Legendary football coach is entering his first season ass the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. The last time Carroll was on the sidelines, he was coaching the same starting quarterback in Geno Smith, only then the pair were members of the Seattle Seahawks.
In a recent Seattle Sports interview, Carroll addressed his departure from the Seahawks organization and revealed that he had final say in how things played out.
“It came to me that there was a time that we probably were about to face one of the bigger changes, shifts, in the time of the program, and I had really been dedicated, as John had been dedicated too, John Schneider, to doing this thing in great fashion together,” Carroll said in an appearance on Brock & Salk.
“We had done that, I thought, and it was really John’s turn, it was his turn to take over. I had the lead voice and all of that all through that time, and I was really hoping that John could become the general manager of the club and run it.
“And if we could do that and figure a way to get out of that, we did. Jody was great about it, and so we just kind of agreed upon it that if we could work it out, I would support the thought. That’s kind of how it happened, so it’s a little bit different than maybe how people perceived it, but John got his chance.”
Carroll also noted that he believes a head coach and general manager must be aligned and on the same page, something he felt he had for most of his time in Seattle and believes he has once again in Las Vegas with Raiders general manager John Spytek.
“The relationship between the head coach and the general manager in the NFL is more important than any other aspect, any other factor at all,” Carroll said.
“I treat that position with great respect and I always did that with John, John did that with me.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.