Tag Archives: Paul Allen

CHAWK LINES, It's bigger than football
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CHAWK LINES -- Paul AllenPaul Allen, Seahawks owner and prolific humanitarian, died Oct. 15 at age 65. Here, we collect all of the most significant reports about one of the greatest philanthropists in the history of America.

We put together a list of tributes from coaches and players who thanked Allen for his inspiration, passion, commitment, vision, generosity, genius, humanity, sacrifices and selflessness.

The 12 flags at VMAC and the stadium both flew at half-staff the week after his death.

In the first game Seattle played without Allen, Carroll dedicated the win to the late owner and said the Hawks will continue to play in his honor. The Lions showed great respect by holding a moment of silence in Detroit. The Seahawks are honoring him with a patch (see below) and the city lit up for him the weekend of the first home game after his death as the team honored him in yet other ways.

Saving the Seahawks from moving was one of Allen’s lesser accomplishments in the big picture, as he devoted much of his life and fortune to — among other things — protecting the planet and wildlife, solving Seattle’s homeless problem, researching the brain and artificial intelligence, funding education and promoting the arts.

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It's bigger than football

Tributes to the late Paul Allen, Seahawks owner and civic superhero

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Seahawks owner Paul Allen died Monday at age 65, losing his second struggle against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Allen, a civic superhero in so many ways, saved the Seahawks from moving in 1997 and led the team to 20 great years that included three Super Bowl appearances.

Here’s what his Super Bowl coaches and current and former players are saying:

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Coaches, State of the team

Report: Allen was ready to chase big names if Carroll retired

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Rams Carroll Sept. 13“People talking about retirement. I ain’t old enough to think about retiring.” — Pete Carroll

On the last game day of the season, Jay Glazer reported Pete Carroll was contemplating retirement. Carroll quickly shot down that report with the above quote, but it turns out there was a little more to it.

A week before the season ended, Paul Allen apparently asked Carroll what he was thinking, and Carroll assured his boss he was “all in” on building the Seahawks back up.

According to Davis Hsu, the sneakily sourced Seahawks Twitter champion, Allen was worried Carroll would retire and was ready to go “big game hunting” to replace him. If Carroll had said he was going to retire, Allen apparently would have gone after Jon Gruden, Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban.

Also, if Carroll had retired, John Schneider would have left for Green Bay, per Hsu. But Carroll wanted Schneider to stay with him, so Allen formally blocked the Packers from talking to Schneider.

Carroll, 66, is signed through 2019, and it’s possible he decides to retire after that. With the big coaching shakeup he has performed this week, he is either trying to finish strong or build up another five-year playoff run.

CHAWK LINES, Week 8: Houston
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CHAWK LINES -- Texans at Hawks

The Seahawks continue to call about left tackles and reportedly are willing to deal Jimmy Graham — although Pete Carroll emphatically refuted that report and John Schneider also shot it down.

The Texans are in turmoil, and the Seahawks had a few things to say about it. The Texans have a demonstration planned.

The Seahawks are thankful to have Paul Allen as their owner.

Justin Britt will be a game-time decision, but signs point to him playing.

Rookie QBs are 2-10 in Seattle, meaning Deshaun Watson will have a tough time.

Will Watson play into the Seattle pass rush’s hands?

Five things to watch in #HOUvsSEA, from John Clayton. And three keys, via Seahawks.com.

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Franchise history, NFL history

Remember the Seahawks’ L.A. story?

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behringIt’s only appropriate that the Seahawks are going to be the first team in 22 years to play the Rams in Los Angeles.

L.A. fans are excited – or were before Monday’s debacle — about the return of the Rams, and plenty of people are making a big deal of Pete Carroll’s return to the site of his USC glory.

But this also marks a pretty major anniversary for the Seahawks, who actually were the last franchise to reside in Los Angeles – if only for a couple of unauthorized months 20 years ago.

As you may or may not recall, Ken Behring tried to move the Hawks to L.A. in 1996, just a year after the Rams and Raiders left. And it was that move that basically led to Paul Allen buying the team – and leading it to three Super Bowls and counting.

Here’s the Seahawks’ L.A. story from my book, “The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Seattle Seahawks”:

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Coaches, Contracts, State of the team

Expect new deals for Carroll, Schneider before camp

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Draft -- Schneider and CarrollNot a big surprise: The Seahawks reportedly have begun contract negotiations with Pete Carroll and John Schneider, who both are in the final year of their deals.

