Not even Hasselbeck's job is secure this year.
It's something the Seahawks haven't seen since Mike Holmgren took over the franchise. New head coach Pete Carroll's message is clear: no one's position is safe. That's because Carroll will be employing an all-out competition philosophy when Seattle hits camp this summer.
"That's just a mind-set that we've had for years," Carroll told Jim Kelly of the Seattle Times. "We're starting brand new and everybody's a rookie, in a sense. As we go on, when we bring guys in, they go right to the front, right away. We're going to force them in. Tell them, 'Show us how you fit. How far can you take it? How much savvy do you have?'
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It's a philosophy Carroll embraced since his days at USC and clearly it has worked for him. The question now is can this type of competition work in the NFL?
Holmgren said he never believed in that "competition stuff," so this shift should come as a jolt to most of the players on Seattle's roster. Hopefully it's a welcome one.
"The key for us is to get our message out there to the players," Carroll said. "To philosophically get them drawn in to the way we do things. As much as this is a personnel league, I think, without our approach and the mentality that it brings, I don't think we're going anywhere."
Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
