RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Pete Carroll is out after 14 seasons as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, responsible for two NFC championships and the only Super Bowl title in franchise history during his long tenure.
The 72-year old coach is moving into an advisory role with the organization, according to a statement from owner Jody Allen on Wednesday. But it’s clear that Carroll wanted to continue in the role he had for more than a decade.
“I competed pretty hard to be the coach, just so you know,” Carroll said during an emotional farewell news conference. “I just wanted to make sure I stood up for all of our coaches and the players and the things that we had accomplished. Not just so we could be the coach still, but so we could continue to have a chance to be successful and keep the organization going. That’s what I was fighting for.”
With staff from throughout the facility, assistant coaches and a few current players filling the auditorium, Carroll spoke for more than 30 minutes through a mix of tears and laughter about a tenure that will be difficult for any coach to match in the future.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve had this run. I really am. This level of consistency that we’ve demonstrated is such that it makes you proud,” Carroll said.
Seattle closed the regular season with a 21-20 win at Arizona on Sunday. The Seahawks entered the final two weeks of the regular season with the chance at reaching the playoffs for the 11th time with Carroll in charge, but a Week 17 loss to Pittsburgh left Seattle in need of help it didn’t get to close out the season.
Carroll will step aside as the most successful coach in franchise history, but with an unsatisfactory conclusion after several seasons of middling results. He’ll forever be lauded as the first coach to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Seattle with the Super Bowl 48 victory over Denver.
But Carroll never fully recovered from what happened in the Super Bowl a year later with Russell Wilson’s goal line interception in the final seconds, and Seattle never experienced another title that could wash away the memories of what happened in Super Bowl 49.
Carroll stepped aside with a 137-69-1 record in the regular season in his time with the Seahawks. He led Seattle to five NFC West titles and 10 playoff victories.
But the Seahawks plateaued toward the end of Carroll’s time. Seattle finished with a losing record in 2021, made the playoffs at 9-8 in 2022 and was unable to make the leap that it was expected to being more of a contender in the NFC West this season.
Carroll himself sounded frustrated going into Week 18 about how this season had gone.
“We have a lot of work to do, but the outlook for the future is very positive, because of the makeup of the guys, the way they want to work, the way they go about it,” Carroll said.
That future for Seattle will be under the watch of a different coach, though.
Despite the lackluster final chapter, Carroll’s tenure in Seattle will be viewed as the most successful run since the franchise arrived in 1976. He ushered in a player-friendly environment built around allowing personalities to show within the defined structure of his system. Carroll preached competition, but made it fun along the way.
The Seahawks thrived under Carroll with the personalities of Marshawn Lynch, Doug Baldwin and Richard Sherman, for example. They plucked Wilson out of the third round and watched him help the team win a Super Bowl in his second season. Known for his defensive mind, Carroll created a defense that was the best of its era for multiple seasons and was at the foundation of those back-to-back teams which won NFC titles.
But Super Bowl 49 was a tipping point the Seahawks never truly recovered from. Wilson’s pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler and gave New England a 28-24 win eventually led to an unraveling of the core that took Seattle to those championship games. As much as Carroll tried several different reboots, the Seahawks never again found that level of talent and chemistry to create a juggernaut of a team.
Seattle never advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs following that last Super Bowl trip and was dumped out of the postseason in the wild-card round in three of its past four postseason appearances.
The question will immediately turn to Carroll’s replacement and whether Seattle tries to stay within the Seahawks family tree or looks to bring in a fresh voice to work with general manager John Schneider. It will be the first time since arriving at the same time as Carroll that Schneider will have complete control over personnel.
Seattle is the seventh NFL team at the moment looking for a new coach, joining Tennessee, Atlanta and Washington who have fired coaches since the regular season ended. The Raiders, the Chargers and Panthers didn’t wait for the season to end before firing coaches.
NFL teams can’t start in-person interviews until after the divisional round after owners voted in October to push those back a week to slow down the hiring process and try to increase diversity in hiring. They also cannot interview head coaching candidates employed by other NFL teams until Tuesday or Wednesday for any coach whose team is done or team has a playoff bye. Teams can start virtual interviews.
Any internal candidates or someone not currently employed by the NFL can interview in person.
Speculation will immediately turn to Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who served in the same role for the Seahawks during their two NFC championship seasons. Quinn was 43-42 with two playoff appearances and one memorable Super Bowl collapse in his five-plus seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
SUDBURY, Ont. – The Pittsburgh Penguins went “old school” on Sunday, getting three goals from Evgeni Malkin and two from Sidney Crosby to defeat the Ottawa Senators 5-2 in an NHL pre-season contest at Sudbury Community Arena.
The Senators had built a 2-1 first-period lead on goals from Nick Cousins and Tim Stutzle, but the Penguins’ veterans rallied to take a 3-2 lead into the third period, then added two more in the final frame despite being badly outshot 30-19.
