CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It was back in May, the first day of rookie minicamp, and Pete Carroll had a bounce in his step that belied the prevailing narrative of impending doom.
The demise of the Seahawks had been widely predicted. They missed the playoffs in 2017 for the first time since 2011, had dumped mainstays Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett (and lost Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril to career-ending injuries), and fired both coordinators as well as offensive-line coach Tom Cable.
All that upheaval was happening amid whispers that Carroll’s message was being disregarded in the locker room.