Pete Carroll
![]() | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (September 2009) |
Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California) is an American football coach, former National Football League head coach, and the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans football team, having held that position since 2001. In his time at USC, the Trojans have made it to multiple national championship games (winning the National Championship in 2004 and splitting the National Championship in 2003) and have consistently won the Pacific-10 Conference football title. Carroll's winning percentage (84.2%) is the second highest among all active coaches with a minimum of five years at a Football Bowl Subdivision program.[2]
Early life
Pete Carroll was born in San Francisco to Jim and Rita Carroll. He and his older brother Jim were raised in nearby suburban Greenbrae, in Marin County, where his father was a liquor salesman.[3] The Carroll household was popular with the neighborhood, and local kids often went there to play sports and watch them on television.[3] As a child, Carroll played in the same Pop Warner league as future NFL quarterback and commentator Dan Fouts.[4]
Carroll attended Redwood High School in nearby Larkspur. After being a top athlete in childhood, his lack of physical growth as a teenager caused him frustration in high school sports; weighing 110 pounds as an incoming freshman, he was required to bring a special doctor's clearance in order to go out for football. He tried hard to prove himself, a trait that carried on throughout his later life.[5] As a result, he was a three-sport standout in football (playing quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back), basketball and baseball, earning the school's Athlete of the Year award as a senior in 1969; forty years later he was inducted into the charter class of the Redwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2009.[6]
College
After high school, Carroll attended junior college at the nearby College of Marin, where he played football for two years (lettering in his second year), before transferring to the University of the Pacific[7], where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[8] At Pacific, Carroll played free safety for two years, earning All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference honors both years (1971-72) and earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973.[7]
After graduation, Carroll tried out for the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League at their training camp in Riverside but did not make the team due to shoulder problems combined with his small size for the position.[3][5] To make ends meet, he found a job selling roofing materials in the Bay Area, but he found he wasn't good at it and soon moved on; it would be his only non-football-related job.[3]
Coaching career
Collegiate assistant (1973–1983)
Carroll's energetic and positive personality made a good impression on his head coach at Pacific, Chester Caddas. When Caddas found out Carroll was interested in coaching, he offered him a job as a graduate assistant on his staff at Pacific.[7] Carroll agreed and enrolled as a graduate student, earning a secondary teaching credential and Master's degree in physical education in 1976, while serving as a graduate assistant for three years and working with the wide receivers and secondary defenders. The assistants at Pacific during this time included a number of other future successful coaches, including Greg Robinson, Jim Colletto, Walt Harris, Ted Leland and Bob Cope.[7] He was inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
After graduating from Pacific, Carroll's colleague Bob Cope was hired by the University of Arkansas and he convinced Lou Holtz, then the head coach of the Razorbacks, to also hire Carroll.[7] Carroll spent the 1977 season as a graduate assistant working with the secondary under Cope, making $182 a month.[9] During his season with Arkansas, he met his future offensive line coach Pat Ruel, also a graduate assistant, as well as the future head coach of the Razorbacks Houston Nutt, who was a backup quarterback. Arkansas' Defensive Coordinator at the time, Monte Kiffin, would be a mentor to Carroll; Carroll's wife Glena would help babysit Monte's two-year-old son Lane Kiffin, who would later become Carroll's offensive coordinator at USC and then head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Volunteers.[9] The Razorbacks won the 1978 Orange Bowl that season.
The following season, Carroll moved to Iowa State University, where he was again an assistant working on the secondary under Earle Bruce.[7] When Bruce moved onto Ohio State University, he brought Carroll, who acted as an assistant coach in charge of the secondary. The Ohio State squad made it to the 1980 Rose Bowl where they lost to USC.
