RENTON, Wash. -- As coach Pete Carroll held his season-ending news conference Tuesday, he said he and general manager John Schneider have a "big job" ahead of them as they try to get the Seattle Seahawks back on track after missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Is Carroll convinced that Schneider will be around for that job?

"Yeah, I am," Carroll said. "As a matter of fact, I am. I'm convinced of that, yeah."

Carroll was asked if he's been assured of that.

"I’m convinced that I'm answering your question exactly like I [was] asked it," he said. "I think he's going to be here, yeah. That's what I’m counting on it."

Monday's news that long-time Packers general manager Ted Thompson is transitioning into a new role in Green Bay's front office set off some alarm bells in the Pacific Northwest. The popular belief has been that Schneider -- because of his strong ties to both the area and the organization -- would be a candidate for the Packers job whenever it became open.

He's from De Pere, Wisconsin, about five miles south of Lambeau Field, and got his NFL start in the Packers' front office as a college intern in the early 1990s. Schneider finished his second stint with the Packers as their director of football operations before Seattle hired him as its GM in 2010 to pair with Carroll.

When Schneider signed an extension in 2016, he told reporters that it did not include any out clause that would allow him to leave for the Packers' front office. That would be a roadblock in Schneider leaving Seattle if the interest between he and the Packers were mutual.

In his 710 ESPN Seattle radio show earlier Tuesday, Carroll made similar a comment about expecting Schneider back while also acknowledging that his ties to Green Bay and the Packers run deep. Carroll's words didn't seem to shut that door entirely.

"Yeah, I do. I do expect that," Carroll said about Schneider returning. "I expect John and I to do this together, but he's got a life, too, you know? He's got a life, too, and he's got stuff that he has to deal with also. That popping up yesterday about 4 o'clock out of nowhere, that has impact, it hits him. John grew up there. He's always loved that area, that program and all that stuff. He loves being here. He loves what we're doing and he's dedicated to what we're all about and he's dedicated to me as I'm dedicated to him."

As for Carroll's own future, he reiterated in his news conference before being asked that he isn't retiring. Carroll first made that known in a tweet before Seattle's season finale on Sunday, shooting down speculation that he may walk away.

Carroll, the NFL's oldest head coach at 66, revealed on his radio show that he's switched to a plant-based diet that has improved his health.

"I'm feeling awesome," he said. "In the last 15 years, I've never been so healthy, I've never been as fit, I'm eating differently ... my body feels great. I'm freaking jacked."