Seahawks’ John Schneider says he wasn’t worried about extension getting done

Before the Seahawks and general manager John Schneider agreed to a five-year extension Sunday night, there was a growing question as to what was taking so long. With training camp approaching and Schneider entering the final year of his previous contract, it was curious that the two sides had yet to reach a deal.

Schneider, though, told John Clayton on Tuesday that he never worried it may not get done.

“I wasn’t, no. I really wasn’t,” he said. “I have strong faith and … I knew that they appreciated what we’ve done here, everybody’s appreciated what we’ve done and that people have the confidence in us moving forward.”

Schneider said the delay was a matter of logistics as summer schedules made it difficult for all the parties involved to work out the deal.

“The awkward thing about this time of the year with things like this is you have people kind of just going in different directions at different times,” he said. “This happens with player negotiations as well at times. When you do deals in the summer, you have people kinda going with family members here and going with family members there. So when several people are involved in a deal … just from a communication standpoint, things don’t get done quite as quickly as you would like.”

According to Clayton, Schneider’s extension is worth around $3.5 million per year, which makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid general managers. It’s the third contract Schneider has signed since coming to Seattle in 2010 along with coach Pete Carroll, who is also up for an extension as he’s entering the final year of his deal. Their six-year run together has coincided with the most successful stretch in the franchise’s history.

Asked about the significance of the length of his extension, Schneider noted the importance of stability.

“You look at all the really good organizations and they just have great ownership and they have great stability,” he said, mentioning the Giants, Packers, Ravens and Steelers specifically. “I think that’s probably what’s most attractive here.”

Schneider wasn’t asked specifically about the status of Carroll’s contract, which is widely expected to get extended soon now that his is taken care of. Asked how long he thinks the 64-year-old Carroll will continue to coach, Schneider said, “I think he could go as long as he wants, really.” He answered in the affirmative when asked if it would not be unreasonable for Carroll to want to coach for another five seasons.

Carroll is the NFL’s oldest current coach. The oldest coaches in league history are Marv Levy and George Halas, who both retired at 72.

“I think Pete probably thinks he could live to 120 and coach until he’s 110. I don’t know,” Schneider said. “I’m not sure how (his wife) Glena would feel about that, but he’s just full of life.”