Carroll next spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at North Carolina State University. In 1983, Cope became head coach of Pacific and brought Carroll on as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.[7]
National Football League (1984–1999)
Carroll left Pacific after a year and entered the NFL in 1984 as the defensive backs coach of the Buffalo Bills. The next year he moved onto the Minnesota Vikings where he held a similar position for five seasons (1985–89).[3] In 1989, he was a candidate for the head coaching position at Stanford University; the position went to Dennis Green.[10] His success with the Vikings led to his hiring by the New York Jets, where he served as defensive coordinator under Bruce Coslet for four seasons (1990–93). When there was an opening for the Vikings' head coach position in 1992, he was a serious candidate but lost the position, again to Green.[3]
In 1994, Carroll was elevated to head coach of the Jets. Known for energy and youthful enthusiasm, Carroll painted a basketball court in the parking lot of the team's practice facility where he and his assistant coaches regularly played three-on-three games during their spare time.[11] The Jets got off to a 6–4 start under Carroll, but in week 12, he was the victim of Dan Marino's clock play that led to a Miami Dolphins game winning touchdown. The Jets lost all of their remaining games to finish 6–10. He was fired after one season.[11][12]
Carroll was hired for the next season by the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as defensive coordinator for the following two seasons (1995–96). His return to success as the defensive coordinator led to his hiring as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 1997, replacing coach Bill Parcells, who had resigned after disputes with the team's ownership. His 1997 Patriots team won the AFC East division title, but his subsequent two teams did not fare as well—losing in the wild card playoff round in 1998, and missing the playoffs after a late-season slide in 1999—and he was fired after the 1999 season. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said firing Carroll was one of the toughest decisions he has had to make since buying the team, stating "A lot of things were going on that made it difficult for him to stay, some of which were out of his control. And it began with following a legend."[11] Before leaving for college football he coached with the Seattle Seahawks as cornerbacks coach. His combined NFL record as head coach was 33–31.
Even though several NFL teams approached him with defensive coordinator positions, Carroll instead spent the 2000 season as a consultant for pro and college teams, doing charitable work for the NFL and writing a column about pro football for CNNSI.com.[10][13]
USC Trojans (2000–present)
Hiring
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/2008-0808-USC21-PeteCarroll.jpg/250px-2008-0808-USC21-PeteCarroll.jpg)
Carroll was named the Trojans' head football coach on December 15, 2000, signing a five-year contract after USC had gone through a tumultuous 18 day search to replace fired coach Paul Hackett.[14][15][16] He was not the Trojans' first choice, and was considered a long shot as the USC Athletic Department under Director Mike Garrett initially planned to hire a high-profile coach with recent college experience.[17] Meanwhile Carroll, who had not coached in over a year and not coached in the college ranks since 1983, drew unfavorable comparisons to the outgoing Hackett.[16][18][19]
USC first pursued then Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson, who instead signed a contract extension with the Beavers; then Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, who similarly signed an extension.[17] The search then moved to the San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley, who had been an assistant coach at USC before later becoming the head coach of Oregon State. Stuck in contractual obligations to the Chargers (who were still in the midst of an NFL season) and hesitating about moving his family, Riley was unable to give a firm answer, opening an opportunity for Carroll, the school's fourth choice.[17][19]
Carroll actively pursued the position, as his daughter, Jaime, was then a player on the school's successful volleyball team.[17] After the first three primary candidates turned down the position, USC hired Carroll. Under Garrett, USC had tried to recruit Carroll to be their head coach in 1997, while he was coaching the Patriots, but Carroll was unable to take the position.[15] The second time the opening came up, Daryl Gross, then senior associate athletic director for USC, recommended Carroll to Garrett based on his experience as a former scout for the New York Jets while Carroll coached there.[20][21] Garrett cited Carroll's intelligence, energy and reputation as a defensive specialist as reasons for his hire.[15]
The choice of Carroll for USC's head coaching position was openly criticized by the media and many USC fans, primarily because of USC's stagnation under the outgoing Hackett and Carroll's record as a head coach in the NFL and being nearly two decades removed from the college level.[15][18][20][22][23][24] Garrett took particular criticism for the hire, with the press tying his future with Carroll's after he had to fire two head coaches in four years for USC's premiere athletic coaching position.[25] Former NFL players (including USC alumni), such as Ronnie Lott, Gary Plummer, Tim McDonald and Willie McGinest offered their support for Carroll, who they noted had a player-friendly, easygoing style that might suit the college game and particularly recruiting.[11][15][19] The USC Athletic Department received 2,500 e-mails, faxes and phone calls from alumni—mostly critical—and a number of donors asking for Carroll's removal before they would donate again.
Within a year of his hiring, many prominent critics reversed course.[20][26] In 2008, ESPN.com named Carroll's hiring #1 in a list of the Pac-10's Top 10 Moments Of BCS Era.[27]
Tenure
The criticism of Pete Carroll became louder when Carroll's first USC team opened the 2001 season going 2–5, with some sportswriters writing off the once-dominant Trojans, who were the only Pac-10 football team to never finish in the national top 10 during the previous decade, as a dying program.[22][28] However, after the slow start, Carroll's teams proceeded to go 67–7 over the next 74 games, winning two national championships and bringing USC back to college football prominence.
