Carroll had 'big meeting' with regretful Sherman after season
After falling to the Atlanta Falcons in a lopsided 36-20 playoff meeting Saturday, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll's biggest regret wasn't anything in the game plan or on-field performance. It came from the sidelines.
After several sideline incidents incited by Richard Sherman took over the headlines this season, Carroll said he was deeply disappointed in his team's lack of composure.
"Probably the biggest regret is that we showed some bad expressions and stuff on the sidelines," Carroll said on 710 ESPN Seattle, according to ESPN's Sheil Kapadia. "That’s not what we want to be. But it's personal.
"It's personal issues going through stressful, difficult, challenging times, and sometimes you do it well, and sometimes you don't. That's just individual growth."
Carroll said he made sure to have a few words with Sherman before parting ways for the offseason about his troubled campaign. Twice this season, Sherman lost control of his temper and emotions on the sideline, going after defensive coordinator Kris Richard and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in separate disagreements. Off the field, Sherman had issues with the media, issuing a boycott against certain reporters late in the season.
"I had a big meeting with Richard going out, and he has some regrets about this season, didn't go the way we wanted it to go," Carroll said. "I just wanted to make sure we left on really good terms.
"We talk a lot. I talk with him all the time. I just wanted to make sure to touch base one more time because it was a difficult year for him. The media thing was a big deal and all that. He made it through it. It was hard."
Carroll suggested Sherman's tough season was partially due to an MCL injury that wasn't included on any of the team injury reports and is currently under investigation for not being reported.
"That weighs on you, particularly when you're out there on the edge and you know you're not quite 100 percent," Carroll said. "And it fed into some of the stuff that he had to deal with."