Carroll: Seahawks’ DK Metcalf owning up to losing composure ‘refreshing’
Nov 19, 2021, 8:47 AM
DK Metcalf passes by Seahawks coach Pete Carroll after being ejected from last Sunday's game. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
On Thursday at Seahawks headquarters in Renton, DK Metcalf had one of the more memorable press conferences by a Seattle player in some time.
Status of Seahawks RB Chris Carson remains uncertain
That’s because Metcalf, the Pro Bowl wide receiver who will turn 24 next month, spent a good portion of his time at the podium (watch here) speaking candidly about the three separate occasions this season where he’s had, as he called it, an “outburst” on the field where he lost his composure. The most recent instance happened in last Sunday’s 17-0 loss at Green Bay, as an altercation with Packers players resulted in Metcalf being ejected late in the game.
“Me and Pete (Carroll) have talked like three times – I think I have had an outburst three times this year – so we have talked three times and the conversation has always gotten better,” Metcalf said Thursday. “I’m a passionate player and I’m never going to back down from anything. He understands that, but at the same time I’m starting to become a leader on this team. I have to grow up and continue to get better. I know that I’m still a work in progress. I don’t like to use my age as an excuse, but sometimes I forget that I’m 23 years old. I have to continue to grow each day and the mistakes are going to get fixed.
“… I have to grow up, assume my role as a leader on this team, and look at myself in that aspect.”
Metcalf’s words have seemingly impressed his coach as much as his play has impressed football fans. Friday morning on The Pete Carroll Preview on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, Carroll shared his reaction to Metcalf’s press conference during his weekly conversation with Steve Raible.
“Isn’t that refreshing, though, that he was willing to own up and say that?” Carroll said. “I mean, I have so much regard for this kid. He’s got so much potential to be everything, you know – not just a football player. He can be anything he wants to be, in my opinion. I just love that he’s got this kind of makeup. But I’m surprised even that he could pull off that kind of a press conference and speak up and tell it like it is, because he really just wants to be great, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes.”
Opponents have clearly gone out of their way to get inside Metcalf’s head on the field, particularly this season, and Carroll said he’s working with Metcalf to understand how important it is to the Seahawks for Metcalf to keep his composure.
Metcalf spoke to that himself.
“I’m not going to back down from anything. I felt I was being challenged (last Sunday), and growing up is realizing that challenge and making the best decision for the team, not myself,” Metcalf said. “Yes, it was brewing throughout the game, but some other factors led into that. … I’m just under a tighter microscope right now. Everybody is watching me to see what I do and how I would react. I’m taking that into account every time I’m going into a game or preparing for a week where I’m being looked at. It’s just another challenge that I have to overcome.”
Carroll shared his side of things.
“As a young guy, with all of the fame and all of the glitz that goes (with) what DK Metcalf is all about, he’s having to manage that and figure it out,” Carroll said. “We’ve seen him through the course of this season kind of going in and out a little bit and have to deal with the level of regard that he’s getting, the respect he’s getting from the opponents that he plays… The word’s out there that this guy’s something special, and so I’m helping him just become who he’s going to become, and that he needs to elevate above all of that, he needs to realize that. And he does; we’ve talked through this.
“That’s a great sign of respect when people try to get after you, and then he needs to own that, which he will do and he’ll do a great job of it. Doesn’t mean someone’s not gonna mess him up sometime or whatever, but you can hear in his voice and his concern and his earnest, he’s gonna work at this and really find his best. And I’m really proud of him talking that way, and he’ll be that way.”
The Pete Carroll Preview, a conversation between Carroll and Raible, the longtime Seahawks Radio Network play-by-play announcer, airs at 8:15 a.m. on the Friday before each Seahawks game on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM. It also re-airs on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Wyman and Bob on Friday afternoons.
Listen to this week’s interview at this link or in the player below.
Seahawks vs. Cardinals on Sunday
The Seahawks (3-6) host the Arizona Cardinals (8-2) at Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon with a 1:25 p.m. scheduled kickoff. Radio coverage of the game will be carried on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM beginning at 10 a.m. with the pregame show. For details on how to stream Raible and color commentator Dave Wyman on the radio call, click here.
