Pete Carroll isn’t backing down from the dismantled Legion of Boom.
After former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman chastised Carroll’s coaching methods in the offseason, Seattle’s head coach responded Monday in front of an attentive audience.
“The thing I would tell you about that is that we’ve been through a lot around here, we’ve grown tremendously together and all of that, and changes are inevitable,” Carroll said during his pre-draft press conference, according to The News Tribune. “Sometimes, guys can’t hang with what’s expected, for one reason or another — their growth, their development and all of that.
“And the best thing I can tell you is, that they’re not here.
Defensive end Michael Bennett was traded to the Super Bowl-winning Eagles in March, in exchange for wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth-round pick. Sherman, 29, was released from the Seahawks shortly after, immediately signing with the NFC West-rival 49ers.
“I’m vengeful in that way,” Sherman told MMQB.com at the time.
Sherman continued to unload on Carroll and the Seahawks organization, alleging they “lost their way a little bit” in terms of evaluating players following last year’s subpar 9-7 season.
“I think at the end of the day it just became an issue of devaluing core players, players that are playing at a high level and really being curious about younger players and curious about the unknown,” the cornerback said, per ESPN.
The four-time Pro Bowler also claimed Carroll’s philosophies weren’t built beyond the college mindset.
“A lot of us have been there six, seven, eight years, and his philosophy is more built for college,” Sherman said. “Four years, guys rotate in, rotate out, and so we had kind of heard all his stories, we had kind of heard every story, every funny anecdote that he had.”
Sherman also said Carroll, who coached USC before heading north to Seattle, “recycles” his stories, adding, “We had literally heard them all. We could recite them before he even started to say them.”
Bennett doubled down on Sherman’s account, telling Sports Illustrated he’d often read during team meetings given he had already heard what Carroll was saying. Carroll’s memory, however, paints a different picture.
“Mike never brought a book to a meeting, I’ll tell you that,” Carroll said.
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