The Seattle Seahawks have gone 7-9 in each of Pete Carroll's two seasons with the team, and now the fan base is hungry not only return to the playoffs, but to make a deep run in the NFC. Most have been happy with Carroll's work with the Seahawks thus far, but would a disappointing season in 2012 move him to the hot seat?
We investigate after the jump.
This story from Pro Football Weekly recently ranked all of the head coaches in the league in terms of job security. Carroll ranked 20th -- meaning 19 other guys are safer than he is -- despite his 14 wins in two seasons. Here is what PFW had to say about the situation in Seattle.
Carroll has two 7-9 seasons to his name in Seattle, but he bought a little lasting credence with a shocking playoff victory against the Saints two years ago. He also appears to have a strong ally in GM John Schneider, who works hand in hand with Carroll to pick players and build the roster. They seem to share a vision. And it's a strong, perhaps underrated roster that they have built, with a defense that might be ready to vault into the top handful of the NFL if the pass rush develops. But what happens if they can't find a solution at quarterback? Even in a weak division, they likely can't play the shuffle game with Matt Flynn, Russell Wilson or Tarvaris Jackson and expect to take down the 49ers and what Jim Harbaugh has built there so quickly. They must develop offensively and take advantage of the fact that the rest of the division remains vulnerable to varying degrees.
What Carroll needs to do to keep his job in 2013: Do we say that 7-9 for a third straight season is probably enough? There is legitimate optimism in Seattle about a playoff berth this year, and with two years left on Carroll's deal after this season, it probably would take a real disaster to see him canned.
This seems to be pretty accurate with what most Seahawks fans believe. A 7-9 season (or something similar) would not do the head coach any favors, but it's tough to imagine Carroll would be fired for missing out on the playoffs by a game or two. Should the team completely collapse though, he may be looking for new employment next spring.
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