How Sunday impacts the Seahawks: Did Pete Carroll fire himself?

Plus 2 coordinators become available for interviews: Seaside Joe 1793

Seaside Joe has covered Tony Pauline’s baseless rumors more extensively than any other person on the planet, but could there be truth to his latest report that Pete Carroll told the Seahawks he was retiring prior to changing his mind and then getting rebuffed by Jody Allen when he tried to undo it?

I’m slightly more inclined to believe it based on Pete’s post-season comments and the fact that it is not really that juicy of a rumor: Whether Pete started the process or not, the Seahawks finished it just the same.

I’ve been told here in Frisco that down the stretch of the season, Carroll had told Seahawks decision-makers he was going to retire at the end of the year but wanted to stay on with the club in some capacity. The initial decision to step down was Carroll’s choice. The team then put plans in motion to look for a new coach once Carroll publicly announced his decision.

Yet after the final game of the season, when the Seahawks were officially eliminated from the playoffs after a Green Bay Packers’ victory over the Chicago Bears, Carroll had a change of heart and told team officials he wanted to stay on as head coach in Seattle. I’m told by then it was too late, and the Seahawks chose to move ahead with plans to find another head coach.

Does it matter?

If the Seahawks didn’t allow Pete to change his mind on retirement then it is probably because they were looking for an excuse to part ways and he gave them the perfect out.

The Seattle Seahawks are in the head coaching market either way and Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship games gave us a little more information on what to consider in the days ahead: With the important part of the playoffs over as it relates to coaching interviews, I expect the Seahawks to announce a head coach within 72 hours.

Mike Macdonald’s final audition

Onlookers were overwhelmingly impressed by Macdonald’s final game of the season (ever?) as the defensive coordinator of the Ravens even though Baltimore lost 17-10 and sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl thanks to offensive mistakes.

Apart from Travis Kelce making plays that made him look like the best RECEIVER—not just TE—in the NFL right now, the Ravens shut down everybody else on the Chiefs offense: Patrick Mahomes went 30-of-39 but if you take out Kelce’s 11 catches/11 targets/116 yards/1 TD, this is how Mahomes did…

19-of-29, 125 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

I’m not saying you can just erase Kelce because he does exist and that does matter, but he and Mahomes played like the elite quarterback and tight end that they are. Isiah Pacheco was held to 68 yards on 24 carries (2.8 YPC) and every other receiver was shut out before Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s game-winning catch.

If not for Zay Flowers fumbling at the 1 and Lamar Jackson’s end zone interception, the Ravens probably go to the Super Bowl and go because of their defense.

It doesn’t mean you have to want Macdonald as the next coach of the Seahawks, it just means that everything went as advertised after being the NFL’s best defense in the regular season.

Macdonald is scheduled to meet with the Washington Moons on Monday night, but he’s expected to finally get an official interview request from the Seahawks assuming he is able to talk to other teams after tomorrow.

Coach who wins the day is…Mike Kafka?

A general takeaway I had from Sunday’s games is that I’ll be a little surprised if the Ravens and Lions are back again in conference championship games next season. It’s ALWAYS hard to make it this far…unless you’re Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes is 6-of-6 in reaching the AFC Championship game and 4-of-6 in reaching the Super Bowl in his career as an NFL starter. He has reached two Super Bowls in two years since the team traded Tyreek Hill.

Fans are more than welcome to interpret those results however they choose and argue that quarterback value is overrated. Mahomes has a fairly good shutdown point to make though: The only QBs in history to make four Super Bowls in six years are Tom Brady, Jim Kelly, and Mahomes.

If the Seahawks want to simply push all their chips in on the quarterback angle like I wrote about on Friday with the Zac Taylor/Joe Burrow analogy, Kafka makes his case by the fact that he was Mahomes’ QB coach and passing game coordinator for the first four of those AFC Championships and two Super Bowls.

Of course, Kafka has been my prediction so Seaside Joe could be accused of bias here, but is it wrong? Fans have generally expressed anger/dismayed/hatred of the idea of Kafka, but isn’t that mostly related to timing? Because imagine if I told you that the Seahawks were interviewing Kansas City’s CURRENT pass game coordinator and QBs coach?

That sounds like the type of offensive coach that is typically desired by fans.

Well, Kafka did that job for five years and then he had a really successful first season with the Giants. Trust me, I’m not pounding the table for Mike Kafka nor do I intend to usually every interject personal feelings into these predictions or evaluations. Just pointing out that if you look at the two Super Bowl teams, the only one that is associated with a Seahawks head coach candidate is the Chiefs.

He just doesn’t coach there anymore.

But maybe Kafka is just Seattle’s OC target.

Ben there, gone home

As good as Macdonald’s defense looked in the second half against the Chiefs, Ben Johnson’s Lions offense looked even better against the 49ers in the first. Detroit scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions in San Francisco—the Seahawks scored two offensive touchdowns against the 49ers in two whole games this year—and added a third before halftime.

The Lions had drives of 75, 62, 29, 46, and 68 in the first half, getting a 24-7 lead going into the break. That’s a lot more success than Geno Smith has had in five career starts against the 49ers with Seattle, and I don’t think Jared Goff is that much better than him.

Then in the second half, the Lions ran into problems that had nothing to do with Johnson’s play calling, as far as I can tell.

Detroit turned it over on downs on the opening possession, lost a fumble, punted, and turned it over on downs. But the Lions should have won the game or at least maintained a lead if not for mediocre receiver Josh Reynolds dropping multiple would-be game-saving passes and Goff over-throwing/mis-playing several opportunities.

On the final drive, the Lions went 75 yards and scored a touchdown but it was too late. The blame falls more on the players and head coach Dan Campbell than on Johnson.

The Seahawks are expected to have a second interview with Ben Johnson this week. I don’t see why they wouldn’t talk to him and Macdonald, meaning that Seattle should have the opportunity to choose between the two even if Washington out-bids them for their top choice.

My top choice has always been Ben Johnson from the beginning. I don’t know a good coach from Adam (Gase), but that’s just my opinion because Johnson has proven to most that he’s one of the top offensive play callers in the NFL over the past two seasons, even including head coaches like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

But Macdonald could be as good or better; Kafka is a sleeper who I think has a more legitimate argument than most give him credit for; and Dan Quinn is nothing more than an opportunity for me to write the headline “Quinn Forever” if it happens.

If I was ranking head coach candidates based on the playoffs, I’d have to say that if Kafka is as responsible for Mahomes’ develop as Mahomes, Andy Reid, and others say that he is, it’s not outlandish to suggest that Kansas City’s run to another Super Bowl is a feather in his cap.

Johnson and Macdonald lost on Sunday, but weren’t responsible for failures.

Bobby Slowik had a great wild card and a flat divisional round. Frank Smith’s Dolphins were knocked out in the wild card, as were Quinn’s Cowboys. Kafka, Parick Graham, and Ejiro Evero all missed the playoffs with their teams.

If Kafka still my prediction?

I would have to say that with both the Lions and Ravens knocked out this week that Johnson and Macdonald’s availability for interviews and accepting jobs increases the odds that either of them could be named as the Seahawks head coach this week.

I don’t buy Washington’s “inevitable” hire of Johnson as much as most, but if he does go to the Moons, I do think that Macdonald has a strong case. Which is also why I wonder if Baltimore and Detroit will be able to make it back to their conference championship games next year, especially given how good the rest of the AFC is and how bad Jared Goff is without Ben Johnson.

My predictions now lean a little more towards Macdonald, followed by Johnson and Kafka.

What about you: