How Pete Carroll’s Hall of Fame résumé stacks up after time with Seahawks

Asked during his goodbye news conference Wednesday how he wanted to be remembered as Seahawks’ coach, Pete Carroll referenced a 40-year-old movie.

“Roy Hobbs,” Carroll said, citing the main character in the baseball movie classic “The Natural.” “What I’d like to be remembered (is) as Roy Hobbs. There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was. I wish it could be like that.”

He paused briefly and laughed: “Nobody has a clue what that relates to.”

For now, he gets his wish in one regard.

That Carroll is the only Seahawks coach to win a Super Bowl in the franchise’s 48-year history and holds team records for most regular-season wins (137) and playoff wins (10), leaves little doubt that he stands atop the Seattle NFL coaching pantheon.

But another question looms – has he done enough to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Before going further, we will first allow that maybe Carroll isn’t done coaching.

Carroll left the door at least slightly ajar that he might walk a sideline again when asked about his future during his final radio show on Seattle Sports 710 Friday, if also conceding it may not happen.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of energy for it and thought and willingness. But I can’t imagine that there’s a place that’s the right one. I don’t know. I’m open to everything, but I’m not holding my breath on that.”

As the last week in Seattle sports showed, things can change quickly.

The reality is that Carroll turns 73 in September – he was already nearing being the oldest coach in NFL history, a distinction held by Romeo Crennel at 73 years and 115 days when he was with Houston in 2020.

Coaching again and adding anything to his résumé – including being the oldest coach ever – would certainly enhance Carroll’s chances of making it to Canton.

Some who vote for the Hall think he has a decent shot at it anyway when he becomes eligible. Coaches must be retired for five years before being considered.

“I think Pete Carroll will absolutely be in the discussion when it comes time to Hall of Fame consideration,” said Bob Glauber, a longtime NFL writer who is one of the 50 members of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

Why is that so?

Let’s review Carroll’s resume:

• In Carroll’s 18 years (14 Seahawks, one Jets, three Patriots) he went 170-120-1, which is tied for the 15th most wins in NFL history. Of those ahead of him, seven are in the Hall of Fame (Don Shula, George Halas, Tom Landry, Curly Lambeau, Paul Brown, Chuck Noll, Bill Parcells.) Three others were active at the end of this season (Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin). And of those ahead of him who are retired and not in the Hall of Fame, none won a Super Bowl (Chuck Knox, Marty Schottenheimer, Dan Reeves and Jeff Fisher).

• Carroll is tied at 170 wins with two others who are retired and not in the Hall – Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin. Each won two Super Bowls. Carroll has a better winning percentage (58.6%) as Shanahan went 170-138-0 (55.2%) and Coughlin 170-150-0 (53.1%), each coaching two more seasons than Carroll.

• Carroll’s winning percentage of 58.6 ranks 46th. But of those ahead of him, 18 are coaches with fewer than 10 seasons and some are from the early days of the game who don’t have the body of work as does Carroll. He ranks ahead of 11 other coaches who are in the Hall, including the likes of Hank Stram (57.4), Parcells (56.9), Noll (56.6), Tom Flores (52.7), Dick Vermeil (52.4) and Weeb Ewbank (50.2)

• Carroll is also tied for seventh in seasons he made the playoffs at 12, and his 11 playoff wins are tied for 10th. True, there has been a lot of playoff inflation in the last 30 years or so as the rounds have expanded. And some might look at his 11-11 record and 50% win rate that rates 48th as more telling. Still, the wins and appearances are what they are.

What would really have helped Carroll, of course, is winning more than just one Super Bowl – and how close the Seahawks were to winning two.

Of the 14 NFL coaches to win two or more Super Bowls, nine are in the Hall of Fame, and Belichick and Reid are no-brainers once eligible. The other three are Coughlin, Shanahan and George Seifert.

Proof of the value of two Super Bowl wins appeared to arrive in 2021 with the election of Flores, who won two titles with the Raiders but otherwise had a middling resume, going 97-87 in 12 seasons, 45th on the all-time win list.

Jimmy Johnson also was elected in 2020 on the strength of two Super Bowl wins with the Cowboys despite coaching just nine seasons with a record of just 80-64.

So, how does Carroll’s resume hold up?

Glauber says he has little doubt it will merit serious consideration.

“He coached one of the great defenses of all time with the Legion of Boom, the Seahawks’ championship run in Super Bowl LXVIII was one of the best single-season teams in NFL history, and his strategic excellence qualifies him for the debate,” Glauber said. “His case certainly would have been made stronger had the Seahawks not lost in such stunning fashion after the controversial call that ended with Russell Wilson’s last-minute interception against the Patriots the following season.

“Very few coaches without multiple championships get into the Hall of Fame, so that will potentially impact his candidacy. But in terms of his overall body of work, Pete Carroll’s name will be on the list of Hall of Fame coaches up for consideration.”

Two other voters, Eric Williams and Charean Williams, agreed.

Said Eric Williams, who writes for FoxSports.com and covered the first three seasons of Carroll’s career with the Tacoma News Tribune: “Pete is certainly a Hall of Fame worthy candidate in my mind for a couple reasons. He created sustainable success for the franchise, including leading the Seahawks to the team’s only Super Bowl victory. He won championships at the college and pro levels, and he also was innovative both schematically with the Legion of Boom defense and the unique, winning culture he developed in Seattle.”

Charean Williams, now with Pro Football Talk, noted that the Hall of Fame’s recent decision to elect at least one coach or contributor every year should help.

The Hall created that provision in 2023 for three years, saying it will be reviewed in 2025 as to whether it will be continued.

“I think as long as the coaches have their own category (or coaches/contributors) every Super Bowl-winning coach not only has a shot but will get in sooner or later,” Charean Williams said. “Mike Holmgren is on the brink of going, and he and Pete Carroll have similar resumes. So, yes, I think Pete Carroll has a great Hall of Fame case.”

As Eric Williams noted, Carroll also has a sterling college coaching resume, going 97-19 in nine years at USC, with one outright national title and sharing another.

Carroll, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer are the only coaches to win titles in both. HOF voting officially focuses solely on NFL accomplishment. But it could creep into the discussion.

Oddly, Carroll isn’t currently eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, which requires someone to have coached at least 10 years.

Carroll somehow never really had a shot at an NFL Coach of the Year award while with the Seahawks, getting votes just five times in his 14 seasons with a high finish of third in 2012. But that felt more a matter of timing – and his team usually having high expectations – than anything else.

Carroll famously downplayed individual honors during his Seahawks career, saying once: “It’s great recognition for your staff, because that’s what it really is. So it’s nice for everybody. But it doesn’t matter.”

As his Roy Hobbs comment Wednesday indicated, Carroll may care more than he let on, especially now that his career may be in the past.

“I think he is giving you a little bit of lip service on that,” former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, now an analyst with the NFL Network, said a few years ago when asked about Carroll publicly saying he cared little about recognition.

“I think Pete is very aware of his legacy and very cognizant of it, and I think he has worked his entire life to build his legacy.”

Is it a legacy worthy of immortality in Canton? For now, it’s a question without an answer.