Prior to the blockbuster trade that sent him from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos last offseason, quarterback Russell Wilson reportedly pushed for the Seahawks to fire longtime head coach Pete Carroll, according to The Athletic.
Per the report, the latest wrinkle is just another example of the tension that existed between Wilson and the team over his 10-year tenure, as Wilson reportedly asked Seahawks ownership back in February 2022 to fire both Carroll and general manager John Schneider with hopes that the team would hire Sean Payton.
Payton has since been hired by the Broncos, Wilson’s current team.
A lawyer for Wilson denied that the quarterback called for Carroll’s and Schneider’s firing, describing the report as “entirely fabricated.” The report went on to detail more issues with Wilson’s first season with the Broncos, with players, coaches and staff members questioning some of the control that Wilson had.
Some of those examples included weekly private meetings with the offense held by Wilson, an office for Wilson located away from his teammates, play suggestions from Wilson that former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett would add to the game plan and personal staff members the quarterback was allowed to have in the team facility.
During his introductory news conference earlier this month, Payton seemed to snuff out some of Wilson’s alleged power – “That’s foreign to me. That’s not going to take place. I’m unfamiliar with it. Our staff will be here, our players will be here, and that will be it.”
