If the Bears don’t need this Pete Carroll, they need the next one

Pete Carroll? The Bears could do worse.

Carroll is 73 going on 50 and the force of his personality makes a difference. He has an enthusiasm that would fit well in Halas Hall and shake it up at the same time. He has won one Super Bowl and was one bad break from winning another. He knows what makes people tick. And he gets the most out of everyone — or at least more than the Bears usually do.

After Carroll hired Shane Waldron to be the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator in 2021, quarterbacks Russell Wilson (2021) and Geno Smith (2022-23) made the Pro Bowl the next three seasons, with Smith going from NFL journeyman to $40 million man. After the Bears hired Waldron last winter, he lasted nine games. One strong personality with football sense makes a huge difference.

But as much as the Bears could use this Pete Carroll, they need the next Pete Carroll. With Caleb Williams in place but in dire need of direction, the Bears need an offensive-minded head coach who thinks and acts like Carroll and can guide and nurture Williams in the long run.

Carroll, who reached the playoffs 10 times in 14 seasons with the Seahawks before being pushed aside after finishing 9-8 last season, is looking to return to the NFL and is interested in coaching the Bears, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

But the trial balloon was shot down in Chicago almost as soon as it took off. Carroll is too old. He hasn’t won a playoff game since 2019. His last three Seahawks teams were a combined 25-26. He is a defensive coach who needs a good offensive coordinator. And the last one he hired was Waldron.

All fair points. But Carroll’s candidacy is a reminder of how much the Bears need someone like him in Halas Hall. His aggressiveness brings aggressiveness in his team and everyone around him. He has a knack for finding players who may not necessarily be ”good guys,” but who are often winners and leaders — something the Bears desperately need. Do you think it was a coincidence that Marshawn Lynch became a scary ”beast-mode” running back under Carroll?

Carroll’s ”Legion of Boom” defense with the Seahawks epitomized that intimidation and aggressiveness. It was the embodiment of what Matt Eberflus’ HITS principle should be. His best teams played hard — or as hard as a team could in this NFL era. The NFC Championship game between Carroll’s Seahawks and Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers after the 2014 season was one of the most hard-hitting games you’ll ever see, with two old-school teams duking it out with a relentless aggressiveness that was a lesson for the rest of the league. That’s the effect of good, football-driven head coaches.

Carroll also has an open mind to match his aggressiveness. How many other coaches would have given a 5-11 quarterback drafted in the third round a fair chance to win the starting job as a rookie after signing Matt Flynn to a three-year, $26 million contract (starter money these days) the starting quarterback? Carroll did, and Wilson became not only a starter but a star, making eight Pro Bowls and winning nine playoff games, including Super Bowl XLVIII — and was one play away from winning Super Bowl XLIX.

So maybe the timing isn’t right for Carroll. But he is the kind of coach the Bears need, a combination of the ”leader of men” persona of Mike Vrabel and Dan Campbell and the inventive offensive acumen of Ben Johnson. In fact, if the Bears had this Pete Carroll in Kevin Warren’s or Ryan Poles’ office at Halas Hall, they would have a much better chance of finding the next Pete Carroll.

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