Seahawks coach Pete Carroll: ‘It was the worst result of a call ever’

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he feels responsible for the anguish of many people right now. Matt York/AP

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he hasn’t been able to sleep through the night since his team lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

Carroll, in an interview with the NBC “Today” show’s Matt Lauer that aired Thursday morning, said he has been stirring in the nights following the dramatic loss, and that it hit him hardest around 4 a.m. Tuesday when he shed a few tears.

“I wake up and you can’t stop thinking about it,” he said. “You’re worn out after six months of the season, you can’t help but falling asleep. It’s the getting back to sleep that’s the challenge.”

Lauer pressed Carroll about calling a pass play from the 1-yard line rather than handing off to running back Marshawn Lynch when his team was down 4 points with 26 seconds left.

“It was the worst result of a call ever,” Carroll said. “The call would have been a great one if we catch it.

“Here’s the deal. We have a whole mentality that we develop to get to that point in those situations that we’ve practiced hundreds of times so that when we get there, the thinking is clear, we’re sure of ourselves, we’re on point with what we want to do. We handled the situation the way we’ve practiced on this field hundreds of times.”

Carroll also said he feels responsible for “a lot of people right now” — including the team, the fans, and his own family. His grandchildren, in particular, took the loss very hard, he said, while his wife has kept him grounded.

“There’s just so much responsibility to shoulder,” he said, “knowing that I was making the calls and leading the charge there, there was nowhere to turn but it was me.”

He told Lauer, and tweeted Thursday afternoon, that he wouldn’t let one play define him or his team.

“This career and this game that we do, there are so many ups and downs and turnarounds and shocking situations and seasons that don’t turn out the way you want to,” Carroll said. “All of this lifetime of being a coach and a young player, it prepares you for this.”

Watch the full interview:

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