Carroll is considered one of the most effective recruiters in college football, having brought in multiple top-ranked recruiting classes[4][29]; he is also known for getting commitments from nationally prominent players early in high school.[30] His son, Brennan Carroll, is USC's recruiting coordinator as well as the tight ends coach.[30] He has consistently been on the forefront of recruiting due to his ability to connect with potential players on their level, including becoming the first college coach with a Facebook page, as well as an early adopter of Twitter.[31][32]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/2008-1101-USC-PeteCarroll1.jpg/250px-2008-1101-USC-PeteCarroll1.jpg)
Carroll's team won a school-record 34 straight games from 2003–2005, a streak that started after a triple-overtime loss to California and ended with the national championship game in the 2006 Rose Bowl, against the Texas Longhorns. During his tenure, USC broke its average home attendance record four times in a row, without any stadium expansions (they play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum); the USC home attendance average in 2001, his first season, was 57,744; by 2006 it was over 91,000. The success of the USC football team under Carroll led to a sharp rise in overall athletic-department revenue, growing from $38.6 million in Carroll's first season at USC to more than $76 million in 2007-08.[33]
Despite consistently fielding national championship contenders, Carroll's goal for USC every season is to win the Pac-10 Conference and go to the Rose Bowl. In explaining why, Carroll noted "We can only control getting to the Rose Bowl. [...] Our goal isn't about national championships, because we don't have control of that -- that's in somebody else's hands. We found that out years ago [2003], when we were No. 1 but then we were No. 3." [34]
Carroll has been approached regarding vacant head coach positions in the NFL repeatedly since 2002.[10][35][36][37] Carroll has hesitated to return to the NFL after his previous experiences, and his return would likely rest on control over personnel matters at a level unprecedented in the league. He has insisted over the years that he is happy at USC and that money is not an issue; he also enjoys the Southern California lifestyle.[38] When asked if he would retire at USC, Carroll responded:
I am prepared to do that. That's the way I look at it, like this is the last job I'm ever going to have. I approach it that way. Now, whether it is or not, I don't know. Someone asked me the other day, 'Does that mean you're never going to leave?' Why do people want to make you say that? I have no idea, but I can't imagine doing anything else. It's a great place to be. I've been so lucky and fortunate. I owe so much to the school and the people who follow it. And the guys who played for us. I love being here.[39]
When originally hired, Carroll signed a five-year contract worth approximately $1 million annually. He received a significant raise after the 2002 season and earned close to $3 million in the 2004 season, which ended with USC winning the BCS title in January 2005. He agreed to a contract extension in December 2005.[33] His total compensation, including pay and benefits, for the 2007 fiscal year was $4,415,714.[1]
Carroll introduced the "Trojan Walk" tradition at USC before his 2001 debut against San Jose State. Now, hundreds of fans gather outside the Coliseum hours before kickoff, waiting for the USC team buses to arrive; players and coaches walk to the stadium through a sea of fans who give high fives and shout encouragements. In introducing the pregame ritual, Carroll believed that "walking into the Coliseum is a very special experience. I want [the players] to see that."[40]
On October 31, 2009, the Trojans lost to the Oregon Ducks, 47-20.[41] Two weeks later, the Trojans lost 55-21 to the Stanford Cardinal. The defeat was the worst in the Pete Carroll era, giving up the most points and by the largest margin.
Accomplishments
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/2008-1018-007-PeteCarroll.jpg/250px-2008-1018-007-PeteCarroll.jpg)
Since becoming USC head coach Pete Carroll has led a resurgence of football at the University of Southern California. Carroll is generally regarded as one of top college football coaches in the country,[29][42][43] and has been compared to College Football Hall of Fame coach Knute Rockne.[44][45] Here is a summary of program highlights:
- Two BCS Championship Game appearances (win over Oklahoma, and a loss to Texas)
- Two national championships, including the AP 2003 national championship and the undisputed 2004 national championship.
