SEATTLE — Sunday's 25-24 loss to the Chicago Bears assured that the Seahawks won't make the playoffs this season for only the second time since 2011.
It assured they will finish last in their division for the first time since 1996.
And it assured that they will lose 10 games in a season for only the fourth time since the lowest period in franchise history — the three consecutive 10-or-more loss seasons from 1992-94.
All of which has only further fueled speculation about the future of all of the key pieces of the organization, notably coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson.
But if Carroll, who is finishing his 12th season with the team, has any thought that these next two games might be his last two with the Seahawks, he gave zero hint of it Monday.
Instead, the 70-year-old Carroll talked optimistically of the future, both during his regular weekly radio show on ESPN 710 Seattle and during a later Zoom session with media members, stating he does not see a need for big changes.
"Not one reason at all am I thinking that we have to restart this whole thing and create a new philosophy and a new approach and all that," Carroll said on his radio show. "I don't think that. I think we've got the essence of what we need."
Asked later in the day what that essence is, Carroll said he feels the team's success during his time as coach — and as the final say in football decisions — proves there is a strong foundation that can get the Seahawks back to their usual winning ways.
"What I do know is that we've got a way of doing business and we have operated for a long time with a real consistent approach and connection and communication and all of that," Carroll said. "And that's what I'm really talking about is I think you can count on us to figure it out and to make the choices and the decisions that have to be done, coming from a philosophical foundation that we have, and have established over a long period of time. That's really what I'm trying to get across."
The key in that, of course, is whether Jody Allen — who became the chair of the team when her brother Paul died in 2018 — agrees.
Jody Allen has given no interviews since taking over the team. But she did appear to indicate satisfaction with the long-term direction of the team when the Seahawks gave new contracts last year to Carroll (through the 2025 season) and general manager John Schneider (through the 2027 draft).
Her silence has led to varying rumors about how involved she is with the Seahawks and what her views are about how this season has developed.
Carroll on Monday said that Allen "stays on it and she's strong in her awareness of what's going on. She's strong in her opinion on what she wants to see done. So she's involved."
And Carroll indicated that for now, Allen still wants to see Carroll be the one who figures out what needs to be done.
"We've been on the same page about everything that's going on since she took over," Carroll said.
Still, a season like this and a defeat like the one Sunday are the kind that can help sway decisions.
That also might mean the last two games of this season — Sunday at home against a Detroit team that has the worst record in the NFC at 2-12-1 and then at Arizona — could be far more pivotal than they appear at first glance.
A 7-10 record and being able to point to Russell Wilson's injury and five defeats by three points or fewer could color things much differently than 5-12, or even 6-11.
The Wilson-Carroll relationship also has become under an increasing microscope as the year has gone off the rails, especially considering the reports of Wilson being willing to be traded last offseason and the Seahawks having had trade talks with the Bears.
One question the organization will have to address is if Carroll and Wilson can continue to coexist, or if they will want to.
Sunday gave those looking for clues into their future some ammo when Carroll said Wilson needed to throw the ball away on a critical third-down play in the fourth quarter when he instead took a sack that turned into a 13-yard loss. That forced Jason Myers to try a 39-yard field goal instead of 26, which he pushed wide left, keeping the score at 24-17 and opening the door for Chicago's comeback.
Wilson said later he was trying to keep the play alive to potentially get a touchdown.
Some portrayed the diverging opinions on the play as further proof of division between Carroll and Wilson.
On Monday, though, Carroll said the relationship is no different than it has been since 2012.
"We've given Russ latitude for years to make what he can of the play," Carroll said. "Now we will also come back and we critique him hard when we're trying to get him to do something this way or that way. And he's trying to please us as well. So in that situation, unfortunately, it didn't work out in our favor because we didn't hit the field goal. But I'm telling you that I'm trusting that he is going to make decisions, that he's going to take a shot at a play. ...
"So I give him latitude to make the great plays that he can come up with making and I critique him when he didn't. In that situation it would have been better if we had done this. But, nice try. I get it. I understand and let's go to the next thing. And there's been that kind of a conversation for 10 years, ongoing. Maybe it's hard to appreciate, but that's where we've been the whole time. So it's not new."
