The NFL is filled with coaches who believe that yelling at their players makes them better. It has been the accepted method for coaching in the NFL for decades. The reasoning makes sense, if you yell at a player, he will connect his mistake to the shame you caused him, which will condition him not to make that mistake again. 31 teams believe this. But there is one team that is taking a different approach.

ESPN recently published an article, written by Alyssa Roenigk, about the Seattle Seahawks, the team that is taking a different approach. Their coach, Pete Carroll, decided that he is going to treat his players with respect and care about them. On the Seahawks there is a whole team of psychologists who are focused on the assimilation of rookies into the league and the overall well-being of every player. There is yoga and meditation sessions every day.

While it may seem that Carroll is being too nice to the players, what he expects from them is immense. Carroll has three rules, 1. Protect the team, 2. No whining, 3. Be early. Those three rules create an expectation that pushes players to their limits during practice. Since an almost complete overhaul of the team in the past three years, Pete Carroll is able to select players that buy into this mentality. But why does this mentality work.

A lot of tech companies take a similar approach to the treatment of their employees  Take Google for example. Google has napping pods, multiple restaurants, sand volleyball fields, and plenty more. How is Google able to spend all their money on these things? Doesn’t it seem rather inefficient? Like Carroll treating his players well and expecting a lot from them, Google does the same. The intensity and work-load of a Google employee is very demanding. That is why Google is able to produce so many quality products.

Even though Google has been able to produce so many products we use today, there have been many duds as well, Google TV, Wave, and even G+ has not filled up to its intended potential. Google handles these failures by learning from them and then moving on. They don’t dwell on the failures. The mentality Google takes on failure is similar to Carroll’s. In the article, it talks about Russel Wilson’s, the quarterback for the Seahawks, mindset after the playoff loss to Atlanta, 30-28. While he did think about what they could have done better, he was focused on the potential of his team. When he shared this with Carroll, Carroll had the same excitement.

The mentality of the Seahawks and Google are very similar. They both treat their players/employees with respect and in return expect a lot from them. They look at failure as a learning device and nothing more. We known that Google has proven this approach to be a successful way for their company to flourish, but will it transfer to the NFL?

I think it will. In fact, it already has. Carroll has been able to find a quarterback that buys into his mentality, Russel Wilson. Carroll has then been able to build a team around Wilson and encourage that same mentality. So far it has worked. The Seahawks were able to secure a wild card playoff position last year with 11 wins. Though they lost, like I already said, they look at every failure as an opportunity for improvement. They now have a powerhouse running back, Marshawn Lynch, along with a strong set wide receivers, Golden Tate and Sidney Rice. They have a lot of potential this season.

Will they win the Superbowl? Maybe. Last year everyone thought the Baltimore Ravens were going to be terrible, yet they ended up winning the Super Bowl. Will they be a powerhouse in their division, the NFC West, and their conference, NFC? I think so. Last year they already were a powerhouse and I only see improvements this year. They play a pre-season game  against the Green Bay Packers tonight on CBS at 8 p.m.