- Seven consecutive Associated Press Top-4 finishes
- A record six BCS bowl victories
- A record seven consecutive BCS bowl appearances
- A record seven consecutive years as Pac-10 Champions or Co-Champions
- A national-record 33 consecutive weeks as AP's No. 1-ranked team
- A winning record of 95–16 (85.6%), including 16–2 against traditional rivals Notre Dame and UCLA
- A NCAA record of 63 straight 20-point games
- Twenty-five All-American first teamers
- 53 players selected in the NFL Draft, including 14 in the first round.[46]
- Three Heisman Trophy winners (Carson Palmer, 2002; Matt Leinart, 2004; Reggie Bush, 2005)
- Four Top-5 recruiting classes
- Win streaks for home games (34) and Pac-10 home games (22).
- In 2007, USC became the first NCAA FBS team to achieve six consecutive 11-win seasons.[47] In 2008, USC added an unprecedented seventh consecutive 11-win season.
- 28–1 in the month of November
- Only team in history to win three consecutive Rose Bowl Games
In July 2007, ESPN.com named USC its #1 team of the decade for the period between 1996 and 2006, primarily citing the Trojans' renaissance and dominance under Carroll.[48][49] In 2007, his effect on the college football landscape was named one of the biggest developments over the past decade in ESPN the Magazine.[50] In May 2008, Carroll was named the coach who did the most to define the first 10 years of the BCS Era.[51]
In 2009, the Washington Huskies and the Arizona Wildcats became the latest Pac-10 teams to upset the Trojans, leaving only one Pacific 10 Conference team that has failed to beat USC during the Pete Carroll era: Arizona State.[52] Other Pac-10 teams have defeated USC at least once during this period, Oregon State did it twice at Reser Stadium (in 2006 and again in 2008) while Stanford defeated them three times at the Coliseum (in 2001, 2007, and 2009).
Coaching records
National Football League
Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
NYJ | 1994 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 5th in AFC East | - | - | - | - |
NYJ Total | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | - | - | - | |||
NE | 1997 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in AFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Divisional Game. |
NE | 1998 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4th in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild-Card Game. |
NE | 1999 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5th in AFC East | - | - | - | - |
NE Total | 27 | 21 | 0 | .563 | 1 | 2 | .333 | |||
Total[53] | 33 | 31 | 0 | .516 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
College
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Southern California (Pac-10) (2001–present) | |||||||||
2001 | USC | 6–6 | 5–3 | 5th | L Las Vegas | — | — | ||
2002 | USC | 11–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | W Orange† | 4 | 4 | ||
2003 | USC | 12–1 | 7–1 | 1st | W Rose† | 2 | 1 | ||
2004 | USC | 13–0 | 8–0 | 1st | W Orange† | 1 | 1 | ||
2005 | USC | 12–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L Rose† | 2 | 2 | ||
2006 | USC | 11–2 | 7–2 | T–1st | W Rose† | 4 | 4 | ||
2007 | USC | 11–2 | 7–2 | T–1st | W Rose† | 2 | 3 | ||
2008 | USC | 12–1 | 8–1 | 1st | W Rose† | 2 | 3 | ||
2009 | USC | 8–4 | 5–4 | T–5th | 19 | 20 | |||
USC: | 96–19 | 62–14 | |||||||
Total: | 96–19 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
|
Personal awards
2003
- 2003 American Football Coaches Association Division I-A Coach of the Year
- Home Depot National Coach of the Year
- Maxwell Club College Coach of the Year
- ESPN.com National Coach of the Year
- Pigskin Club of Washington D.C. Coach of the Year
- All-American Football Foundation Frank Leahy Co-Coach of the Year
- Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year
2004
- 2004 National Quarterback Club College Coach of the Year
- 2004 ESPN.com Pac-10 Coach of the Year
2005
- Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year
2006
- Pac-10 Coach of the Year[54]
Coaching style
On offense, Carroll is known for using an aggressive, nonconservative play-calling that is open to trick plays as well as "going for it" on 4th down instead of punting the ball away.[55] Because of his aggressive style, the USC Band has given him the nickname "Big Balls Pete." At football games, when Pete Carroll decides to go for it on 4th down, the USC band will start a chant of "Big Balls Pete" that carries over to the students section and the alumni.[56][57][5]
On defense, Carroll favors a bend-but-don't-break scheme of preventing the big plays: allowing opposing teams to get small yardage but trying to keep the plays in front of his defenders.[58]
Carroll draws coaching inspiration from the 1974 book The Inner Game of Tennis, by tennis coach W. Timothy Gallwey, which he picked up as graduate student at the University of the Pacific; he summarizes the philosophy he took from the book as "all about clearing the clutter in the interactions between your conscious and subconscious mind" enabled "Through superior practice and a clear approach. Focus, clarity and belief in yourself are what allows you to express your ability without discursive thoughts and concerns."[59] He wrote a foreword for a later edition, noting that athletes "must clear their minds of all confusion and earn the ability to let themselves play freely."[21] He also cites influences from psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Jung, Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa and Zen master D. T. Suzuki.[5]
