Pete Carroll Coaches Seahawks Game After Receiving Stitches

The NFL can be a rough sport and Seattle Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll felt the brunt of it during Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The Seahawks head coach was apparently hit by a ball in the face before the game, which led to an injury and a bandage on his nose.

Heading toward kickoff, Carroll was being his normal goofy self on the field — joking around with players and having a genuinely good time. However, once the game started, he looked decidedly different. Specifically, Carroll had a bloody bandage on his nose, and appeared to be in pain. He had apparently been hit in the face by a football during pregame warmups and had to receive stitches on his nose prior to kickoff.

This didn’t limit the 68-year-old coach. He just suited up and got back onto the field. Talk about playing through some serious pain.

The injury apparently happened when Seahawks rookie linebacker Cody Barton threw a ball to an assistant coach. Unfortunately, Carroll ran directly into the path of the football and was hit directly in the face. Barton likely wanted to make an impression on his head coach, but this may not have been the best avenue for success.

Fortunately for the youngster, Carroll is known as a coach that gets along with his players extremely well. There are some leaders that are viewed as disciplinarians while others are “players’ coaches.” Carroll certainly fits that latter category, and he understands that accidents happen. Barton should be safe from any repercussions from his injured head coach.

Carroll may have looked far tougher during Sunday’s game, but it did not propel his team to victory. The Seahawks, who were favored due to backup Teddy Bridgewater starting for the Saints, struggled to contain the duo of Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas. The Saints piled up 33 points during Sunday’s victory while the Seahawks only managed 27.

To make matters worse for Carroll and co., the defense didn’t manage a single quarterback sack or an interception. The special teams unit gave up a touchdown on a punt return. It appeared that the toughness had been ripped from this one fearsome team, which did not fit with the image of Carroll’s stitched-up nose.