Bumpus: How Pete Carroll has been especially impressive of late

It took a 92-yard drive with a backup quarterback and under 2 minutes remaining for the Seattle Seahawks to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, but that’s just what happened as the Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak to get back to .500 and in the playoff race.

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The Seahawks have been one of the NFL’s best and most consistent teams since Pete Carroll came to town in 2010, but the past month has been uncharted territory for the longtime head coach.

“Man, Pete Carroll has been through some things that he’s never been in in his career,” former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus said during Thursday’s Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports. “At 72 years old, you start to think there’s nothing that’s gonna surprise Pete, there’s nothing that he hasn’t been through. But this year, he did go through that.”

The Seahawks were tied for the NFC West lead a few weeks ago with a 5-1 record, but Seattle lost five of six, including four in a row. It was the first time in Carroll’s Seahawks tenure that his team lost four games in a row.

Bumpus said the way Carroll handled the recent skid and led his team to victory on Monday was really impressive.

“What impressed me the most about Pete Carroll is that he was himself, but at the same time he applied pressure in ways that I haven’t seen or heard him apply pressure,” Bumpus said.

Notably, after the Seahawks lost to the San Francisco 49ers two weeks ago, Carroll pointed to mistakes that members of his defense made, something he almost never does. Carroll also shook up his secondary this past game, notably starting Mike Jackson over 2022 Pro Bowler Riq Woolen at outside cornerback.

“He talked about how frustrating it was with guys not doing their jobs, yet he still showed up every day with the same attitude eager and ready to go,” Bumpus said of Carroll. “They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Man, I beg to differ. I think that Pete Carroll found himself in a position he’s never been in before and seemed to adjust accordingly.”

After the win on Monday, KING 5’s Chris Egan posted a picture of Carroll standing in the end zone looking out at an empty Lumen Field.

“That’s why when I saw the picture of him soaking it all in last week, an emotional win over the Philadelphia Eagles, I felt good for him because I go, ‘You made it through.’ You made it through the gauntlet and you made it through something in your career that you’ve never been through before,” Bumpus said. “So that impressed me, man, because some guys are just so stubborn and then they do things the same and don’t switch it up. I’m not saying Pete Carroll had to change his philosophy or fundamentally change who he was, but he did some things this past month and said some things that I wasn’t used to hearing him say and see him do. And I think it worked.”

Catch Bump and Stacy every weekday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Seattle Sports. The podcast of this conversation will be added to this story when it’s available.

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