There's a rumor floating around out there that Pete Carroll wants to return to the NFL ranks, which could catch the 49ers' attention.
The San Francisco 49ers don't have too many other "hated" rival head coaches out there. Perhaps the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Sirianni or maybe even the Kansas City Chiefs' Andy Reid.
But neither of those two carried the fanbase's vitriol more than former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
Carroll, the Northern California native and former Niners fan, is one of many thorns in the side of San Francisco's past, namely from the early 2010s when he and the Hawks regularly frustrated the 49ers back when the two NFC West squads engaged in must-watch football.
Seattle ultimately dismissed Carroll to open up 2024, opting to go with head coach Mike Macdonald, who doesn't come close to carrying the same rivalry cred (at least not yet).
But, there are some controversial rumors floating around out there about a potential return for Carroll somewhere.
Emphasize the controversial part.
Mike Florio reports Pete Carroll wants back in NFL, Adam Schefter refutes it
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported Carroll wants another shot at coaching an NFL team, and the NBC insider cited ESPN's Adam Schefter as the reporting source:
"Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Carroll wants back in. Which means, frankly, that Carroll’s agent has specifically told this to Schefter in the hopes that Schefter would broadcast it to the world, in the hopes of generating public opinion. Then, Carroll’s agent will owe Schefter big time."
OK, fine. That'd be of interest.
However, to make things cloudier, Schefter barked back at Florio and stated the entire premise of the report was false, namely the part about Carroll's agent having a say:
Everything you say here is 100 percent wrong. Keep up the guess work and Merry Christmas.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 25, 2024
It's hard to go much further than this right now. Perhaps Schefter is quieting down the report, not wanting to suggest the former coach's agent is pulling the strings.
Or, just as possibly, Florio's spin on said agent having a say is truly 100-percent accurate.
One team in question, though, is the Chicago Bears who recently fired Matt Eberflus and replaced him with interim head coach Thomas Brown, whom the Niners beat in his coaching debut earlier this season.
To what degree Carroll has interest, and exactly how that interest was gauged, apparently seems pretty controversial, at least between Florio and Schefter.
That said, would San Francisco fans want to see Carroll back on the sidelines?
A rival coach would create a bit more of a spark, particularly between the 49ers and Bears where there's no current rivalry. But, given it's a non-NFC West matchup, it wouldn't come close to how things were back when Carroll was in the Pacific Northwest.
Still, Carroll's future will hold Niners fans' interests.