Marshawn Lynch: I Wanted to Confront Pete Carroll After Infamous Super Bowl Play Call
Former Seattle Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch wasn't happy with head coach Pete Carroll's play-calling toward the end of the team's Super Bowl XLIX defeat to the New England Patriots.
During the most recent episode of the I Am Athlete podcast, Lynch said his first impulse was to get in Carroll's face about going with a pass play from the 1-yard line.
Few plays in recent memory have been as thoroughly dissected and relitigated than Malcolm Butler's game-clinching interception.
It was a seemingly straightforward situation. That close to the goal line, you give the ball to the running back who just made his fourth straight Pro Bowl and had already run for 102 yards. Instead, Carroll might have gotten a little too clever and suffered the consequences.
The decision took on added significance given what came later. A budding dynasty in the Pacific Northwest was effectively over after the Super Bowl ended. Key players moved on, and even quarterback Russell Wilson eventually wore out his welcome.
Perhaps the Seahawks' future would have played out the same way had they beaten the Patriots. But they would have had at least two Super Bowl titles rather than one from that era.
Reflecting on the play in a 2022 interview with comedian Kevin Hart, Lynch said he couldn't help but laugh when he walked by Carroll on the sideline at the Super Bowl.
The five-time Pro Bowler said on the I Am Athlete podcast that the situation did allow him to see the level of respect he commanded in and out of the Seattle locker room, though. He couldn't help but be flattered to hear others say how much he should've gotten the ball.
