It's been a strange process for the San Francisco 49ers as they seek to replace defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen after one up-and-down season in charge of the unit.
There were reports that former Niners coordinator and New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh was the man whom head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted to replace Sorensen, likely looking for stability in the role after two straight one-and-done guys holding down the position. The compensation has been suggested to be quite massive as a means to lure Saleh back to Santa Clara.
But Saleh is also likely favoring a return to a head coaching gig after getting a taste of the role with the Jets and has gotten a few interviews, including with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team he used to work for.
It's been a wild few days for the Jags, as they seemed to have found their man in Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, before he opted to stay in Tampa, bringing Saleh back into the fold.
That was followed by Jags owner Shad Khan ousting former 49ers general manager Trent Baalke from the same role in Jacksonville, which caused many to speculate that Baalke's presence was standing in the way of hiring the coach they really wanted, be it Coen or Saleh or someone else altogether.
All of this stirred up a rumor brought out by Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard, who reported that former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll's name had come up as a potential Sorensen replacement for the Niners.
All of this background feels like a lot, but it sets up the ultimate question here: is this something San Francisco should even be entertaining?
On some level, it makes sense.
Carroll is part of the brain trust that developed the defensive scheme the 49ers have been utilizing since Shanahan came to town in 2017, so he would know how to get the best out of the set up, at least in theory.
But, a glance at some of the Seahawks' defensive metrics since the season that Shanahan came to the 49ers (which also roughly coincides with the dissolution of the vaunted "Legion of Boom" in Seattle, which began the following year when defensive backs Richard Sherman and Cam Chancellor left the Seahawks) suggests the Niners may be wise to avoid Carroll as their new coordinator.
Using the metrics of points allowed per game, total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, and yards per attempt or carry for the 2017 through 2023 seasons, Carroll's defense has been inconsistent at best and downright awful at times.
Coming off the 2016 campaign, where the Hawks were in the top 10 in the league in all those categories, save for one (15th in yards per pass attempt with 6.2, which is still not bad), the defense fell off those numbers in what would prove to be the last season in Seattle for Sherman and Chancellor.
With those two gone, 2018 was even worse, with most categories in the bottom half of the league, including 30th in yards per carry allowed. And 2019, when All-Pro safety Earl Thomas joined Sherman and Chancellor as former Seahawks, Seattle was bottom 10 in the NFL in all of those categories.
The Hawks improved in some areas, notably against the run in 2020 and 2021, but every season from 2020 until Carroll's last year as head coach in 2023 featured a defense at or near the bottom half of the league in passing yards allowed (31st, 31st, 13th, and 21st) and in roughly the same boat in points allowed (15th, 11th, 25th, and 25th).
The most troubling statistic, however, is that in Carroll's final season, the passing yards allowed metric was actually the best of those numbers, as they finished 30th in yards (6,313), 21st in passing yards (3,961), 22nd in yards per attempt (6.3), 31st in rushing yards (2,352), and 27th in yards per carry (4.6).
Seattle finished 9-8 that year and Carroll stepped down as head coach.
The thing to keep in mind is the 49ers have fired two successive defensive coordinators, and in those same categories, they finished third and 29th (points per game), 8th (total yards, both seasons), 15th and fifth (passing yards), fifth and eighth (yards per attempt), third and 18th (rushing yards), and 14th and 17th (yards per carry).
Suffice it to say, it doesn't feel like Carroll would be able to improve on those numbers enough to warrant his being hired as the 49ers' defensive coordinator.
All of this is summed up perfectly by Lee Vowell, Site Expert for 12th Man Rising, FanSided's Seahawks site.
"The rest of the NFL caught up to Carroll," Vowell told Niner Noise. "And then he appeared to be unable to adjust to what teams, especially the Rams, were doing. The reason he was ultimately let go is likely because the team was going to be stuck in mediocrity, and Carroll seemingly knew no way out."
It should be noted that Carroll has not been offered the 49ers defensive coordinator job andcould be the Las Vegas Raiders' target to be their new head coach after former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson chose the Chicago Bears' head coach vacancy.
But, given how the last two seasons have gone for the 49ers with the position, avoiding Carroll might be the right option.