Rebuilding Seahawks: Did Carroll lose advantage?

As the Seattle Seahawks churn their roster at a rapid rate, the logical assumption is that head coach Pete Carroll is determined to rebuild the team to compete in an NFC West Division that includes young upstarts in the San Francisco 49ers and the defending division champion Los Angeles Rams. On Friday, Seattle's four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman was released along with fellow veteran cornerback Jeremy Lane. Two days earlier, Seattle agreed to trade defensive end Michael Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles in a deal that won't be official until the March 14 start of the league year. The Seahawks have Russell Wilson at quarterback and Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker to anchor the team as Carroll pushes the reset button. Surely Carroll can rebuild the Seahawks again. After all, after arriving in Seattle in 2010, he pushed the team into the Super Bowl following the 2013 and 2014 seasons. So, going into his ninth season with the Seahawks, he should be able to repeat his initial run at the Super Bowl, right? Not so fast. When he arrived in 2010, Carroll had an advantage that gave him a decided edge in acquiring players to build a powerhouse team. He spent the previous decade in the living rooms of many of those players. He gained fame -- and then infamy -- as a great recruiter at USC. In his first four years with the Seahawks, that background, that insight, served him well as he acquired a dozen Pro Bowl or All-Pro level players. A quick look at this list is testimony to Carroll's great personnel work in those first years: Pos., Player, Draft, note 2010 LT Russell Okung, D1 (left after 2015 season; with Chargers) S Earl Thomas, D1 (on roster) S Kam Chancellor, D5 (on roster) RB Marshawn Lynch, trade from Buffalo (left after 2015 season; with Raiders) 2011 G James Carpenter, D1 (left after 2014 season; with Jets) LB K.J. Wright, D4 (on roster) CB Richard Sherman, D5 (released Friday) CB Byron Maxwell, D6 (left after 2014 season; back with Seahawks in 2017) WR Doug Baldwin, undrafted free agent (on roster) 2012 LB Bruce Irvin, D1 (left after 2015 season; with Raiders) LB Bobby Wagner, D2 (on roster) QB Russell Wilson, D3 (on roster) CB Jeremy Lane, D6 (released Friday) G J.R. Sweezy, D7 (left after 2015 season; with Bucs) CB DeShawn Shead, undrafted free agent, scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent March 14 WR Jermaine Kearse, undrafted free agent (left after 2016 season; with Jets) 2013 TE Luke Willson, D3, scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent March 14 DE Cliff Avril, UFA (on roster; D3 DET 2008) DE Michael Bennett, UFA (just traded; undrafted free agent with Seahawks 2009) FB Derrick Coleman, FA (left after 2015 season; with Falcons; originally undrafted free agent with Minnesota 2012) While chatting with Carroll during the 2017 league meeting in Phoenix, I asked him if he had an advantage during those first years in Seattle. "I probably would say that we did have extra insight into some players coming out of college back then," he said. OK, Pete, so going forward without that advantage, can you expect to be as successful keeping the team well-stocked? "That's certainly a fair question," he said. "Football is ever-changing and you just need to stay on top of things. You need more than hard work, you need to be effective. So we will work hard and expect to be effective and we'll see how it goes when that time comes." And now the time has come. Some of the player moves were to address cap issues as the Seahawks are hoping to sign free agents-to-be defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson and wide receiver Paul Richardson. Not only was Sherman coming off injuries to both Achilles, his cap hit would have been more than $13 million. He and Bennett were alternately called team leaders and distractions. In building a new team, with a new locker room, sometimes the old leaders are a constant distraction. But wait, there's more. After a 9-7 season and finishing out of the playoffs for the first time in six years, Carroll made the most significant changes to the coaching staff since taking over as head coach in 2010. Eight assistant coaches were not retained, six new coaches were added and three coaches changed roles. Four assistants were fired -- offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, defensive coordinator Kris Richard, assistant head coach/offensive line Tom Cable and assistant head coach/linebackers Michael Barrow. Also not retained were senior defensive assistant Travis Jones, assistant defensive backs coach Ricky Manning Jr. and assistant defensive line coach Dwaine Board. Assistant special teams coach Heath Farwell left to take a position with the Carolina Panthers. The team hired Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator and Mike Solari as the offensive line coach. Ken Norton Jr. returned from Oakland (fired) to take over as defensive coordinator. The Seahawks also hired Jethro Franklin as assistant defensive line coach, Larry Izzo as assistant special teams coach and Steve Shimko as an offensive assistant. Carl Smith moved from quarterbacks coach to associate head coach, Dave Canales from wide receivers coach to quarterbacks coach, and Nate Carroll went to wide receivers coach from the assistant position. "I'm really excited about the guys that are here and how it's working out so far," Carroll said. "We are seeing the new energy. I am energized by it. The whole group is. And we are looking forward to working to see how it's going to turn out." And he has a hard act to follow -- his own.