"I think it's gutless"- NFL reporter calls out Seattle owner for choosing Pete Carroll over Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson or Pete Carroll? Heading into the 2022 offseason, the Seahawks had a choice to make. In sending Russell Wilson away, the team chose to keep Pete Carroll, a 70-year-old NFL head coach. Speaking on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, NFL reporter Mike Silver vehemently disagreed with the team's decision. Here's what he had to say:
"Now, let's compare that to Seattle, where Jody Allen, who we never hear from her because she's a zillionaire and apparently doesn't think the fans deserve to ever hear from the acting owner or, you know, had heard of the estate or whatever you want to call her, which I think is gutless."
Silver continued, jumping into the mind of Jody Allen, the de-facto owner of the team:
"But be that as it may, Jody Allen essentially said, 'Okay, I've got a 33-year-old quarterback who wants to play till he's 45 or 50, Russell Wilson, who doesn't think it's going great with my 70-year-old coach, I'll be at a very accomplished one. You know what? I'm choosing the 70-year-old coach over the 33-year-old quarterback.'"
Silver went on to say that he would question her selection of Carroll over Wilson if he got the chance to interview her:
"So if Jody Allen would actually give it interview, I would ask her, 'Yo, like, is that really what you did ... you really, you know, respectfully because I love Pete, but you chose a quarterback with lots of time left, you can't really replicate. You chose to get rid of him and keep a coach who probably won't coach that much longer."
He compared Seattle's situation to that of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, explaining how they got rid of coach Bruce Arians while retaining quarterback Tom Brady:
"Conversely, I don't think the Bucs actually did this. But if the Bucs did choose between Brady and Arians, they chose a quarterback whose maybe gonna be done in 10 seconds over an older coach."
Pete Carroll versus Russell Wilson
One could make the argument that both the head coach and quarterback have roughly similar lifespans remaining in their current jobs, assuming they don't self-destruct. At 70 years old, Pete Carroll can continue to work his job as long as he can stand on the sidelines. Based on how energetic the head coach still is, many hope that he could still have 5-10 years left in the tank.
Meanwhile, Russell Wilson will turn 34 years old this season. He could have five years or more left. However, he has stated that his goal is to play into his 40s. Tom Brady showed that this is possible. However, most agree that both the head coach and quarterback have reasons for concern.
Russell Wilson is known as a scrambling quarterback. Scrambling quarterbacks typically don't have the same shelf-life as pocket quarterbacks, since they take more hits. After last season's injury, some wonder if the quarterback has already begun to reach his limits. Russell broke his finger last season. After having surgery, he missed the next three games.
Meanwhile, for Pete Carroll at 70 years old, there are no guarantees about anything in one's seventh decade on the planet.
Which will last longer?