'We Still Should Be Playing!’ Seahawks GM John Schneider Unhappy with Season’s End
When Seattle Seahawks fans look back on this season, there will be a "what if" feeling after missing the playoffs. Heading into 2023, Seattle was a Super Bowl dark horse given the free agents and draft talent it acquired, but still fell short.
The Seahawks, through nine weeks of the season, sat at a respectable 6-3 and everything was going to plan - until it wasn't. A four-game losing streak put them back in the chasing pack, a position they never recovered from.
Entering the season with such high expectations given the talent on the roster to now watching the playoffs from home, general manager John Schneider says that after talking to players in their exit meetings, there was one overriding feeling - they should still be playing.
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"They're all highly disappointed in what just happened, and I think, to a man, they would all tell you and I know this from the exit interviews that I had, that we still should be playing," Schneider said. "Everyone was very disappointed. But I think it's a great core, I think we're a very attractive job because of that. There's young talent all over the place."
The Seahawks would finish the season with a 9-8 record and have the 17th-ranked offense (21.4 points per game) and the 25th-ranked defense (allowing 23.6 points per game).
While Seattle finished the year winning three of their last four, the 30-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was a nail in the coffin of their season. Due to that, the Seahawks' playoff destiny was out of their own hands and Green Bay's win over Chicago in Week 18 meant Seattle wasn't going to be a part of the postseason.
Now, as attention turns to the head coaching search, those same expectations that were placed on Pete Carroll and the team will no doubt be the benchmark again in 2024.
With such a talented roster, if the Seahawks, under new guidance again fail to make the playoffs, there will be a far bigger feeling of "disappointment" around the organization.
Seattle missed the playoffs after being one of the NFC favorites in preseason and Schneider and the front office will no doubt be working tirelessly to make sure history doesn't repeat itself in 2024.
