In the most surprising move of the 2024 NFL offseason so far, Pete Carroll is no longer head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
The man who’d held the title as the league’s oldest coach is now available for new challenges after 14 years in the Pacific Northwest. Carroll was prolific in Seattle, bringing a blue chip college football pedigree north from USC en route to 11 winning seasons, 10 playoff berths and one Super Bowl title. That’s a hard act to follow but those expectations are tempered, at least slightly, by the Seahawks’ 25-26 record over the last three seasons.
Whomever takes Carroll’s place will inherit an exciting lineup of skill players (DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet), arguably the league’s most impressive young tackle duo (Abe Lucas and Charles Cross), a 33-year-old starting quarterback (Geno Smith) and the league’s 30th-ranked defense.
There’s work to be done to get back to the 2010s heights to which Carroll elevated the franchise. The good news is there’s plenty of strong candidates to patch the holes the veteran head coach couldn’t and get this team in line for its first NFC West title since 2020. Here are five candidates who make sense as successors, listed in no particular order.
1
Dan Quinn
Current job: Defensive coordinator, Dallas Cowboys
The first name to take a spin through the rumor mill as a Carroll replacement is a familiar face. Quinn is the defensive coordinator who turned an average Dallas unit into an angry swarm of bees. As the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, he turned the Legion of Boom into the league’s top defense in yards and points allowed in both 2013 and 2014.
#Cowboys DC Dan Quinn would quickly be considered a strong candidate to replace Pete Carroll, who now exits as HC.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 10, 2024
That led him to a head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons. He went 43-42 there and led Atlanta to a Super Bowl, which is good. He also had only two winning seasons in five-plus years with the franchise and was the guy who blew a 28-3 third quarter lead in said Super Bowl, which is not.
In the three years since his firing, he’s rebuilt his value by making the Cowboys fearsome. That’s a huge selling point for a defense loaded with high value players who have yet to come together as more than the sum of their parts. The 2024 offseason will likely be devoted to rebuilding that defense. Having a head coach with firsthand experience of what that looks like in Seattle is a huge point in Quinn’s favor.
2
Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans
Current job: None, but was the head coach of the Tennessee Titans the previous six years
This is probably nothing, since parting ways with a future Hall of Fame head coach is a long and complex process. But Seattle *did* wait until after Vrabel was fired by the Titans before announcing its head coaching change.
Vrabel has the defensive background the Seahawks may prefer. He’d served a year as the Houston Texans coordinator before taking the top job in Tennessee. While the Titans were the backdrop to a defense that varied wildly from year to year, his ability to get more from less is what makes him arguably the hottest head coaching candidate in the league.
Seattle could offer Vrabel the kind of run-heavy approach with a veteran quarterback he’d had in his most successful years in Nashville. While Walker and Charbonnet aren’t Derrick Henry, the Titans never had a receiving corps that could approach the Metcalf-Lockett-Smith-Njigba triumvirate. What worked in Tennessee could work in Washington. It’s safe to say the Seahawks will be looking into it.
3
Mike MacDonald
Current job: Defensive coordinator, Baltimore Ravens
If Seattle wants to focus on the defensive side of the ball but wants someone with less head coaching baggage than Quinn and less demand than Vrabel, Baltimore’s rising star could be its guy. MacDonald has been the Ravens’ defensive coordinator since 2022. In his first year, they ranked third in points allowed. In 2023, they rose up to first.
His forte is bringing the best out of players. While Baltimore has its share of stars, he’s been able to turn several unheralded players into Pro Bowl caliber studs. Justin Madubuike had three sacks in two seasons before MacDonald showed up. He has 18.5 since.
Geno Stone had one interception and two passes defensed in his first three seasons in the league; he has seven and nine, respectively, in 2023. Patrick Queen has gotten significantly better under MacDonald’s tutelage and fellow first rounder Kyle Hamilton has blossomed into a potential All-Pro.
That’s all very appealing for a Seattle defense with guys like Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love, Boye Mafe and, sure why not, Jamal Adams dotting the starting lineup. MacDonald has proven capable of making good players great and making great players incredible. That’s exactly what the Seahawks need.
4
Ejiro Evero
Current job: Defensive coordinator, Carolina Panthers
Don’t judge Evero by the Panthers’ middling defense in 2023. Appreciate the fact he got Carolina that far despite the calliope music and assorted circus noises that plagued the franchise throughout the year.
Before getting hoodwinked into David Tepper’s low-rent Game of Thrones spinoff, Evero was the architect behind the Denver Broncos’ top 10 offense in a year where Russell Wilson’s offense had all the structural integrity of a sandcastle. He’s worked with four different head coaches over the last two years and managed to keep his guys punching above their weight class in each case.
He’s got the gravity to keep a loose confederation of planets orbiting around the same goal. He’d be a bit more of a risk than the first three guys on this list, but could provide a big payoff for a Seattle team capable of a long playoff run with even a league-average defense.
5
Eric Bieniemy
Current job: Offensive coordinator, Washington Commanders
The first four entries on this list are all guys with defensive backgrounds. That’s fitting, seeing as the Seahawks’ defense was a disaster this season.
But Seattle could opt to focus on the other side of the ball, opting to pair Geno Smith with the kind of play-calling mastermind who can maximize the back nine of his career. Bieniemy crafted Patrick Mahomes into an MVP in Kansas City. He went to Washington and turned Sam Howell into a viable starter for a while, then coaxed the best football of Jacoby Brissett’s career out of the journeyman backup.
While Bieniemy’s star may have dimmed after a turn with the Commanders — it happens pretty often! — he remains an effective offensive overseer capable of spacing the field and making life easier for his quarterback. That’s something in which Seattle’s management has been invested lately, drafting Smith-Njigba and Cross in the first round last year and spending second round picks on tailbacks each of the last two springs. If building around Smith is the priority, Bieniemy and a high-value defensive coordinator hire could be the team’s play.
