The Seattle Seahawks took a risk after the departure of franchise legend Russell Wilson by appointing perennial backup Geno Smith as their new starting quarterback. After a record-breaking season for the playmaker and last-minute qualification for the playoffs, the last doubts about Smith have been wiped off the table.

When head coach Pete Carroll made the decision before the season to go with Geno Smith as the Seattle Seahawks’ starting quarterback, he was almost invariably laughed at.

Many pundits and fans alike initially wondered, and rightly so, how an NFL coach with perceived endless experience could put playing time in the hands of a quarterback who has only played a full five games since 2015 and has a career record of 13-21 in the NFL after admittedly extremely difficult years with the franchise.

So why wouldn’t the team land another quarterback like Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield in a trade? Or just go for position-mate Drew Lock, obtained in the trade for franchise legend Russell Wilson alongside the numerous draft picks.

Carroll stood by his decision despite the media wave of outrage, and he would be proven right. More to the point, the Seahawks are having an eye-watering season in year one after Wilson and are in the playoffs before a wild-card round game against the San Francisco 49ers.

In the offseason, hardly anyone would have expected this groundbreaking development of the team within a few months. Except for Coach Carroll, who challenged and encouraged his protégé inimitably and pushed him to almost crazy best performances.

Geno Smith plays record season for Seattle Seahawks

In qualifying for the playoffs at the last minute on the final day of the regular season, Smith set several passing records for the Seahawks, according to Sports Illustrated.

The 32-year-old became the franchise’s all-time leading passer after throwing for 213 yards in the overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams, pushing his season total to a new team-best 4,282 passing yards.

Smith also set franchise records for completions (399), pass attempts (572) and throwing percentage (73.6 percent).

All of Smith’s records were personal career highs, as were his 30 passing touchdowns on the year. His strong percentage of passes completed is also the best among all quarterbacks this season.

All of these Seattle passing records were previously held by franchise legend Wilson – hardly anyone in Seattle is talking about the longtime saviour after less than a year.

Seattle Seahawks: The future bears the name Geno Smith

Smith proved the critics wrong and gave his coach plenty of arguments for his decision and the faith placed in him with incredibly strong performances on a weekly basis.

Regardless of how far the Seahawks get in the playoffs, Seattle’s path next season should be clear: The future under centre is clearly Geno Smith.

Only the contract details of the new deal seem to be questionable – the sparrows have been whistling it from the rooftops for weeks.

The playmaker signed a one-year contract worth 3.5 million dollars before the current season. A new contract is likely to top his salary many times over.

An unnamed general manager of the league recently told “Yahoo Sports” that a big payday awaits Smith this coming offseason.

Geno Smith facing mega contract with Seahawks?

“I think $30 to $35 million a season is reasonable,” the anonymous GM explained. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised if they used the franchise tag on him just to make sure he plays another year.”

He continued, “He’s playing like a top-10 quarterback. Maybe even a little better than that. The risk is that it happens later in his career and he doesn’t have a lot of experience yet,” another general manager is quoted as saying.

But those concerns should dissipate relatively quickly, as his head coach made no bones about the franchise’s plans in the media round after the win over the Rams. “I mean, he better come back. Obviously I want the best for him and hopefully we can have that conversation in the end-of-season meetings.”

The 71-year-old’s delight at the Seahawks’ more-than-surprising season to outsiders just burst out afterwards: “We’re still alive, we still have a chance.”

Digressing briefly, however, Carroll inevitably put the focus back on his playmaker: “He’s played phenomenally and has put himself in a great position. I’m grateful he got his chance. He took it and is playing great. He was able to go out there and break some records.”

Finally, Carroll once again emphasised – even for the last disbelievers out there – Smith’s qualities off the field, for which his prominent predecessor was also known: “It’s just great for him, he’s a great person, a great guy” – and now also Seattle’s unexpected playoff hopeful.