THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Two good guys, but are they Fame worthy?

One Seattle legend reset his Hall of Fame clock this week, while another waits his turn for his opportunity. 

Regardless, at some point soon, former Seattle Mariner pitcher Felix Hernandez and former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll should be in a Hall of Fame somewhere. 

In Seattle, Cooperstown, Canton or wherever.

PERSONALLY, I was a little disappointed looking back at the Seattle Seahawks moving on from coach Pete Carroll. 

At a certain point, when coaches do what Carroll did for the Seahawks — winning that Super Bowl — they should be allowed to leave on their terms. 

That didn’t seem to be the case. 

After a year away from the game, Carroll has resurfaced in the NFL as the newest coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Yes, those same rival Raiders that some Seahawk fans seem to still hate with passion. 

Keep in mind, they haven’t played in the same division since the Seahawks moved to the NFC West in 2002. 

That move seemed to work out well enough for the franchise, with three NFC Championships — 2005, 2013 and 2014 — since. 

It has seemed that the Raiders have also been a good landing spot for former Seahawks, with linebacker K.J. Wright playing for the team for a few years after his release in Seattle. 

Some rumors have the Raiders even reaching out to The Great Russell Wilson to come reunite with Carroll to chase the AFC West title. 

That must have been quite the dinner, when former members of the team all met with Carroll left his post in Seattle last year, wasn’t it? 

In case your mind is wondering, the Seahawks are scheduled to play in Las Vegas during the 2026 season at some point. 

With the direction both teams are going, who knows who will be playing. 

But I’ll surely be watching to see what happens next. 

HERNANDEZ WAS only on 20% of the ballots in his first bid to go to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. 

Which is expected. 

His numbers, while great, were put up in a time when the Mariners weren’t all that great offensively. 

Breaking news — they’re still not. 

Hernandez’s career record (169-136) might have looked a lot different had he played in 1995, when the Mariners had an offense that featured Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez. 

Shoot, he even won the Cy Young Award after finishing with a 13-12 record and a 2.27 earned run average. 

No, he didn’t have a great finish to his time in Seattle, going 1-8 in 2019 in his final season with the Mariners. 

He signed to play two more years, one in Atlanta in 2020 and the final season in Baltimore in 2021, but never returned to the big leagues again. 

But when Hernandez was dealing for the Mariners, in his prime, it was always must-see television. 

His battles with Adrian Beltre, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024, were something to behold. 

Not just because they were competitive, but you never knew what you were going to see. 

Both players competed with so much joy and love for each other that you really don’t see anymore. 

Same with Carroll, who coaches with so much energy, you’d think he’d run on the field and score a touchdown if they let him. 

Maybe they’re saving that for 2026. 

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.