My thoughts on John Schneider’s press conference and latest thoughts on the coaching search

It was an unusual sight to see John Schneider alone at the podium, with no Pete Carroll flanking him. Prior to the introduction of a pre-draft weekly radio show on Seattle Sports a year ago, Schneider’s media appearances have been rare over the last 14 years.

This felt like the official beginning of a new era — and Schneider delivered some intriguing nuggets about the past, present and future. A huge, franchise-changing decisions has been made. It’s only right the man now in charge faces the media. I thought this was an impressive and necessary press conference.

The word ‘stagnant’ was used quite early on. A journalist picked up on this and followed it up. Schneider was careful to say he wasn’t referring to Carroll’s team but it felt like a Freudian slip, especially given he went on talk about Marty Schottenheimer telling him a coach can’t stay somewhere longer than 10 years.

Even though Schneider and Carroll were clearly close and enjoyed a healthy working relationship, you get the impression he was ready for this opportunity. ‘Stagnant’ is exactly the word I’d use to describe recent seasons. The Seahawks weren’t going anywhere. It was time for change.

Schneider was honest about the team, admitting they perhaps overachieved in 2022 but underachieved in 2023. He stated he’d had no say in any coaching appointments since 2010 — an encouraging comment if you’re worried the next Head Coach is going to be an encore to the Ken Norton, Clint Hurtt and other underwhelming coordinator hires under Carroll.

Schneider offered the pitch he’ll be making to prospective coaches as he competes for their services — this is a young team with a great core, filled with talent. He said he feels they are ready to compete now. That’s something many other teams in the hiring cycle cannot say.

He revealed he’s had a list of prospective coaches for some time, admitting he’d been on guard for Carroll retiring. Schneider told a story about how Carroll had once said he was ‘going to change the world’ and he interpreted that as he might call it a day. It speaks to the recent reports from Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo that the idea of Carroll quitting has lingered for some time. After all, Jay Glazer reported in 2017 he was considering it — and that’s why we’ve always been open-minded about the possibility.

Schneider’s comments on Geno Smith were fascinating. He was asked to review his 2023 performance. He noted it was a reverse of last year, where he started well and faded. This year he had a difficult start and improved. It was a short and to the point answer. Certainly there was no commitment to Smith or any effusive praise. He could’ve easily said something like, ‘he’s our guy’ like Carroll occasionally did. It suggests Schneider might be plotting a new direction at quarterback as soon as this year. If nothing else, this answer felt like it confirmed Smith’s ‘bridge’ status at best.