Pete Carroll's defense of his championship with the Seattle Seahawks will start with a new contract.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport broke the news Thursday night that the Seahawksreached an agreement with Carroll on a contract extension, per a source informed of the situation. The move adds two more seasons to Carroll's previous deal, locking up the coach through 2016.
"Right back at the beginning of the whole thing, (Seahawks owner) Mr. (Paul) Allen set in motion a trust factor here that really gave us a chance," Carroll said Friday on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access." "... It's been really exciting, really fun and we're really thrilled to be here."
Carroll had one season left on his five-year, $35 million contract. Armed with a new extension, the Super Bowl-winning coach now will be one of the three highest-paid coaches in the league, a source informed of the deal told Rapoport.
Carroll, along with general manager John Schneider, has managed to turn around the fortunes of the franchise in a short period. In his first season with the team, Carroll led the 'Hawks to an NFC West title despite a 7-9 record. In just his fourth season, the Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in franchise history, defeating the Denver Broncos43-8 in February.
"We want guys that really have this built-in desire to prove something and do something. And within that, we have a mentality that we want to develop the talent, find the uniqueness that the players have that we get through the process, and then demonstrate that uniqueness in the way we coach them and the expectations we have for the things they do on the field.
"That's what we do that I think allows a fifth-rounder, and a sixth-rounder and a free agent to do the kinds of things they do. We coach everybody exactly the same with the expectations we're going to help them be as good as they can possibly be."
Carroll has a professional record of 71-57 in three head coaching stints with the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Seahawks.
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