Pure speculation to anyone not able to see the truth.
Yes. I absolutley can take one season of Russ away from Seattle and by simply observing what he is and isn't capable of (reading defense) and pretty easily draw a conclusion about how much of what he did here was him carrying the team, and how much was a very specific system that was tailored to limit his weaknesses (covering for not being able to effectively read defenses and see the field completely I not a small tweak to the playbook).
Anyone can see a sample size of one game, and when his former teammates come out and basically say 'I told you so' , and, if you arent biased, see that the dude was good, but not Pete's savior and certainly not THE key piece of the teams that for us, saw the most success.
As to you constantly beating the ' he sucked before wilson' drum and referencing his tenure in NE and NY... here - a quote from Drew Bledsoe on the pretty much consensus belief among MOST IN NE THAT HE WAS SETUP TO FAIL.
"Yeah, definitely I think he got a raw deal in New England," Bledsoe said of Carroll. "And I'm so happy for Pete that he's been able to go on to such great success at USC and now with the Seahawks to really prove what guys that played for him back then believed. The guy's a heck of a football coach and probably deserves to be mentioned in that top echelon of coaches."
More :
"We had an atmosphere that was conducive to the players," Milloy said. "Pete was still the guy smiling, throwing the ball around, but the competition was real. He came back in the league on his own terms with an organization and a city that ultimately had the patience to see it all pan out."
And another
...'Carroll did not have control over assembling the 53-man roster. That power was split among Bobby Grier, the vice president of player personnel; Andy Wasynczuk, the contract negotiator; and Carroll. But there was a clear divide between the head coach and the front office.
Each year was a step backward in the win column.
It didn't matter that the Patriots' front office had misfired on multiple draft picks or that their first-round pick in 1998, running back Robert Edwards, suffered a devastating knee injury during a sand football game at the Pro Bowl. It didn't matter that the roster had aged and started to rot. It didn't matter that wide receiver Terry Glenn was a divisive presence in the locker room, two former assistants said.
Expectations in New England were higher than .500. Kraft fired Carroll and hired Parcells disciple Bill Belichick.'
Here's the entire article.
Expectations set by Bill Parcells and a laid-back image that didn't fly in New England doomed Pete Carroll's tenure with the Patriots, Ashley Fox writes.
www.espn.com
Pete was handed a Bill Parcells roster and give no real authority to change it. He was stuck with another coach's players and his style was the antithesis of that of his predecessor. This has all been well documented and is old news. And yet you still keep grasping at it to tarnish Pete.
As to his stint with the Jets - he was coach for one season after Bruce Coslet who's Jets teams were 20-28. That's what Pete inherited for one season, with a team he again had zero control over.
Anyone who's been paying attention understands that great coaches BUILD their teams either by force of character, or by crafting a roster in the vision they have for the team.
Pete came back to the NFL on TE condition that he'd have control of the roster and culture. He was given that control for the first time ever in Seattle and proceeded to build some a team that put up some of the most successful DVOA seasons of all time.
Only 3 coaches in the history of football of won championship in college and the pros. Pete is one of them.
Great coaches can get the best out of players. Walsh did it with Montana who had few remarkable meaureables. He then did it with Young who was an afterthought in Tampa.
Pete did it with Wilson. Sorry of that's tough to take, but it's now beyond dispute. A qb who can't read defense or struggles to literally see the field, cannot be THE major reason a team or coach was successful. Without a PC or SP (maybe) Wilson is closer to who he was last year than the debated HOF worthy player he was thought to be.
Anyway. Hanging an argument that Pete's success is buoyed by the qb HE positioned to succeed, is laughable.
He's top 5, in 2023.
Grab your popcorn and watch us kick ass again.