We Miss You, Pete: The Emotional Pete Carroll Interview That Hit Seahawks Fans in the Feels
Carroll addresses his departure from Seattle, Raiders new direction, and relationship with Tom Brady
“Don’t waste your time on me, you’re already the voice inside my yead…I miss you!”
Just like that classic blink-182 song depicts, you ever miss somebody? That’s what hit me watching Pete Carroll’s interview with Seattle radio legends Brock and Salk earlier this week. Carroll’s optimism, charm, and charisma reached through my phone and pulled me away from a loud Tacoma bar on a Saturday night.
Watching the interview with earbuds in, I was hooked. (And yes, I went on to enjoy my night. Shoutout to my boy Gio!)
Carroll opened up about his exit from Seattle, his relationship with Tom Brady, and what’s coming in Vegas. So let’s break it down, so you don’t have to plug in your AirPods at a bar.
The Raiders Are the Seahawks 2.0
Pete wasted no time laying out the plan: “It should be obvious to you guys what we’re doing,” he told Brock and Salk. “It’s very similar.” Similar to what, Pete? Oh… just a little thing called building a Super Bowl team.
What Carroll’s trying to recreate in Vegas is the blueprint he perfected in Seattle. Build a world-class defense (think: Legion of Boom 2.0), lean on a dominant running game, and trust a quarterback who can manage the game but hit lasers when it matters.
And you know what? The pieces are falling into place.
Maxx Crosby might thrive in that environment.
The Raiders drafted Ashton Jeanty, the best running back in the class and a guy who models his game after Seahawks legend Marshawn Lynch.
And yeah—Carroll got his quarterback back (traded for Geno Smith)
That’s right. Geno’s a Raider now.
Carroll believed in Geno when nobody else did. The Jets buried him. People wrote him off. But like Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight Rises, Geno clawed his way out of the pit. And Pete? He was Morgan Freeman handing him the Bat Suit when he returned to Gotham City. (Seriously, how good was The Dark Knight trilogy?)
When Geno beat Russell Wilson in Week 1 after that blockbuster trade, he gave us the line of the year:
“They wrote me off, I ain’t write back though.”
From Seattle sports fans—thank you, Geno. That game meant everything. Your attitude as our starting quarterback matched Pete’s. You reminded us that redemption is real. Thank you for everything.
But now you’re a Raider...so suck it!
Go Hawks.
What Really Happened in Seattle?
Eventually, Salk asked the question I’ve tackled on my YouTube channel (@realSeattleMike):
“What happened at the end?”
Pete didn’t dodge. He said it clearly: he didn’t want to leave. He still wanted to coach. Still wanted to develop the young talent. But ownership had other plans.
“It was John’s turn,” Carroll said. “I had the lead voice in all of it for all those years…I was really hoping that John (Schneider) could take over and run it.”
Let’s be clear—Pete Carroll wasn’t just the Seahawks Head Coach. He was also President of Football Operations. That means he outranked John Schneider. Any time they disagreed, Pete had final say.
Now John runs the show. He hired Mike Macdonald to coach the team, and for the first time in over a decade, Schneider has the final word.
The Tom Brady Factor
The interview turned to the Raiders’ ownership group—specifically Tom Brady.
“What’s your communication been like with Tom Brady?”
“Pretty regular,” Pete said with a grin. “When Tom was onboard here, it changed my outlook to come here.”
That’s a big quote.
It makes sense though. Tom Brady is arguably the greatest leader in sports history. Not the most physically gifted—that’s Mahomes or Rodgers—but Brady wins because he hates losing more than he loves winning.
Pete sees that. He respects that. And now the two of them are building something together in Vegas.
But the connection goes deeper.
Back in 2000, Pete Carroll got fired by the Patriots. Robert Kraft brought in Bill Belichick. Belichick drafted Tom Brady with the 199th pick. The rest is history—three Super Bowls in the first five years, a near-perfect season in 2007, and a dynasty.
Carroll? He rebuilt at USC (Winning a few titles of his own), came back to the NFL, and won a Super Bowl in Seattle. But in Super Bowl 49, his Seahawks faced…
Brady. Belichick. The Patriots.
And yeah—we know how that ended.
Now, Carroll works for the quarterback who put a scar on his legacy. Some football poetry I guess.
The Juice
Early in the interview, Brock Huard asked the million-dollar Pete Carroll question:
“How do you keep bringing the juice, every day, even now?”
Pete’s answer was perfect:
“It has nothing to do with how old you are. It has to do with how much passion you have and how much you love what you’re doing.”
That’s Pete. That’s why we miss him.
Mike Macdonald is the right guy for the Seahawks going forward. He’s doing a great job and is building something promising in Seattle. We can acknowledge and appreciate that, while simultaneously missing Pete.
Pete Carroll was more than just a football coach. He was a mindset. A lifestyle. A reminder that you should love what you do, bring energy every damn day, and never let age or doubt stop you. I’ve said it on my YouTube channel and written it on multiple occasions – I’ll do it once more here – there should be a statue of Pete Carroll outside of Lumen Field. T-Mobile Park has a Ken Griffey Jr. statue in front of the Home Plate entrance (Deservingly so). Lumen Field should have a Pete Carroll statue.
Seattle might’ve let him go. But we’ll never forget what he brought us.
And Pete?
We miss you.