Defenceman Kris Letang chipped in with two assists for the Penguins, who tallied twice on the power play. Malkin also had an assist for a four-point game.
Starting netminder Tristan Jarry stopped 24 of 26 shots for the Penguins before being replaced by Filip Larsson who made four saves.
Anton Forsberg played the entire game in net for the Senators, stopping 14 of 18 shots.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Senators: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.
ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — Jasmine Suwannapura made a 12-foot eagle putt on the second hole of a playoff with Lucy Li to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday.
Suwannapura — playing in the group behind Li — also eagled the par-5 18th in regulation to force the playoff at Pinnacle Country Club. They each birdied the 18th on the first extra hole.
Suwannapura shot a career-best 10-under 61, playing the back nine in 7-under 28, to match Li at 17-under 196. Tied for 25th entering the day, Li shot a tournament-record and career-best 60, making her third eagle of the round on 18.
“Lucy was not the easy player to play in a playoff with, so I’m really glad to play and stay calm and stay within myself, play my game,” said Suwannapura, who jumped into husband-caddie Michael Thomas’ arms after the winning putt. “Today happened, so I’m very happy.”
Suwannapura won her third LPGA Tour title, playing the final 22 holes without a bogey. The 31-year-old Thai player also won the 2018 Marathon Classic and teamed with Cydney Clanton to take the 2019 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
“It’s been a long time, and there is a time that I think I probably not going to win again,” Suwannapura said. “But today everything just fall in the right place, right time. And we did it with my husband is even more special.”
Li, the 21-year-old American who played in the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at age 11, missed a chance for her first LPGA Tour victory.
“I had honestly no clue that this was going to happen,” Li said. “I did not think I was in it at all. I mean, after two three-putts in the first four holes I was just like, ‘I don’t know.′ And then some magic came and I shot 60. Even though I didn’t win, just this is the greatest thing.”
Sei Young Kim was a stroke back after a 63. She made a 20-footer for eagle on 18.
Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., was the top Canadian, finishing tied for 44th at 6 under. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., finished tied for 58th at 5 under.
Mao Saigo (65) and Arpichaya Yubol (66) tied for fourth at 14 under, and second-round leader Ashleigh Buhai (69) was sixth at 13 under.
University of Arkansas sophomore Maria Marin topped the Razorbacks contingent in the field, closing with a 69 to tie for 17th at 10 under in her first tour start.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox honored longtime radio voice Joe Castiglione, who called his final game Sunday, with an on-field pregame ceremony.
The 77-year-old Castiglione, who was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer with the Ford C. Frick Award, has been the team’s lead radio voice since 1983.
During the ceremony, the team played highlights of his calls over videos of the American League championship team in 1986, and Boston’s World Series title teams in 2004, ’07, ’13 and ’18 on the center-field scoreboard.
Members of those teams came onto the field during the ceremony. Hall of Famer Jim Rice highlighted the ’86 group and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez was one of the ’04 former players.
Castiglione referred to his call ending the ’04 championship that broke an 86-year title drought, when he thanked the fans. It came on a ground ball back to pitcher Keith Foulke, who was also there to represent that team.
“I will miss being your eyes and ears,” he said. “For 42 years, all I can say is: Can you believe it!”
Asked how he felt making the call of his final out — a liner to center by Tampa Bay’s Richie Palacios that ended a 3-1 victory by the Red Sox, Castiglione said: “I was sort of numb. It sort of felt like the ninth inning in St. Louis in ‘04. … It still really hasn’t set in, probably won’t until next spring.”
Before the top of the eighth, the team ran a montage of his calls over highlights shown on the center-field scoreboard. When it was over, the entire Red Sox dugout emptied, with players, coaches and manager Alex Cora stepping onto the field, looking up and applauding toward him in the booth behind home plate.
“I had some moments, especially when Alex brought the players out,” Castiglione said.
Jackie Bradley, the 2018 ALCS MVP, caught a ceremonial first pitch from Castiglione.
“Forty-two years is a long, long time for someone to be working every single day to go through the struggles and the successes, the travel and the lifestyle, and always have a smile,” Martinez said. “Those are the kind of people that deserve all the respect that we are giving him today.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu handed him a proclamation declaring Sept. 29, 2024, as “Joe Castiglione Day” in Boston. Team President Sam Kennedy presented him with letters from Fenway Park’s infamous Green Monster that read: “CASTIG” in white with a green background color of the Monster.
Cora, a member of the ’07 team, was also on the field and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, representing the ’13 squad, was on the field as well.
Castiglione signed off like he does each season, reading part of A. Bartlett Giamatti’s “The Green Fields of the Mind.”
“I did right away, right after the game ended,” he said.
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This story has been corrected to show that Castiglione was honored with an award by the Hall of Fame, not inducted.
