Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he will always stand by his players, despite any challenges that he and his players, including his former quarterback Russell Wilson, may face.

“I’m always going to hang with them, and I’m never going to leave them. I’m going to be there at the end of all of the good stuff, all of the bad stuff,” Carroll said Tuesday when asked at the NFL combine about The Athletic’s report on Wilson requesting to have Carroll fired. “It doesn’t matter who the guy is. … Regardless of what has happened or taken place or the things that have been said at all, if you hang with them, it all comes back around. I like to demonstrate that faith in the relationship and the depth of what we did together and hang through what growth challenges bring to us along the way.”

Asked for response to Russ requesting he be fired, Pete Carroll went on spiel about being there for his former guys through good times and bad. He feels that when you do that “it all comes back around” & the relationship maintains, regardless of what’s said/done in the past. — Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) February 28, 2023

Carroll’s comments come four days after The Athletic reported Wilson asked for Carroll and Seahawks general manager John Schneider to be fired. Wilson was convinced that Carroll and Schneider were inhibiting his quest to win additional Super Bowls and individual awards, according to league sources who spoke to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details. The quarterback had a preferred replacement in mind: Sean Payton, who had recently stepped down from the New Orleans Saints.

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Wilson placed his request to fire the coach and GM in February 2022. Within days of his call, top team officials met and decided to pursue trading the nine-time Pro Bowler, per sources. Payton and Wilson are now united in Denver after the Broncos hired the coach this offseason.

On March 8, 2022, Seahawks leadership publicly backed Carroll and Schneider by sending Wilson, the most successful quarterback in franchise history, to the Broncos for five draft picks and three players. Before the 2022 season started, Wilson waived his no-trade clause and signed a five-year, $245 million extension. He told his new teammates he approved of Denver as his destination because he believed the Broncos could win championships.

However, Wilson’s plans didn’t get off to a good start in his first season in Denver. He threw for 3,524 yards with career lows in touchdowns (16) and completion percentage (60.5) across 15 games. The Broncos went 5-12 and fired coach Nathaniel Hackett 15 games into his first year with the organization.

On Friday, Wilson responded to the report on Twitter.

“I love Pete and he was a father figure to me and John believed in me and drafted me as well,” Wilson said. “I never wanted them fired. All any of us wanted was to win. I’ll always have respect for them and love for Seattle.”

When asked Tuesday about the report, Carroll told The Athletic in an interview, “There’s nothing I’m commenting about that. Stuff is said, it’s always been said for years and guys come and go with their thoughts and emotions and all that. I ain’t worried.”

Asked about his reaction to the report, Schneider called it “water under the bridge.” He went on to praise the team’s culture and cite players who haven’t left on great terms in the past and have come back to have a good relationship with the team after their careers, like Marshawn Lynch.

GO DEEPER 'Too much influence,' too few wins in Russell Wilson's first year with Broncos

(Photo: Lindsey Wasson / Getty Images)