"Reading Wooden, I realized: If I'm gonna be a competitor, if I'm ever going to do great things, I'm going to have to carry a message that's strong and clear and nobody's going to miss the point ever about what I'm all about. . . . Jerry Garcia said that he didn't want his band to be the best ones doing something. He wanted them to be the only ones doing it. To be all by yourself out there doing something that nobody else can touch — that's the thought that guides me, that guides this program: We're going to do things better than it's ever been done before in everything we do, and we're going to compete our ass off. And we're gonna see how far that takes us." |
— Carroll on how John Wooden and Jerry Garcia influenced his coaching philosophy.[5] |
After he was fired by the New England Patriots, Carroll read a book by former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden which heavily influenced how he would run his future program at USC: emulating Wooden, Carroll decided to engineer his program in the way that best exemplified his personal philosophy. He decided his philosophy was best summarized as "I'm a competitor".[5] As a fan of the Grateful Dead, Carroll then tied Wooden's thoughts into those by Jerry Garcia, and decided that he wanted his football program to not be the best, but the only program following his competitive philosophy.[5]
Carroll is known for his high-energy and often pleasant demeanor when coaching.[21][60][61] In explaining his enthusiasm, Carroll has stated "I always think something good's just about to happen."[4] In a 2005 interview, Carroll explained his motivation:
I feel like I should be playing now. What really pissed me off was going to the WFL (World Football League) and getting cut and having the NFL go on strike and not being able to get a connection with the scabs (replacement players). Just one game and I think I would have been happy. Absolutely it was a motivator for me later in life. It's one of the biggest reasons I've been coaching all these years. I tell the players all the time, I wish I was doing what they were doing.[3]
Carroll has been known to plan elaborate surprises and pranks during practice to lighten the mood and reward the players; notable examples include using a Halloween practice to stage fake argument and subsequent falling death of runningback LenDale White, having a defensive end Everson Griffen arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department during a team meeting for "physically abusing" freshman offensive linemen, and several pranks involving USC alumnus and comedic actor Will Ferrell.[62][63][64][65][66][67] During practices, Carroll frequently gets involved doing drills: running sprints and routes as well as throwing the ball.[21][68] Under Carroll, nearly all USC practices are open to the public, a move that is uncommon among programs; he believes that having fans at practice helps his team prepare, making mundane drills seem more interesting, causing players to perform at a high level when they know they have an audience and preparing them for larger crowds on game days.[69][70]
Despite his penchant for humor, Carroll's USC program has strictly prescribed routines that cover what players may eat, the vocabulary they use, and the theme of daily practices. Under his tenure, days have descriptive nicknames like Tell the Truth Monday, Competition Tuesday, Turnover Wednesday.[5]
Carroll favorably compares college recruiting to any other competition, and enjoys the ability to recruit talent, which he was unable to do in the NFL. He likens being a college head coach to being both the "coach and general manager.[21] He assigns all jersey numbers to his players, an assignment he takes seriously. When he was an incoming freshman at Pacific, he wanted No. 40, the number he had worn in all sports growing up; however, Pacific had retired the number in honor of quarterback/safety Eddie LeBaron, so Carroll ended up with 46.[71]
Philanthropy
After moving to Los Angeles, Carroll was affected by the number of gang-related murders taking place in poorer areas. In April 2003, Carroll helped organize a meeting with political leaders, high-ranking law enforcement officials and representatives from social service, education and faith-based communities met at USC's Heritage Hall for a brainstorming session. The result was the founding of A Better LA, a charity devoted to reducing violence in targeted urban areas of Los Angeles.[72][73] The organization now supports several violence prevention nonprofit groups. Twice a month, Carroll goes with community activists and former gang members into some of LA's most crime-plagued neighborhoods, such as the Jordan Downs project, at night in order to talk and listen to residents, help youth find part-time jobs and encourage a stop to violence.[61][74] Carroll's Facebook page is also aimed at recruiting help for the project.[31]
Carroll regularly participates in USC's annual "Swim with Mike", an annual swim-a-thon held to raise money for the USC Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund; his participation in 2007 included soundly defeating USC alumnus Will Ferrell in a charity swim match.[75]
Work with children
In April 2009, Pete Carroll launched CampPete.com, a multi-player online game "billed as a ground-breaking Web site aimed at bringing Coach Carroll's unique Win Forever philosophy to kids all over the country by taking advantage of one of the hottest technology trends online, the virtual world."[76] The site, which can be accessed by creating a virtual avatar includes arcade-style games, motivational messages from Coach Carroll and a sports trivia section as well as a collection of virtual football skills workshops for kids.[77] A portion of the proceeds from CampPete.com will go to support A Better LA.[72][78] Some, however, argue that Pete Carroll's poor sportsmanship and generally arrogant demeanor has gone a long way in undoing pretty much all of his charitable successes.
