For Pete’s sake
Has the California sun baked Pete Carroll’s brain?
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Pete Carroll has it made at Southern Cal.
He wins games by the dozen. He holds La La Land by the tail. And he lives in a place where it’s always sunny and 78.
Why would he want to leave?
That’s the question I’ve been asking myself after news surfaced last week that Carroll was talking seriously with the Atlanta Falcons. These are the same Falcons, by the way, who have lost their starting quarterback to the federal pen in Leavenworth and lost their first-year coach to Arkansas. These are the worst of times in Atlanta.
And still, Carroll wants to leave the best of situations for the Falcons.
Heck, this is a guy who’s big-time in Hollywood. How many people can honestly say that?
So, what gives with Carroll wanting to bolt from USC? I suppose it could be that he wants the challenge of coaching in the NFL again. He had decent success in the league before, but why the Falcons? Why now?
Carroll has entertained other overtures from teams. It’s difficult to believe that if he really wanted to coach in the NFL again that he couldn’t do better than the Falcons. Right now, Miami is in better shape than Atlanta, and the Dolphins won all of one game this season.
Perhaps Carroll is intrigued by the chance to be the coach and the director of player personnel. Falcons owner Arthur Blank has dangled that carrot in front of Carroll. Being able to control roster moves is a perk many NFL coaches want but few receive.
Still, that seems a shaky reason to go back to the NFL.
All that leads to one question: what’s different now compared to times when the NFL temped Carroll before?
The biggest thing that comes to mind: possible NCAA sanctions hanging over his program’s head. I wrote a bit Saturday about the allegations swirling around Reggie Bush, which are detailed in the new book, “Tarnished Heisman.” The former Trojan star may have taken as much as $300,000 in illegal benefits during his final year at USC. It’s a story that’s made headlines but flown largely under the radar, considering the seriousness of the violation.
Carroll’s interest in the Falcons, though, may signal that this is a bigger deal than most folks think. He might want to get out before things get bad.
Leaving USC seems silly, but leaving USC for Atlanta seems down right crazy. Just maybe, though, a situation that’s been so very good for Carroll is about to turn so very bad.
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Comments
Carroll talked to the Falcons out of courtesy. Coaches who have been around know alot of people in the football buisness. The president of the Falcons is J.K.McKay, son of John McKay the legendary USC coach. If Carroll is “looking” I would suggest that he would be talking to the Redskins. Jim Wetzel
Carroll never said he WANTS to leave; he just listened. As for the allegations of payments to Bush. Where’s the proof? Cash paymenets right? Can’t trace em. It’s Bush vs. the other guy. It’s He-said/he-said, just like Clemens and his accuser.