The rumors, it turns out, are true (you were right Toe). After nine years at the helm of one of the most dominant college football programs in history, Pete Carroll will be leaving SC to fulfill ambitions of coaching in the NFL. Pete Carroll is packing his bags and heading to the Pacific Northwest in an attempt to make the Seahawks a contender again.

It was reported that Seattle will pay Carroll $7 million a year for 5 years and give him complete control over football operations. That’s not a bad gig, but at what point does a coach decide money isn’t everything? At what point does a man settle with $4 million a year, sunny weather, and arguably the best coaching job in college football?

Pete Carroll is a grown-ass man and he’s free to do whatever he likes. He’s certainly earned it. But on he surface it seems a bit odd Carroll would leave the Trojans. He loves Southern California and loves mentoring and coaching impressionable, young men. He’s a salesman at heart, which makes him a recruiting machine. His coaching-style incorporates emotion and fun, which resonates with 18-22 year-old college kids. He’s real, and wears his passions on his sleeve.

For the most part successful NFL coaches are dull and analytical. They rely on talent scouts, general managers, free-agency and the draft to acquire talent, none of which requires sales skills. Players are not 18 year-old, impressionable students who want to learn and grow. Instead most NFL players are overpaid, prima-donna’s who are more concerned with contracts than winning. It just didn’t makes sense, why leave a great job for something so uncertain? Here are some assumptions.

- New challenge – he wanted to see if he could succeed in the NFL
- Money – it’s possible SC was being difficult and he got tired of haggling
- USC suspension – Joe McKnight is leaving and there’s speculation SC might get slapped with sanctions
- Personal issues – Pete was carousing around LA and his wife demanded a change of scenery
- Other – he might just like Seattle and the people in the Seahawks organization

Whatever the reason(s) it doesn’t make sense to me on the surface. I’m sure over the coming days and weeks we’ll get some answers. Whatever the reason(s) I think its a mistake because if things don’t work out in Seattle he can’t return to SC. Of course, if he has $35 million in his pocket he doesn’t ever have to coach again anyway.

The other side of this story is that one of the most appealing jobs in college football just opened up… Paging Mike Leach? God I hope so. Who do you think should be the next coach at USC?

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at 10:46 am and is filed under College FB, NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tags: Pete Carroll