Here’s how long it might take the Seahawks to find a replacement for Pete Carroll

After the storm of Wednesday, when the Seahawks elected to fire their winningest coach in franchise history, Pete Carroll, there may be some respite now.

That’s how the NFL, for the most part, wants it.

The NBA has become increasingly irritated in recent years over assistant coaches working by clubs still in the playoffs being sidetracked by interviews to become head coaches elsewhere.

As a result, the NFL changed the standards for selecting head coaches again this year.

According to the league’s website, as part of the most recent regulations adopted in October, teams are forbidden from “conducting in-person Head Coach interviews with candidates who are employed by other NFL clubs until after the conclusion of all Divisional Playoff games.” Hiring clubs are permitted to hold in-person Head Coach interviews with candidates who are hired by the hiring club or who are not working in the NFL prior to the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games.”

That last sentence implies that college coaches or anyone who is not currently on an NFL staff can be interviewed at any time.

However, if a candidate is still with an NFL team, no in-person interviews can take place until the week after the divisional round, or Jan. 22.

And, with the Seahawks said to be interested in Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, their search might be lengthy. Quinn might be questioned digitally as soon as next week, and in-person as soon as the divisional round is over.

It may be argued that because Quinn was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014, Seattle doesn’t need to acquire much information on him. He is said to have had tight contacts with Seahawks general manager John Schneider, who is in charge of the hiring process.

However, the NFL attempted to send a strong message in April when the Arizona Cardinals were penalized in the form of draft picks for alleged tampering in their hire of Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as coach.

The Cardinals were judged to have violated the rules by speaking with Gannon before to the Super Bowl.

In response, the NFL amended its rules requiring accountability, stating that “Clubs must maintain complete records and provide them to the league upon the Commissioner’s request.”

Another element is the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with two external minority candidates before making a recruitment.

However, the NFL offseason schedule allows clubs to take some time off.

Unlike in college, when recruiting is virtually a daily endeavor and even a week or two without a coach may mean potentially losing a grip on some players, the NFL calendar has reached a bit of a lull now for teams that are not in the playoffs.

Aside from the playoffs, the next major event on the NFL calendar is the scouting combine, which will be place in Indianapolis from Feb. 26 to March 4.

Following that, the new league year and free-agent signing period will begin. Teams can begin talking to free agents on March 11, with external free agent signings becoming official on March 13.

The Seahawks will definitely want a new coaching staff in place as soon as possible so that they can begin preparing for the combine and free agency.

However, with Schneider and the personnel staff still in place — and with Schneider now appearing to have ultimate say in all personnel matters — most of that work may be completed while the team searches for a coach.