Bud Grant, longtime head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, advised Pete Carroll on the Seattle Seahawks selection of Russell Wilson.

Grant coached Fran Tarkenton, who was one of the NFL's best short quarterbacks in history.

Carroll worked for Grant in the mid-1980s.

“(Grant) relieved any concerns that I might have had, just because of the way he talked about what Fran was like,” said Carroll in a conference call with reporters in Green Bay on Thursday. “I know there’s not a lot of guys like this, but Russell’s that exceptional and that unique. So we thought we had a real good one, and it’s looking like he’s on his way to a good start to his career.”