Bears coach search: Pete Carroll can shape a culture — and has proved that he can help develop a QB

The Bears were willing to go anywhere to try to solve their quarterback problem, even Fargo, North Dakota.

On March 12, 2021 — North Dakota State standout Trey Lance’s pro day — then-Bears general manager Ryan Pace met with his Sea-hawks counterpart, John Schneider. Russell Wilson, the Seahawks’ star quarterback, wanted out and was willing to go to Chicago.

Pace made his trade offer: three first-round picks, a third-rounder and veteran players to offset Wilson’s contract.

Schneider took the pitch back to head coach Pete Carroll, who wasn’t ready to end the marriage with Wilson quite yet. Carroll said no — but a year later would say yes when the Broncos called, landing two first-round picks, two second-rounders, a fifth-rounder and three veterans. Not a bad return for a quarterback drafted in the third round in 2012.

Carroll, who interviewed for the Bears’ coaching vacancy Thursday, is the most accomplished unemployed coach in the U.S. He’s one of just three people to win championships at both the NFL and college level. He certainly has more experience than the other candidates the Bears interviewed Thursday; Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, the former St. Rita and Northwestern quarterback, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.

Carroll’s strength is culture-building. He’s so dynamic that he doesn’t get enough credit for his on-field innovation. His greatest NFL accomplishment is building the “Legion of Boom” defense, but the Seahawks wouldn’t have gone to two Super Bowls without developing Wilson into a star. That’s of critical importance to the Bears, who need to find a coach who can develop both a locker room and their young QB, Caleb Williams.

A standout passer at both North Carolina State and Wisconsin, Wilson stands a hair under 5-11 and was initially considered too short to excel as an NFL quarterback. In 2012, Carroll and Schneider drafted him with the 12th pick of Round 3 despite having just given quarterback Matt Flynn $10 million guaranteed.

The Seahawks named Wilson the starter during training camp. He went 11-5 his first season and made the Pro Bowl, prompting the Seahawks to go all-in on a strategy that other teams — including the Bears — have tried to duplicate ever since. With their quarterback on a cheap rookie deal, they spent big on other positions for a Super Bowl push. They won one in Wilson’s second year and lost one in his third. He made the Pro Bowl in eight of his 10 years in Seattle.

The Bears don’t have an undersized third-round pick at quarterback — they have a No.  1 overall pick in Williams. But they need him to be developed in the same way Carroll and the Seahawks grew Wilson.

As a defensive coach who doesn’t call offensive plays, Carroll needs to have a clear QB plan to be a convincing choice. Something that won’t help: The last offensive coordinator he hired was Shane Waldron, who joined the Bears last January, weeks after Carroll left the Seahawks, and was fired in November. Before Waldron, the Seahawks had Darrell Bevell as play-caller from 2011 to 2017 and Brian Schottenheimer from 2018 to 2020. The former is now the Dolphins’ passing coordinator, the latter the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator.

In considering Carroll, the Bears need to be comfortable with why Wilson was so eager to leave in 2021. He was upset about the Sea-hawks’ lack of pass protection and skill-position help and a playbook that leaned on the run. Only three teams called fewer designed pass plays.

The Bears also need to know if Carroll, who had control over personnel in Seattle, would insist on the same in Chicago. The biggest personnel decision he and Schneider made wound up being correct: trading Wilson. Wilson struggled mightily in two years in Denver and spent this season making the veteran minimum for the Steelers.

The Seahawks dodged a bullet. So did the Bears.

NOTE: Bears interim coach Thomas Brown is expected to interview for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job. Bears assis-tant general manager Ian Cunningham is in line to interview for the Titans’ GM job.