Posted by: Chris Vannini on January 16, 2013

Not many expected this much success for Pete Carroll in his return to the NFL this quickly.

In his first season, the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West and defeated the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round. This year, the Seahawks went 11-5 and were a last second field goal away from reaching the NFC Championship.

On his personal blog, Carroll expressed both pride and heartbreak with how the season ended,

"While the finish to Sunday's game was crushing, the comeback itself was a perfect microcosm of our club and season," Carroll wrote. "Our players would not give in or relent, even when down 27-7 going into the fourth quarter. They maintained an unwavering belief all the way through the end.

"Only an incredible team could do what the Seahawks did on Sunday, in the playoffs and during this season - no matter how many times our guys got knocked down or fell behind, they would simply not surrender."

There was also excitement for the future.

"So now we embark into the offseason, and our theme for the players and coaches is, 'You're either competing or you're not,'" Carroll said. "It's the only offseason we've got, so we've got to make the most of it. We've challenged the players to make it their best offseason of their careers. It's the task set before us as we prepare, train and move toward the next step as a football team.

"But as we head out, our players, coaches and fans should walk tall and take pride in what we're building here. Something special is definitely happening with the Seahawks. Thank you for your support through the journey, and we hope you continue to come along for the ride as we charge toward 2013 and beyond."

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com