Even in Pete Carroll's darkest moments stuck on the podium immediately following a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, one could tell it wouldn't completely ruin the zen-focused head coach.
In a recent cover story interview with Sports Illustrated, Carroll did not deny assertions from other media members and former head coaches that the decision to pass instead of run would haunt him for the rest of his life.
But in addition to dealing with the pain, he's trying to regenerate the disappointment into something overwhelmingly positive.
"You'll never know," Carroll told SI when asked how much the loss hurt him. "I can't make you understand. You pour everything and -- it goes right, it goes wrong -- it's in you. It becomes part of you. I'm not going to ignore it. I'm going to face it. And when it bubbles up, I'm going to think about it and get on with it. And use it. Use it!"
Considering the brutal offseason Seattle has endured since the loss -- a bag of issues that includes a contract impasse with Russell Wilson, a budding dispute with defensive end Michael Bennett and now, a potential holdout from star Kam Chancellor -- Carroll's attitude is stunning.
Though the pressure of an initial Super Bowl title is off his shoulders, the mounting pressure to capitalize on a relatively small window of affordable, incredibly talented core players has to be almost as difficult.
Though we'd never expect Carroll to come out and completely air his troubles, it's nice to see him practicing the worry-free mantra he's preached to all his players over the years.
*The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses which coaches are on the hot seat heading into 2015. *
