One day, Earl Thomashopes to retire as a Seattle Seahawk. In the present, the current Baltimore Ravens safety still harbors strong feelings towards former coach Pete Carroll.
Thomas told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he doesn't apologize for flipping Carroll the middle finger after he got injured in what would be his final game with the Seahawks.
"I don't regret my decision," Thomas said. "If my teammates felt like it was towards them, then I regret that part, but I don't regret doing it to Pete."
The superstar safety flipped Carroll the bird on the field, but it was the off-field histrionics that boiled over for Thomas, who believed that the coach and front office weren't being genuine in their desire to re-sign him.
"It's a business at the end of the day," Thomas said. "I think my time just ran out. Pete and the front office, we just didn't, they didn't value me, I guess, like they used to. And I had just talked to coach Carroll. He was saying how he was trying to get me in their plans, of getting a new contract. But I got hurt the next week and I think I hurt myself too by my actions getting carted off the field. ... I gave Pete the middle finger because I felt like he wasn't being honest with me."
Added Thomas: "I was basically talking s--- to Pete because I knew what happened, because I had been through it before. I knew it was broke. Like when Pete came trying to act like he was concerned, I was like, You won, bro. Just kept moving."
The 30-year-old, who said he hasn't spoken to Carroll since, relayed that his relationship with the team soured after they didn't see eye to eye on a new contract.
"I feel like we've got to walk with each other for the rest of our lives because we won a Super Bowl together. But they'll love you one minute and they'll hate you the next," he said. "I feel like that was our relationship. ... It's just how it is in the game. It's just how it is. I'm not speaking for every coach. That's just my experience."
Thomas also said he almost signed in Kansas City on a one-year deal before the Ravens swooped in with an offer he couldn't refuse (four years, $55 million).
When those Ravens travel to Seattle on Oct. 20, all eyes will be on Thomas to see if he has any other gestures for Carroll.
