Pete Carroll happy to hear Metcalf phone call in Monson Madness

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll came on Friday’s Pete Carroll Show with Dori Monson to look ahead to Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers — but first, he ended up looking back to a memorable moment this year with wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.

He was excited to learn that one of his own audio clips made it into Round 2 of Monson Madness, the search to find the best Dori Monson Show audio of the year. (If you haven’t voted yet, you can do so here.)

The iconic 2019 memory came from April, when Carroll and Seahawks general manager John Schneider called Metcalf, then a University of Mississippi wide receiver, to tell him he was about to become a Seahawk.

“That’s a real moment — I haven’t heard that in a long time, and I’m glad to hear that again,” Carroll said as Dori replayed the phone call on the show. “Especially knowing DK as we do, and having battled with him and watched him be part of this program — that’s a really cool start.”

Pete Carroll reflects on first half of 2019 season

Just that day at practice, Carroll had been praising Metcalf for how hard the rookie had been working that week.

“Here he is, near the end of his first season, 18 weeks into football games and all that, and he’s still pushing and still fighting to get better, and he looks better, even,” Carroll said. “He’s a very impressive kid, in way more ways than just how physical he is.”

Getting past last week’s loss

Last week’s loss to the L.A. Rams was disheartening for fans, especially after the previous week’s Monday Night Football high. However, Carroll said that the team is not letting it get them down one bit.

“We got whipped a little bit by some stuff they did, and they did it really, really well,” he said. “They’ve had two weeks of just excellent execution  and they haven’t been slowed down, and we didn’t do it either. But that’s that game, that’s gone.”

In a season with 10 wins, the Hawks remain focused on the positives and on the goals ahead.

“Our hopes are not dashed, our mentality is not off at all,” he said. “We’re rolling and going for it with really high expectations.”

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.