Here’s why Pete Carroll could be a good fit for the Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears interviewed three more candidates for their head coach opening on Thursday. The team announced interviews with Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

This comes one day after the Bears interviewed former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

Of that list, Carroll definitely raises some eyebrows.

The 73-year-old coach won a Super Bowl and appeared in two during his 14-year run with the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll and the Seahawks mutually agreed to part ways following the 2023 season, although Carroll remained on staff as an advisor.

It seems, however, that Carroll is eager to be back on the sidelines. He’s by far the most accomplished coach the Bears are interviewing.

Carroll holds a 291-170-1 regular season record as an NFL head coach. He also coached the New York Jets for one season in 1994 and the New England Patriots for three seasons from 1997-99. He built the iconic USC teams that dominated college football in the 2000s.

In Seattle, he engineered one of the best defenses in recent NFL history with the “Legion of Boom” secondary that helped the Seahawks become an annual competitor in the NFC. He also oversaw the selection and development of quarterback Russell Wilson.

Much like Vrabel, the NFL widely views Carroll as more of a motivator than an X’s and O’s coach. When things were humming in Seattle, he got the most out of his players.

“Coach Carroll, man, is a special human being,” quarterback Geno Smith said when the Seahawks visited Soldier Field on Dec. 26. “He’s a believer. He’s a guy that’s always going to be upbeat. He’s always going to fight, and he has one way about him. That’s what I love about him.”

Smith later added: “Coach Carroll can help out any team and anybody. I’m a big advocate of his, and I know he is of mine. I love that guy.”

He’s a believer. He’s a guy always going to be upbeat. He’s always going to fight, and he has one way about him. That’s what I love about him.”

—  Geno Smith, Seahawks quarterback

Carroll’s age is a legitimate concern. If Carroll is a head coach in Week 1 next season, he would become the oldest head coach in NFL history. He likely has to go into any head coach interview with a succession plan.

Bears team president Kevin Warren wants to go into this search with no preconceived notions about what the head coach should be.

He made it clear that he wants a coach who will raise the bar of the entire organization.

“There’s certain standards we’re going to have to set from discipline, accountability, hard work, vision, foresight, leadership, game management, from a coaching standpoint, and I think we have to commit to those standards,” Warren said. “We have to hold each other accountable, because if people start to deviate and justify a reason to go below the standard, we have to say the standard is the standard. It’s not about the person. It’s about the standard.”

Carroll’s entire coaching philosophy, which he outlines in his 2011 book “Win Forever,” is predicated on building the right mindset within an organization. Carroll doesn’t believe in focusing on wins and losses. He believes that focusing on the process will result in wins.

“Our record will not be what motivates me,” Carroll wrote in his book. “Years ago I was asked, ‘Pete, which is better: winning or competing?’ My response was instantaneous: ‘Competing. . . because it lasts longer.’”

Bears fans might roll their eyes at the idea that winning is secondary. But keep in mind that when Warren mentioned setting the standard, he didn’t mention winning.