An Avalanche Of News

Some mornings when I approach the keyboard here in Curmudgeon Central, I need time to find something to write about.  There are days when I have to dig back a week or so to find an item on my clipboard that I have been saving for a day when nothing of note had come up recently.  Today is NOT such a day.

About two hours after posting yesterday’s rant, the Internet was vibrating with news that Pete Carroll was no longer the coach of the Seahawks but that he would be retained with the organization as an “Advisor”.  Team owner, Jody Allen, characterized this move as Carroll’s role with the team “evolving” from coach to advisor.  Carroll is 72 years old but only a few days ago he told reporters that he would be back to coach the Seahawks next year and had no plans to retire.  Assuming he did not get a visitation from three ghosts overnight – – one of which was the “Ghost of Super Bowls Future” – – this must be seen a serious demotion at the very best and most likely a firing.  And that is a bit shocking to me…

Pete Carroll’s record has been the head coach in Seattle since 2010.  His record over that time span is 137-89-1 with 10 playoff appearances, a Super Bowl Championship and a second unsuccessful appearance in the Super Bowl.  The Seahawks have been to the playoffs 20 times in franchise history since the mid-70s; Carroll has led the team to half of those playoff spots since 2010.  Trying to understand this from a “performance deficiency standpoint” is not easy.

The Seahawks made the playoffs in 2022 with Geno Smith at QB after trading away Russell Wilson to the Broncos and compiling a 9-8 record.  That was not an easy task.  This year, the team was again 9-8 with Smith at QB but that record did not qualify for a wildcard slot.  My take on those last two seasons in Seattle is that they show that Pete Carroll is a very good football coach; with a career backup at QB for two seasons – – 34 games – – his teams won more often than they lost.

If at age 72 Pete Carroll wants another job as a head coach somewhere, he might be a good fit for a team that does not need a total rebuild and thinks it has the roster necessary to make the playoffs next year.  Of the existing openings in the NFL also f this morning, the team that best fits that description would be the LA Chargers.  Or if his contract is as reported – – $15M per year through 2024 with a team option for 2025 – – he may decide to let his life “evolve” in a direction that does not involve being on the sidelines during a football game.

Bonne chance, Pete Carroll.

And as they say on those late-night infomercials,

“But wait!  There’s more …”

A couple of hours after the Pete Carroll news hit the streets, an even more surprising announcement was made:

• Nick Saban has decided to retire as the head coach at Alabama.

Delve as deeply into Saban’s “numbers” during his coaching career as you prefer but these data stand out to me:

• Nick Saban coached for 28 seasons and his teams won 297 games.
• Ergo, Nick Saban’s teams averaged 10.6 wins per season.
• Not counting the 2007 season when Alabama had to vacate 5 wins, none of Nick Saban’s teams at Toledo, Michigan St., LSU or Alabama ever finished below .500.

One of the “legacy items” for coaches at the top of college football and/or in the NFL is to “evaluate” their coaching tree.  I do not have the time or the inclination to track down every assistant he has had in his 28 seasons of coaching, but here are current head coaches who I know worked under Nick Saban at Alabama:

1. Brian Daboll – – MY Giants
2. Lane Kiffin – – Ole Miss
3. Dan Lanning – – Oregon
4. Mike Locksley – – Maryland
5. Steve Sarkisian – – Texas
6. Kirby Smart – – Georgia

Bonne chance, Nick Saban.

Now here is something they do not say on those late-night infomercials:

“Hang on!  We’ve got even more for you to consider.

            Early this morning news broke that the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick have gone in different directions.  In a 24-hour period, Pete Carroll, Nick Saban and Bill Belichick parted company with teams where the coach and the team were almost synonyms for a long time.  To be sure, the 2023 season was atypical for the Pats during Belichick’s tenure with the team.  I suspect that two elements in owner Robert Kraft’s decision-making methodology were:

1. Kraft is 82 years old.  If he wants to be around to see his Patriots win the Super Bowl one more time, there must be urgency applied to the efforts.
2. After Tom Brady left the team, things looked promising in Mac Jones’ first year with the Pats; they made it to the playoffs for a cameo appearance.  Since then, Jones has regressed; a series of bizarre decisions by Belichick have blown up in his face and he exhibits no sense of remorse for at least some of those decisions.

Three coaching icons are gone in the time it takes the Earth to make one rotation on its axis.  I suspect that has never happened before; and there is an interesting irony here:

• Pete Carroll’s news started this avalanche of coaching change news.
• Bill Belichick’s news put the exclamation mark on this avalanche of coaching change news.
• In 2000, Bill Belichick took over the job as coach of the Patriots from – – Pete Carroll.

Bonne chance Bill Belichick.

Finally, the news over the past day represents an upheaval in the football world.  Perhaps the best way to close today is for me to offer this advice from Kelly Ripa:

“If I feel any sort of emotional upheaval, I go for jog and I feel better.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………