All the end of an era talk seemed to have quieted down following the Seattle Seahawks 21-12 playoff-saving win over the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve -- well except that whole Earl Thomas may want to leave for Dallas thing -- but Thomas isn't the only Seahawk who could be planning a great escape.

During MMQB NFL insider Albert Breer's column in anticipation of next week's Black Monday, where failed head coaches get fired and sent to the island of misfit toys never to be heard from again only to land a new cushy assistant coaching gig and get another shot to fail years later, a strange name appeared in his "It's Complicated" section.

Pete Carroll.

Now, Carroll is in year one of a three-year extension and even if the Seahawks miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years, the 66-year-old headman should be safe but Breer wasn't anticipating a firing. Here's what he actually thinks may happen.

Crazy? Maybe. But with the future of several big defensive stars in question, and a possible overhaul of the roster coming, could Pete Carroll, 66, retire to southern California? It’s not the wildest idea out there.

Although he's an NFL reporter with sources; he doesn't appear to be suggesting he's heard rumblings that Carroll actually wants to retire but is merely speculating based on the roster demands around him that he could option to ride off into the sunset.

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But, there's been no inkling that Carroll is slowing down or wants to slow down anytime soon. In fact, his three-year extension from last season suggests otherwise and whether the Seahawks choose to move on from some defensive players in the offseason or not; a complete overhaul is likely impossible. If the Seahawks do "rebuild," it won't be an actual rebuild that takes them out of playoff contention.

It would be a tweaking of the roster centered around moving highly-paid defensive stars to free up cap space and rebuild draft capital but cornerstones like Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, Bobby Wagner and yes even Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman would all likely still be around, which means your team would still be very, very good.

As of now, there's no evident reason that Carroll would retire but the offseason has produced crazier events and he is aging; so we'll wait and see if this random throw of the dart even hits near the board.

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