National Football League

Pete Carroll excited to face Patriots: 'It's a little bit personal'

Published Jan. 20, 2015 1:44 p.m. ET

foxsports

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll doesn’t sound like he’s got any resentment toward the New England Patriots, but a Super Bowl win against his former team might be a little more special.

Carroll will be looking to become the first head coach since Bill Belichick to win back-to-back Super Bowls when they do battle Feb. 1 in Arizona. Not only does the game present a chance for Carroll to further strengthen his resume, it gives him a chance to get back at the organization that fired him following the 1999 season.

As is usually the case, Carroll is putting a positive spin on the matchup.

“It’s really fun. Who cares? But it’s really fun,” he said in an interview Monday with 710 ESPN in Seattle. “It’s a little bit personal because we were there and it’s a great place and I have great respect for what they have done, the family, what they have pulled off over the years. The Kraft family, they’ve done amazing things, historic things in the league and in the last 15 years or however long it’s been . . . They’ve been the best of the best and they’ve proven it. So we’re fortunate to get a chance to get to play a team like this and a club like this.”

Firing Carroll might have been the best thing for both sides, too. The Patriots went on to hire Belichick and will now be making their sixth Super Bowl appearance during his tenure and looking for their fourth win. Carroll, meanwhile, went on to great success at USC before returning to the NFL to take the Seahawks job.

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