Michael Bennett Says Playing for Pete Carroll Is Like 'Playing for Willy Wonka'

Michael Bennett is a fountain of candor in an otherwise bland wasteland of NFL player interviews.

He'll say exactly what he thinks about a subject, and if you can get past the whole part where he abandoned a dog in Tampa, Florida, the Seattle Seahawks defensive end can be quite...charming?

With this in mind, we bring you Bennett's latest gem-laden public interview, which occurred Tuesday during a guest spot with 750 AM The Game in Portland, Oregon. 

247Sports.com's Kirk Larrabee listened in on the broadcast, in which Bennett praised Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, shaded former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano and made a romantic analogy about the Seahawks' game-losing blunder at the end of Super Bowl XLIX.

Bennett began by saying playing for Carroll is a lot like working for a chocolate magnate determined to never grow up. 

"I would say [Carroll]'s like playing for Willy Wonka," Bennett said, per Larrabee. "He's crazy. He wants to be young. He's just one of those guys who's always upbeat and just wants to have a good time because he lets you be yourself."

The Bald Faced Truth radio show host John Canzano responded by saying he can't imagine Bennett "playing for a stiff." However, Bennett had already left one to come to Seattle.

"I've done it before, and it's not fun," Bennett said. "His name is Greg Schiano."

So what was it like playing for Schiano, whose infectious energy fills the locker room and can only be eradicated by properly equipped professionals?

"[Schiano]'s a great coach, but he was just hard on everybody," Bennett said. "He comes from a different type of background—real military-style, like the 1996 Belichick. He's really tough. Overall, I think his football knowledge is pretty good."

Then the conversation shifted to that oft-discussed play in the final seconds of last season's Super Bowl. Should Carroll have given the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the goal line? Bennett says he can't really answer that, but he knows it was a pivotal distance to cross. 

"The inch that mattered," Bennett said. "A lot of women understand that." 

Is Bennett having a kid soon?

"Yeah, I try to work on it every night," Bennett said.

And there it is: Michael Bennett, hard-working hopeful father and solid NFL interview.

Also, he really has a thing about Willy Wonka. Guy loves that film.

Dan is on Twitter. If you can survive Schiano, you can survive anything.