Russell Wilson Responds to Report of Asking Seahawks to Fire Coach Pete Carroll
Russell Wilson spent his first 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before he was traded to the Denver Broncos last year. And according to a report from The Athletic, Wilson pushed for the Seahawks to fire head coach Pete Carroll before his departure. When Wilson heard the news, he went to Twitter to deny the report and show love to his former coach and Seahawks general manager John Schneider.
"I love Pete and he was a father figure to me and John believed in me and drafted me as well," Wilson wrote. "I never wanted them fired. All any of us wanted was to win. I'll always have respect for them and love for Seattle." The Seahawks traded Wilson after a rocky ending in Seattle. Shortly after the trade, Carroll explained why they are moving on from Wilson who led the team to a Super Bowl title during the 2013 season.
"This has always been a challenging time of year where we have consistently maintained a competitive approach to getting better as a team," Carroll said. "As Jody [Allen] stated, Russ' desire in doing something different afforded the organization an opportunity to compete in multiple ways. He has always been the ultimate competitor whose leadership and consistency helped shape our culture. Our franchise has won a lot of games and we will always be grateful for the exciting moments and incredible records."
Wilson had a forgettable first season with the Broncos. In 15 games, the 34-year-old quarterback completed 60.5% of his passes while throwing for 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with an 84.4 passer rating, the lowest in his career. The Athletic reported that Wilson had issues in Denver with payers, coaches and staff members. The team made a big change when they fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett and hired former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
"You have law and order, as Bill [Parcells] would say," Payton said. "... You come in with this is how we're going to teach, this is how we're going to meet, this is how we're going to practice. ... Discipline, toughness and football makeup is going to be real important for who is a Denver Bronco. There is an element of discipline, there is an element of toughness, and look, it's not for everyone."