The Seattle Seahawks have fired head coach Jim Mora after only his first season in charge and there are speculations that USC head coach Pete Carroll might take over the position. According to ESPN.com, an announcement of Carroll becoming the Seahawks’ head coach could happen as early as next week.
ESPN.com is citing league sources that would rather remain anonymous.
With Mora fired after finishing his only season with Seattle 5-11, the Seahawks are without a coach, a general manager and president. Four years ago, the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Pete’s name comes out at this time every year. In the past, he hasn’t commented on such reports,” USC spokesman Tim Tessalone told the AP. “He was not expected in (Friday). … At this point, we have nothing to report.”
Seahawks chief executive Tod Leiweke, who fired Mora during a Friday morning meeting, did not return The AP’s request regarding Carroll.
“This team, more importantly this community, means so much to me that it hurts not being able to see this through,” Mora said in a team statement. “I am disappointed I did not get the chance to complete my contract. This is a tough business that sometimes demands immediate gratification.”
The firing in Seattle was a domino effect that ended Mora. General manager and president Tim Ruskell was fired Dec. 3 as he took the initial fall for such an abysmal season. Though Leiweke had mentioned in December that Mora would return for a second season, he fired him instead in the new year.
“Maybe I oversold” optimism before the season, Mora said. “It was harder than we thought.”
In his first and only season, Mora’s team looked poor compared to the Mike Holmgren era where the team had made the Super Bowl in 2006.
Mora grew up in the Seattle area. He went to high school and college there. He had returned in 2007 to become Holmgren’s assistant and defensive backs coach.
Mora had thought he would be in Seattle longer as a coach.
“This is where I plan on living the rest of my life,” he said, “and I want to be able to walk around this city and feel proud of the work I did for the Seattle Seahawks.”
The question now is if Carroll will take the job and his third stint in the NFL after previous coaching experiences with the New York Jets and the New England Patriots.
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