Names to watch: Five candidates to replace Pete Carroll as Seahawks coach
SEATTLE – Pete Carroll is out as the Seattle Seahawks’ coach.
After the greatest run in franchise history – 147 total victories, five division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win in 14 seasons – the Seahawks will start a new chapter with a new coach in 2024.
Who will the Seahawks target to succeed Carroll?
Here are five names that could be a good fit:
Dan Quinn, Cowboys defensive coordinator
Quinn, 53, makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons.
He has strong ties to the Seahawks and general manager John Schneider, having served as their defensive line coach in 2009-10 and returning as Seattle’s defensive coordinator in 2013-14, coaching the Legion of Boom and helping the Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
Quinn parlayed that success into his first head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons, who won the NFC championship during the 2016 season and advanced to the Super Bowl.
Quinn had a 43-42 record in parts of six seasons with the Falcons. He has been the Cowboys’ DC since 2021, and he’s widely expected to return as a head coach somewhere this offseason.
There is reportedly “strong” interest, according to several media reports, from the Seahawks on a reunion, and Quinn’s return as coach would likely allow Schneider to step up and assume Carroll’s duties as executive vice president of football operations.
Kalen DeBoer, UW coach
Does DeBoer want to coach in the NFL?
If he does, he might never have a better chance to make the leap, coming off Monday’s appearance in the national championship game.
In two seasons with the Huskies, DeBoer, 49, has established himself as one of the best coaches in college football and one of the great offensive minds in the game. Maybe he wants to see how his prostyle spread offense would fare against NFL defenses?
DeBoer and new UW athletic director Troy Dannen have been open about ongoing contract negotiations to extend DeBoer, who, at $4.2 million, had just the 44th-highest salary in college football in 2023.
He’s expected to at least double his salary with a new deal at UW, but he could triple (or even quadruple) that in the NFL if money is a determining factor.
Mike Vrabel, former Titans coach
In an unexpected development, the Titans fired Vrabel on Tuesday.
Vrabel, the 2021 Associated Press Coach of the Year, is expected to be one of the more popular names to fill one of the NFL’s seven head-coaching vacancies.
Vrabel, 48, won three Super Bowls as a linebacker with the Patriots from 2001-08, and he’s rumored to be a candidate for the New England job if the Patriots decide to move on from Bill Belichick.
Vrabel had a 54-45 record with three playoff appearances in six seasons with the Titans.
Mike Macdonald, Ravens defensive coordinator
The 36-year-old Macdonald is the hottest name in the coaching carousel.
The Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans have all reportedly requested permission to interview Macdonald for their vacancies.
After one season as Michigan’s DC in 2021, Macdonald returned to Baltimore as the DC in 2022. The Ravens ranked as the NFL’s No. 1 defense this season.
Mike McCarthy, Cowboys coach
In a recent interview, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stopped short of committing to McCarthy as the team’s coach in 2024, raising some eyebrows around Dallas.
“We’ll see how each game goes in the playoffs,” Jones said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Cowboys went 12-5 and won the NFC East this season. They’ll host the Packers on Sunday in an NFC wild-card matchup.
McCarthy and Schneider have ties to Green Bay. McCarthy spent 13 seasons as the Packers’ coach, and Schneider was reportedly McCarthy’s “preferred choice” to be the Packers’ GM back in 2018. (Schneider remained with the Seahawks.)