There hasn’t been much discussion about who the Seattle Seahawks are going to bring in as their next head coach. They surprised a lot of people when they moved on from Pete Carroll, who was at the helm for 14 seasons and is the most successful head coach in franchise history.

General Manager John Schneider is heading up the search for the next head coach and ownership has made one thing clear. Whoever takes over for Carroll has to carry over the positive environment that he created.

Replacing Carroll as the head coach is a tall task; replacing Carroll the person could be even tougher. He had a big presence in the city and left a mark not only on the Seahawks but on Seattle as a whole.

Who could the team look to replace him with? In the opinion of Dan Graziano of ESPN, a dark horse candidate could soon emerge for the franchise. He believes that Mike Vrabel, the former Tennessee Titans head coach, could head to the greater northwest.

“I know, he hasn’t even shown up on the Seahawks’ interview list yet. And sure, [Dan] Quinn has a connection to Seattle from his time as its defensive coordinator under Carroll. The Vrabel thing is a bit of a hunch, though I do have several sources who share the same hunch and the idea that he could be a sneaky late entry into this pool.

“It’s almost certainly a coincidence that the Carroll news broke the day after the news that the Titans had fired Vrabel. But it’s also possible that the opportunity the current high-level candidate list offers is part of the reason Seattle decided now was the time to make a change.”

Vrabel was no longer seeing eye-to-eye with the new front office run by Ran Carthon. He wanted the team to push to make the postseason, which is why wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was signed. But, Carthon wanted to start a rebuild, which is why so many veterans were let go in the offseason and safety Kevin Byard was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Should Vrabel take over the Seahawks job, he knows they are a franchise committed to winning and competing every season. This is a team closer to contending than some people believe, especially if they can figure things out quickly at the quarterback position.

Vrabel’s resume as a head coach is a strong one and he carries a very good one as a player as well. Many people thought he would return to the New England Patriots, but they opted for another former player in Jerod Mayo. That leaves Vrabel open for a team such as the Seahawks to swoop in and fill their head coaching void with a very solid signing.