Has “Front office” Pete Carroll made it tougher for “Sideline” Pete Carroll?

Every Seahawks fan is buzzing about the draft this past weekend. Nearly everything seemed to go our way. Being a “human level” that I am, I always find myself looking for a countermeasure to any extreme. If something goes horribly wrong, there is almost always a positive side effect if you step back to see it. The inverse is true for something going amazingly well.

It occurred to me yesterday that the one thing Pete Carroll has going for him as a coach is low expectations. Two terrible seasons had most Hawks fans accepting that we are in rebuilding mode, and the playoffs are not a realistic goal. Low expectations are a new coaches best friend. It gives him a long leash to install his system and every win will feel like a great accomplishment instead of the expected result.

Then, last weekend happened. Pete Carroll, in his front office capacity as ultimate personnel owner, put the heat on his alter ego as coach. Seahawks fan are expecting improvement now. Great young players, combined with solid veteran additions lead folks to start believing again. Do people believe the Hawks will make the playoffs? In most cases, no, but there are now some that do believe. Where people were thinking 4-6 wins might be acceptable/realistic, now they are talking 6-8.

Nobody really knows how good the players we just got really are going to be. Nobody really knows if Leon Washington’s leg is going to allow him to return to top form, or if LenDale White can keep off the Patron. What we do know is there are fewer excuses for this team to be as hopeless as they were last year. If the product on the field doesn’t look like it’s taking shape instead of falling apart (see end of last year), Pete Carroll the coach will be right in the crosshairs, and he will have only himself to blame for raising expectations so quickly.