The betting odds and most media predictions suggest that the Seahawks are in for a rough year in 2022. Pete Carroll doesn’t see it that way.
Despite last year’s 7-10 record (Carroll’s worst since he went 6-10 coaching the Jets in 1994, his first season as a head coach) and the offseason departure of quarterback Russell Wilson, Carroll doesn’t think the expectations are lower in Seattle.
“I don’t feel like that at all,” Carroll said, via ESPN. “I don’t feel like any part of any of that is what’s true other than the fact that that’s what people think. I’m not in that business now. I’m in the business of helping these guys get ready to play with all of the work that we do and all of the mentality and the culture and the environment that we’re in. We’ve been averaging 10 wins a year for the last 20-something years [including his time coaching USC]. You think I could think anything different than that? I don’t. I don’t see any reason my expectations should change at all.”
Carroll isn’t interested in hearing all the reasons that most people think his team will finish last in the NFC West.
“I don’t care what anybody says,” Carroll said. “People have been saying stuff about teams for years. They don’t know. They’re just guessing at this point, and then we go and prove it and we see where we are ... Win a big game in the opener or struggle and not win a big game in the opener, you’ve got to come back and get going again and back on track regardless.”
The good news for Carroll is, he’s getting an early opportunity to prove the doubters wrong: In Week One the Seahawks play Wilson and the Broncos, and if Seattle wins that game, it will quickly shift the narrative on the 2022 Seahawks.
