Carroll: Throwing was part of the plan

PHOENIX --Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has refuted multiplereports that he changed the ill-fated, goal-line interception play to a pass after Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called a running play.

"There was not a thought about running it, and then I changed the play," Carroll said Monday. "That did not happen."

After the Seahawks'28-24 loss to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, a conspiracy theory was out late Sunday nightthat Carroll changed the play to a pass so Russell Wilson would win the MVP award and not Marshawn Lynch.

Carroll was not asked that directly, but he said the play call was not changed. The second-and-goal play at the New England 1-yard line with 26 seconds to play was a slant route intended for Ricardo Lockette that cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted.

Carroll said there was no conflict with Bevell over the call.

"There's no reservation in [the call], and don't make it out like there is," Carroll said Monday. "First off, Darrell is an incredible playcaller. He's done a fantastic job. We are so lucky to have him. He has been absolutely instrumental in what we have done. He is an awesome guy on our staff and crucially important to our future, as well.

"And let me say this, too. We don't ever call a play thinking we might throw an interception. I don't ever think that, just like [the 11-yard TD pass to Chris Matthews] with six seconds to go in the half. We go with what we know. There was not a thought in my mind that we would make a mistake on [the interception] play. It was a tremendous play by the guy on the other side."

Carroll went into detail about how the second-down call was part of a preplanned sequence.

"I was so confident we were going to get it done," Carroll said. "Making the call we made was just part of the sequence. We were very confident in the sequence. We had a very clear thought about what was going on.

"We thought about our personnel who were coming in the game after the first play [a 4-yard run to the 1 by Lynch on first down] when we came up short, with three wide receivers in the game [on second down]. We had thought about throwing the ball there. That was part of the reason we sent that group in. When [the Patriots] sent their goal-line guys in, I know we have the advantage on the matchups in the passing game."

Carroll said throwing the ball always was part of the plan.

"One of those downs we were likely to throw the ball and maybe two of those downs," Carroll said, "depending on how we had to save the clock to get in all of our plays. It wasn't just run the ball. That wasn't what the thought was."

On Sunday night, Bevell pegged at least part of the call to the game clock.

"We were conscious of how much time was on the clock, and we wanted to use it all," Bevell said. "It didn't turn out the way I hoped it would."