking a first-rounder and third-rounder this season, so a Wilson trade might be more beneficial if it happened prior to this year’s draft and not after June 1.
Still, Henderson believes the ‘Hawks will make a trade that both sheds some salary — the team has less than $8MM of cap space relative to the $180MM floor — and adds some much-needed draft capital. There is no indication as of yet that Seattle will look to trade players like Carlos Dunlap, Bobby Wagner, or Jamal Adams, but Henderson could see it happening.
As of now, though, Henderson predicts that the club will cut Dunlap and look to re-sign him to a less expensive contract — the former Bengal is due to carry a $14.1MM cap hit in 2021 — while restructuring the contract of franchise icon Wagner and extending 2020 trade acquisition Adams.
Proven performance escalators for several 2018 draftees have played a role in Seattle’s cap crunch. Since he earned a Pro Bowl nod in his rookie season, punter Michael Dickson has a $3.384MM salary for 2021 — the amount of the second-round RFA tender — while cornerback Tre Flowers is due to earn $2.183MM since he met the snap count requirement for the Level One PPE (Twitter link via Henderson). If you need a refresher, OverTheCap.com offers a comprehensive explanation of PPEs.
Presently, the Seahawks’ highest draft choice is their second-rounder (No. 56 overall). Given the state of the club’s offensive line, and Wilson’s recent comments in that regard, most mocks have Seattle selecting an OL with that pick, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times observes. Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis and Tennessee guard Trey Smith would be worthy Day 2 selections.

Seahawks Promote Kris Richard To DC

February 9th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Zachary Links

8:00pm: The Seahawks also named Michael Barrow as their linebackers coach, Brennan Carroll as an assistant offensive line coach, and added Lofa Tatupu as an assistant linebackers coach, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter).

6:40pm: The Seahawks announced that they have promoted secondary coach Kris Richard to defensive coordinator, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The move has been long rumored but it was not official until Seattle’s Monday night press release.

Richard was a popular man this offseason as new Falcons coach Dan Quinn tried to get Richard to come to Atlanta. Ultimately, Richard declined to follow his friend to the Falcons and one has to imagine he had a pretty good idea a promotion was coming his way.

Richard has long been a member of the Seahawks family, having first arrived in Seattle as a third-round choice in 2002. The cornerback only played for the Seahawks for three seasons before having stints with the Dolphins, 49ers, and Raiders, but he would later join up with Pete Carroll as an assistant on his USC staff. Later on, he followed his coach and mentor to the Seahawks. Seattle, of course, has been known for one of the toughest (if not the toughest) secondaries in the league under Richard’s watch.

Ken Norton Jr. was also considered to be a strong in-house candidate, but he was recently scooped up by the Raiders to be their defensive coordinator.

NFC West Notes: Los Angeles, 49ers, Seahawks

February 9th, 2015 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Rams seemingly inching closer to Los Angeles, the NFL issued a memo to all 32 teams today to remind them that the league will make the major decisions regarding relocation, not the individual clubs, as Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times writes. In the memo, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the forming of the “Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities,” consisting of owners Clark Hunt (Chiefs), Robert Kraft (Patriots), John Mara (Giants), Bob McNair (Texans), Jerry Richardson (Panthers), and Art Rooney (Steelers).

The newly formed committee will “evaluate the various stadium options available in Los Angeles, oversee the application of the relocation guidelines in the event that one or more clubs seek to move to Los Angeles, ensure proper coordination with other standing committees … and confirm that all steps taken in Los Angeles are consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws and NFL policies.”

Meanwhile, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, any effort by 31 different businesses to tell one business how (and where) it will do business becomes a potential violation of the antitrust laws. Whether Stan Kroenke is willing to take things to court, however, is a different story. More from the NFC West..

The 49ers formally announced Jim Tomsula‘s full coaching staff today, including previously reported names like Geep Chryst (offensive coordinator), Tony Sparano (tight ends coach), Eric Mangini (defensive coordinator), and Jason Tarver (senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach).
At least one 49ers player isn’t enthusiastic about the new staff in San Francisco. According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), a Niner told him that he thinks the coaching changes will hurt the team: “Everyone will see soon enough.”
Although Tommy John surgery was originally viewed as likely for Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, he won’t have to undergo the procedure after all, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter links). Since Sherman’s injured elbow is feeling better this week, the team intends to opt for rehab and monitor the situation, with the hope of avoiding surgery.
According to Peter Ariz of CanesInSight.com (via Twitter), another one of Pete Carroll‘s sons will be joining the Seahawks head coach in Seattle. Ariz reports that University of Miami wide receivers coach Brennan Carroll will take a position on the Seahawks’ staff, which already includes assistant WRs coach Nate Carroll.
Meanwhile, another Hurricanes assistant may be headed to the Seahawks as well, per Thayer Evans of SI.com, who tweets that linebackers coach Michael Barrow is expected to accept the same position in Seattle. The team’s former linebackers coach, Ken Norton Jr., accepted the defensive coordinator job in Oakland last week.

Zach Links contributed to this post.