For the first time in 15 years, the Seattle Seahawks will have a new head coach. According to multiple reports, Pete Carroll will not return as the team's head coach next season.
Per a statement from Seahawks Chair Jody Allen, Carroll, 72, will remain on with the organization in an advisory role.
The statement reads:
"After thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise, we have amicably agreed with Pete Carroll that his role will evolve from Head Coach to remain with the organization as an advisor.
His expertise in leadership and building a championship culture will continue as an integral part of our organization moving forward.
Pete will always be a beloved member of the Seahawks family."
The decision comes after the Seahawks finished 9-8 and missed out on the playoffs. They finished with a -38 point differential on the season, the first time since 2010 — Carroll's first season, with that infamous, 7-9 playoff run — that the team had a negative point differential.
Carroll spent 14 years as head coach of the Seahawks, boasting a record of 147-98-1 including the playoffs. He had a 10-9 record with Seattle in the playoffs, winning a Super Bowl in 2013, and losing in 2014.
According to reports, Seattle is interested in — among others — Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who worked for the Seahawks from 2009-10 as an assistant head coach and defensive line coach, and as defensive coordinator from 2013-14.
That two-year run led Quinn to the Atlanta Falcons head coaching job, which sprung then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 after a Super Bowl loss.
Carroll was the league's fourth-longest tenured head coach after Bill Belichick (24 years), Mike Tomlin (17 years) and John Harbaugh (16 years). It's a seismic decision in Seattle.