SEATTLE — When Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll looks across the field Sunday at the New York Jets' sideline, he'll see some former players that used to be on his roster in Seattle.
He'll also see Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who spent three years on Carroll's staff as the defensive quality control coach. That's just part of the reason this matchup has a little more juice. Carroll says as he looked at Jets game film this week, he couldn't help but see a little of his philosophy interwoven in the way the Jets play football.
"They have a lot of familiarity with us and also, they show the respect of the stuff we've done in the past," said Carroll. "There's a lot of carryovers from the San Francisco days. Robert did a few things differently there and they really look like the San Francisco team more than anything."
Carroll admits he really enjoys coaching against his former coaches and players.
"Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Maybe way more than I should," Carroll told King 5 during his interview on Seahawks Central. "I really like playing against the guys I care about the most. It's the most connected, meaningful competition you can have. So, the more I love the guys, the more I like to beat them in these kinds of opportunities. They know that I feel that way, so they're going to get after it, too, so it should be a great matchup."
Carroll's coaching tree has some impressive names, including former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who as a head coach led the Atlanta Falcons to a Super Bowl. Quinn is currently the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Carroll said he takes a lot of pride in the success of his former coaches.
"I'm thrilled for guys and their success, always. When guys come here, I promise them I'll do everything I can to help them get the job they dream of. I know that sometimes that doesn't always serve us the best, but I want my coaches on this staff to know how much I am in support of them and really so I can tell the next coach this is how we treat guys, and this is how we care for guys. You've seen a lot of guys go on and do some cool things and (Saleh) is an example of that."
Carroll took some time to talk about his five years on the Jets' coaching staff in the early 1990's, which included one as the head coach.
"Coaching in New York is memorable. Just being under that scrutiny and the two teams in the city and the whole thing, it was really something."
One memory stood out to Carroll as very special.
"We had almost a catastrophic injury to Dennis Byrd when he was paralyzed in a game," Carroll explained. "When he was recovering, he was very positive. He said, 'I'm going to run on that field next year. I'm going to get back.' But at the time he couldn't walk.
The moment he took the field was probably the moment I cherished the most. It was so emotional. He came through and pulled it off in front of New York and they were all there to see it. It was really an extraordinary moment. The fans loved it. It was important to them."
Carroll was the Jets' defensive coordinator for four seasons and head coach in his final year in New York in 1994.
"I used to drive home after the games, and I remember going across the bridge and getting on the parkway. You drive through so many high-rises all over the place.
There were lights in all those windows, and I always pictured (fans) sitting in front of their tv's watching the game, all fired up or ticked off - one or the other. They didn't know I was driving by, but it meant a lot to me to represent them. It's part of what New York is all about."
