The last time Pete Carroll was on an NFL sideline as a head coach, his starting quarterback was Geno Smith. The Seahawks went 17-16 over Carroll’s last two seasons in Seattle with Smith making two Pro Bowls. So, naturally when considering who Carroll might want behind center in Las Vegas, Smith would be at or near the top of that list.
The thing is, though, that the Seahawks will have say in that, and from the sounds of it, they may not be willing to let him go.
“Geno is our quarterback,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said in an interview with FOX 13’s Aaron Levine.
“It’s pretty obvious this guy is a heck of a quarterback. He’s our quarterback. We love him. Can’t wait to go to work with him.”
McDonald added that he and the Seahawks believe they can win championships with Smith.
In order to keep Smith, the Seahawks may need to give him a contract extension. He has one year left on his current deal, but it carries a cap hit of $44 million and has no guaranteed money. That’s likely not what either Smith nor the team want. He wants job security, and they want his cap number to come down.
It’s certainly possible the coach is just saying what he is supposed to say or that he is saying how he feels, but that it doesn’t reflect the business side of this. But it’s at very least clear that if Pete Carroll does want Smith in Las Vegas, he’s going to have a tough time prying him away from Seattle.
