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Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll is not publicly dwelling on nostalgia as he returns to Seattle, even if it marks his first time back on the opposing sideline. Carroll faces the Seahawks in the preseason opener Thursday night at Lumen Field, where he led Seattle to a Super Bowl XLVIII title and became the winningest coach in franchise history. Still, he insists the trip is all business.

"It's the only game we got," Carroll said. "It happens to be in Seattle."

Carroll, 73, led the Seahawks from 2010 until he stepped down in January 2024. He remained with the organization as an advisor to new coach Mike Macdonald. Over 14 seasons, Carroll guided Seattle to 10 playoff appearances, five NFC West titles and the franchise's first Super Bowl title -- a 43-8 rout of the Denver Broncos to cap the 2013 season.

"I loved my time in Seattle and loved the fans and the people that we met and dealt with and competed with, but it's a game for us," Carroll said. "We can go play ball."

The matchup marks a full-circle moment for Carroll, who initially arrived in Seattle after a dominant run at USC that many questioned would translate to the NFL.

"It was an experiment coming out of USC to go to the NFL and see if the way that we had developed, the culture that we had created, the concept of competing the way we did would carry over," Carroll said. "And mostly it was the way we treated people in our program. I wasn't sure. I had an inkling that it would be okay, but I didn't know.

"We didn't change anything. We maintained the philosophy. We adapted to the players and of course the game. After it's said and done, I feel really good about the time we spent there -- that we were able to stay with what we believed in and make it work out."

Carroll now hopes to bring similar success to the Raiders, who have made just two playoff appearances since their Super Bowl XXXVII loss at the end of the 2002 season