There has been a lot of speculation that both could be interested in leaving the Seahawks for their old stomping grounds — Carroll back to Los Angeles to coach the Rams and Schneider back to Green Bay to run the Packers.

But, they have set up the Seahawks to remain strong Super Bowl contenders for at least two or three more years, so leaving now would make no sense.

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Franchise history, Playoffs

Until recent years, Hawks had better fortunes off the field

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Hawks value

This weekend marked the 42nd anniversary of Seattle being awarded an NFL franchise — a monumental event that until recent years had proven much more fruitful off the field than on.

The Seahawks had a horrendous first two decades on the gridiron, making the playoffs just four times. But, in the 19 years since Paul Allen purchased the team, they have been in the postseason 11 times — including 10 times in the last 13 years.

They have reached the Super Bowl three times in the past 11 seasons — a feat matched only by Pittsburgh and New England during that time (coincidentally, the Hawks lost to both in the title game).

Allen’s fortunes off the field have been even better. The team is worth almost 10 times what it was when he bought it from Californicator Ken Behring — $1.87 billion vs. $194 million.

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Contracts, State of the team

Is Chancellor going to play nice or play elsewhere?

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Kam Chancellor during the fourth quarter against Denver (Getty)Either Kam Chancellor is planning to play nice with the Seahawks this year or he is starting up a PR campaign.

How else do you explain the post Wednesday in which he said, “I’m not going anywhere. Seattle is my second home. I don’t plan on going anywhere unless some higher power places me elsewhere. #Loyalty #12s #LOB”

That clearly is a response to speculation that he might be traded this offseason — the logical assumption after he held out through the first two games last season and then appeared to play it safe after he came back (how many Bam Bam hits do you remember?).

Chancellor obviously is speaking to fans, perhaps trying to win back some of those who soured on him after his 2015 shenanigans. And he also is trying to absolve himself of any blame if the Seahawks — “some higher power” — do end up trading him.

But let’s get one thing straight: If the Seahawks do end up trading him, as many of us think they will, he will be the one to blame.

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Contracts, State of the team

Report: Allen ends negotiations with Chancellor

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Paul allen trophyIt looks like the Seahawks are finished trying to appease Kam Chancellor.

Seahawks owner Paul Allen has told John Schneider and his staff to cease negotiations with the holdout safety, ESPN’s Ed Werder reported on Friday. (H/T to 247Sports via Davis Hsu and Evan Hill on Twitter)

Chancellor told NFL Network’s Dan Hellie on Wednesday that the sides were $900,000 apart and that the Seahawks had offered to move about $3 million from his $6.8 million salary in 2017 to add to his $5.1 million salary in 2016. Chancellor told Hellie the Hawks were being “petty” and the situation should be resolved by now.

Per the ESPN radio segment, Schneider also had called a few other teams to see how they would deal with the situation — Schneider apparently being cognizant of how the Seahawks’ solution might affect the rest of the league.

On Friday, Pete Carroll told KIRO Radio, “The situation has stayed the same. There has been a lot of work done and a lot of conversations and stuff, but it just has not happened to get him here. … We love the guy, wish he’d be here, but he’s got a mindset that’s keeping him out.

“We always want him to come back, but we’re still focusing on what’s real — that’s getting our guys ready to play. Dion Bailey’s going to start and we’re going to have our rotations to take care of that position. We have to keep moving, so that’s what we’re doing. Unfortunately there is no change.”

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CHAWK LINES
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CHAWK LINES -- Training camp new

A former GM joins the chorus of those who think the Hawks might end up having to trade Kam Chancellor.

If it comes to that, where might the Seahawks trade their Pro Bowl safety — and for what?

Doug Baldwin calls the Chancellor holdout “the price of success” and says “it’s a difficult time, both for the organization and for him.”

Bob Condotta answered the question: Has a player ever held out for a full season? The next natural question is: What happened after that? John Riggins returned to the Redskins after new coach Joe Gibbs recruited him back. Sean Gilbert left Washington for Carolina. Todd Bell — like Chancellor, a thumping star safety — returned to Chicago under a new deal the next year. But he regretted missing out on the Bears’ Super Bowl title in 1985.

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