Seattle Seahawks 71-Year-Old Head Coach Pete Carroll Runs Sprints With Team, Impressing QB Geno Smith

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Pete Carroll turns 72 years old on September 15. That makes us birthday buddies, so by default, I like Pete Carroll. But on September 15, I turn 34. I am 100% convinced that Pete Carroll is in far better shape than me. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith probably agrees.

Pete Carroll began his coaching career at the University of the Pacific back in 1973. I was still 16 years from being BORN. So, he's been around football for a LONG time.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who is 71 years old, ran sprints with the team and Geno Smith loved it.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who is 71 years old, ran sprints with the team and Geno Smith loved it. (Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

And one thing he knows: elite coaches gain the respect of their players. There are many ways to do that. But as a nearly 72-year-old man, running sprints with your team in the heat is certainly one of those ways.

Smith referred to Carroll as the "Ageless Wonder."

"You see your head coach out there running sprints," Smith said of Carroll, "it doesn't matter how old he is.

"It's hot out here and he's working as hard as we're working. When you got a head coach like that, it's not hard to come to work and give it your all."

Pete Carroll's resume speaks for itself. He was one of the most accomplished college football head coaches of all-time, then jumped into the NFL.

He's been the head coach of the Seahawks since 2010. He led the team to a Super Bowl Championship in the 2013-14 NFL season.

So, he's put in the work. He doesn't have to prove to anyone that's a hard-worker and committed to his craft.

Yet here he is, in his 50th season coaching football, running sprints with his team.

That's the guy you want coaching your team.

No question about it.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.