Following the dominant win against the Rams in the first game of the season, after the team’s first undefeated preseason, it looked as though Seattle would be in for a great year. How high fans were riding after that first game compared to how fans felt walking out of the stadium following the team’s final game against Tennessee.

Things could have been worse, the season could have ended with the blowout losses to Texas, Green Bay, or worse yet a 17-point loss to Tampa Bay at home. I would be hard pressed to find a loss that felt more horrible than that one.

The offensive statistics for the year, Seattle finished 21st in total offensive yards – 25th in average points scored (17.5), 15th in passing yards, 26th in rushing (how disappointing this was after the much-hyped zone blocking scheme that the new offensive coordinator implemented). On the defensive side the Hawks finished 24th in yards per game, 25th in points allowed (24.2), 15th against the rush, but a miserable 30th against the pass.

This leads to last week’s big news (I’ve been holding out on sending this out until all of the details have been officially announced). Coach Mora has been fired after only one season at the Seahawks’ helm ending the shortest tenure for any Seahawks head coach. No sooner than he was fired, the reports were in that Pete Carroll was going to take over the job.

Because there were so many conflicting reports that he was also going to get the GM job, then other reports that he might be backtracking completely, and finally reports that he had turned in his resignation at USC – it was difficult to know exactly what was going to happen.

The LA Times is reporting that he has signed a $32.5 million deal over 5 years and will also be the Vice President of Football Operations and having the final say over roster decisions. In a press release of the announcement today the Seahawks announced that the team’s full attention has now shifted to finding a GM.

The response in Seattle media from the news sites and blogs appears to be less in favor of the move and more against. At first, it was about 15% to 85%, but now it seems to be evening out some more now that the official announcement has been made. Most of the people happy for the move are primarily looking at it as a positive for the Huskies.

Part of the reason for a more positive response may be because of the coaching talent that Carroll is reportedly bringing along with him. Primarily offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who was being targeted by the Chicago Bears, is the big name on the list but also linebackers coach Ken Norton is an intriguing addition and the final coach reported to come along is offensive line coach Pat Ruel.

The primary issue with Carroll coming to Seattle is why the team would target a guy with an NFL coaching record not much better than the one they are firing. Carroll only lasted one year with the Jets and three years with the Patriots before leaving the NFL for USC. The decision also leaves some people scratching their heads as to why the coach would be hired before the GM, who would generally have input into a decision like this, but it sounds like there are personal relationships behind the scenes that aligned the move for Carroll to come to Seattle.

Carroll comes to Seattle with a great chance to bring some new talent to the team since he will have the 6th and 14th pick in the 2010 Draft. The 14th pick comes courtesy of the Denver Broncos, who started the season 6-0 and ultimately finished the season 2-8 with a loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs in the final game to cap the season. A loss like that makes the Seahawks loss to Tampa Bay at home seem inconsequential.

I saw a ridiculous article that is already suggesting that Carroll could select two quarterbacks (Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clauson) with these picks. Likely from some analyst who apparently never watched the Seahawks this year and doesn’t know just how many needs the team has. I think it would be great for the Hawks to pick up a quarterback of the future, but the secondary and offensive line are in need of tremendous upgrades that I think the team could handle another year with Hasselbeck (and we can all cross our fingers that he will stay healthy).

Finally, we can look ahead at the 2010 list of opponents and start to imagine wins and losses. Although I thought this was going to be a better year on the road with only one game in the Eastern Time Zone, it turned out that Seattle only travels well to St. Louis. Fortunately Seattle will continue to have a game against the Rams on the road and Tampa is the farthest they will have to travel next year and no other east coast games. The road record has to get better next year, right?

Thanks to everyone who joined the group this year and thanks to those who continue to follow along. The Seahawks may be in for some tough years, but I’m going to be optimistic that things will turn around soon and I’ll be there to send updates throughout the coming seasons.

If you want to keep in touch throughout the offseason (I’ll likely send an email after the draft) here are the places where you can find our group or keep in contact:

The official website (for now): http://www.militaryseahawkers.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mil_SeaHawkers
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=49978258910&ref=ts

Finally, the site I’m considering making the official site: http://www.militaryseahawkers.ning.com

The reason why I’m especially excited about the Ning site is that it would allow us to have our own social network similar to how Facebook is set up, but the bonus is that Ning sites are accessible from government computers and it would allow us to have greater interaction among the group. I’ve received quite few requests from members in the past about setting up local get-togethers in the area of their base, the option to buy Military SeaHawker challenge coins, and requests to meet up on gameday and this site would be able to facilitate all of those requests. I will send out invites as soon as I finalize the site.

Seahawks 2010 Opponents (dates and times TBD)

Home Schedule
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
St. Louis Rams
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
San Diego Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs
New York Giants

Away Schedule
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
St. Louis Rams
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos
Chicago Bears