RENTON -- After Sunday night's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs locked up a seventh playoff appearance in nine seasons, the Seattle Seahawks rewarded head coach Pete Carroll with a multi-year contract extension on Christmas Eve.
"I am excited to announce that we have extended Head Coach Pete Carroll through the 2021 season," said Jody Allen, Seahawks Chair and Trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust. "This will continue the championship culture that we have created in Seattle."
Carroll last signed an extension with the Seahawks in 2016 that carried through the 2019 season. The new deal adds two more years to his contract and keeps him from heading into the final year of his contract without an extension. Carroll - the league's oldest head coach - will be 70 years old for the 2021 season, but he seems as energized as ever coaching this year's team.
"This has been a really, really fun season," Carroll said after the win over the Chiefs. "I can’t even believe that here we are with the last week of the season coming up. I can’t believe that it has gone so fast. It has been as much fun, and it’s because of the people. The whole mentality and the attitude, and we’ve had a blast doing this. And a great locker room, again. We’ve had locker rooms all year long that the guys have been celebrating with one another and caring for one another. It’s a great part of a team game, it’s why football is such an amazing game."
Carroll told reporters the team approached him a week ago about an extension with the deal being completed on Monday.
Carroll will likely be in consideration for NFL Coach of the Year honors after taking the Seahawks back to the postseason after an offseason that saw many star players depart for various reasons. Seattle was picked by some to be one of the worst teams in the league in 2018.
"The organization has been exceedingly good to me throughout the whole time we’ve been here and they have continued to take that position and I couldn’t be happier," Carroll told reporters shortly after signing the deal Monday afternoon.
The Seahawks are a combined 97-59-1 in their nine season with Carroll at the helm. They've reached the Super Bowl twice, winning their first championship in 2013, and have won four NFC West division titles. With a win Sunday over Arizona, the Seahawks will post a sixth 10-win season in nine years under Carroll. They had won 10 games just five times in franchise history before Carroll took over as head coach.
"So grateful to Jody and the organization," Carroll said in a statement announcing the deal. "I love this team and couldn't be more proud to represent the 12s."
Photo Credit: SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 16: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks looks on during warm ups prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)