Age doesn’t matter for Pete Carroll, whose enthusiasm for the game knows no bounds. His former running back Marshawn Lynch can attest to that fact.
Carroll, at 73, is ready to take on new responsibility, becoming the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. As expected, Lynch was there to match his energy at the introductory press conference on Jan. 26.
While sometimes the energy is fine, the running back once took an issue with such enthusiasm during an appearance on a podcast.
When Marshawn Lynch Threw Light on His Relationship With Pete Carroll
Both Carroll and Lynch won Super Bowl XLVIII together with the Seattle Seahawks. They could have won the hardware back to back, argues the running back, had Carroll gone for a running play from the 1-yard line in Super Bowl XLIX.
In Oct. 2023, when Lynch appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast, the former running back, who played for the Seahawks from 2010-15 under Carroll, revealed his dynamic with the head coach wasn’t always smooth.
Lynch said Carroll often treated his team like a high school squad with his enthusiasm. He explained that he didn’t require constant pep talks, jokes, or high-energy meetings to get ready for a game. Instead, he preferred a straightforward approach.
“My relationship with Pete was… interesting, to say the least, because, I mean, the thing is, I liked Pete as a coach because he got you ready to go. Yeah, that’s the truth; you feel me? And he was the same way every day. But there were just certain things about Pete, like, you know, I mean, he was really… yeah,” Lynch told Sharpe.
“And for me, I don’t need that to get going. That’s why I said he’s like a high school coach on Sunday. Yeah, we play Sunday, right? Oh, we got a Thursday night game? Okay, cool. Let me know when the game is, and I’m going to be ready. All the extra? I don’t need it. I don’t need all of that to get ready to go.”
Lynch Claims Carroll’s Unmatched Energy Worked Well With Other Players
While Lynch might not have liked the way Carroll treated him, he did credit the coach for uplifting the confidence among other players through his enthusiasm.
“But a lot of guys fed into that, and I saw it work, right? So you feel me, I never went against the grain, like, ‘Oh, him and this, that, and the third,’ because no — he’s a great motivator and gets guys ready. But it was just that I didn’t need that, and I don’t think he understood where I was coming from,” Lynch added.
Despite these differences, Lynch and Carroll found a way to thrive together. Under Carroll’s leadership, Lynch played a crucial role in Seattle’s Super Bowl XLVIII victory and became one of the most feared running backs in the league as “Beast Mode.”