Pete Carroll: My departure from Seattle was about John Schneider getting his turn

Raiders head coach Pete Carroll talked about his departure from the Seahawks in a recent Seattle Sports interview, and he said it ultimately came down to General Manager John Schneider being given an opportunity to run the team.

Carroll said that he had final say as head coach of the Seahawks and with his own departure Schneider got final say, which Seahawks owner Jody Allen preferred.

"It came to me that there was a time that we probably were about to face one of the bigger changes, shifts, in the time of the program, and I had really been dedicated, as John had been dedicated too, John Schneider, to doing this thing in great fashion together," Carroll said on Brock & Salk. "We had done that, I thought, and it was really John's turn, it was his turn to take over. I had the lead voice and all of that all through that time, and I was really hoping that John could become the general manager of the club and run it. And if we could do that and figure a way to get out of that, we did. Jody was great about it, and so we just kind of agreed upon it that if we could work it out, I would support the thought. That's kind of how it happened, so it's a little bit different than maybe how people perceived it, but John got his chance."

Carroll said he believes strongly that a coach and GM have to be on the same page, and that he was for most of his time in Seattle and continues to be with Las Vegas GM John Spytek.

"The relationship between the head coach and the general manager in the NFL is more important than any other aspect, any other factor at all," Carroll said. "I treat that position with great respect and I always did that with John, John did that with me."

Carroll and Spytek emphasized collaboration when discussing draft preparations and haven't said which one of them had final say, but in Seattle the final say shifted from Carroll to Schneider, and that led to Carroll's departure.