In his first two head coaching stops<\/a>, Carroll lasted just one season with the New York Jets and three seasons with the New England Patriots before he was fired. Those two stints helped form his coaching philosophy, which he then put into action while transforming USC into a college football powerhouse and the Seahawks into a perennial NFL force.<\/p>\n Having experienced both sides of the coin, the 73-year-old Carroll praised Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald for what he accomplished last year as a rookie NFL head coach. Macdonald, who replaced Carroll as Seattle\u2019s head coach in January 2024, guided the Seahawks to a 10-7 campaign in his first year at the helm.<\/p>\n Carroll, who\u2019s now preparing for his first season as Las Vegas Raiders head coach, discussed what Macdonald achieved last season during a wide-ranging conversation with the Seattle Sports\u2019 Brock and Salk on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so challenging,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cMike did a great job. It\u2019s so hard to take over a franchise, particularly one like we had, one that had so much flavor to it and all that. And he did a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Carroll, who had a decorated 14-year run as Seattle\u2019s head coach, spent 2024 away from coaching. But he still followed the Seahawks closely.<\/p>\n \u201cI was rooting for them the whole time,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cI wanted to see all those guys transition and do well. \u2026 I mean, I love those guys. (It was great) to see them all get going and see \u2018Big Cat\u2019 (Leonard Williams) have such a great finish and Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) do his thing and all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Carroll leaks that Raiders, Seahawks will play in preseason<\/a><\/p>\n Carroll also said he stayed in touch with former and then-current Seahawks during his time away from coaching \u2013 including Geno Smith, Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin and Richard Sherman.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you do this thing with everything you have and you give every bit you have and every ounce of energy and juice and love and all that, that doesn\u2019t go away,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cWhen you love \u2019em, you love \u2019em. And it was a really fun part of this offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to the full conversation with Pete Carroll\u00a0at this link<\/a> or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.<\/p>\n Seattle Seahawks news and analysis<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Where Seattle Seahawks\u2019 strength of schedule ranks for 2025<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Seahawks reportedly meet with veteran free agent cornerback<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Daniel Jeremiah dispels one criticism of Seattle Seahawks\u2019 draft<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Seahawks won\u2019t play an international game this year<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Seahawks Moves: Top pick signed; WSU product waived<\/a><\/p>\n
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