Personal
Carroll's wife Glena (née Goranson) played indoor volleyball at the University of the Pacific.[79] Together they have three children, oldest son Brennan, middle daughter Jaime, and youngest son Nathan.[80] Through Brennan and his wife Amber, he has one grandchild, Dillon Brennan Carroll.[81][82]
Brennan Carroll played tight end at the University of Pittsburgh after transferring from University of Delaware; he graduated from Pitt in 2001 and joined his father as a graduate assistant (he is now an assistant coach).[83] Jaime Carroll started attending USC in the fall of 2000, several months before her father was hired as football coach, she was a player on the Women of Troy's women's volleyball team.[84] Nathan Carroll is an undergraduate student at USC.[13] The Carrolls live in Rolling Hills, California.[79] Carroll's late father-in-law, Dean Goranson, graduated with a Master's degree from USC.[83] His older brother, Jim Carroll, played tackle at Pacific, operated a few businesses in the upper Midwest, and is now retired in Phoenix, Arizona.[3]
Carroll credits Bruce Springsteen's song "Growin' Up" for helping him reach a pivotal moment in professional development during the summer of 1999, while he was under heavy criticism after his second season with the New England Patriots.[57]
Carroll encourages all his players to vote. In the 2008 United States presidential election, Carroll supported Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama, noting "It's time. I'm excited for it, for everybody. Most of all, I'm excited to be represented by him around the world."[85]
References
- ^ a b Jeffery Brainard, The Biggest Campus Paycheck May Not Be the President's, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 27, 2009, Accessed February 27, 2009
- ^ http://cfbplace.com/college-football-2008-the-winningest-active-coaches
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mark Whicker, More than a passing fancy, The Orange County Register, September 2, 2005. Cite error: The named reference "OCR090205" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c Bryan Curtis, Field Marshall, Men's Vogue, October 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mike Sager, Big Balls Pete Carroll, Esquire, September 11, 2009, Accessed September 22, 2009.
- ^ Adam Rose, Pete Carroll: The high school years, latimes.com, April 8, 2009, Accessed April 10, 2009; Pete Carroll, 1969, Redwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame, Accessed April 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jason Anderson, Pete's party began at Pacific , The Record, Aug. 2, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "Record080206" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Facts and History, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
- ^ a b Rhett Bollinger, Back where they started, Daily Trojan, August 31, 2006
- ^ a b c J A. Adande, Rah-Rah Material, Los Angeles Times, November 9, 2002, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ a b c d Sam Farmer, Spirit of Carroll Also Haunting Him, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ See also Eskenazi, Gerald (1998) - GANG GREEN: An Irreverent Look Behind The Scenes At Thirty-Eight (well, Thirty-Seven) Seasons Of New York Jets Football Futility (New York: Simon & Schuster)
- ^ a b Profile: Pete Carroll, USC Athletic Department.
- ^ Bill Plaschke, Another USC Turnover, Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2000, Accessed July 16, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e David Wharton, USC Goes Carrolling, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b David Wharton, Trojans, Carroll Keep Talking, Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d David Wharton, All Signs Point to Carroll, Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b Bill Plaschke, For Pete's Sake, USC, Why Did You Do It?, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c Chris Dufresne, Timing Isn’t Entirely on Carroll’s Side, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c Bill Plaschke, Sorry, Pete, We Were Wrong, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2003, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ a b c d e Michael Sokolove, Happiness Is a Warm Football Coach, The New York Times, November 2, 2008, Accessed February 11, 2009.
- ^ a b Tom Dienhart, Carroll's hiring is another mistake for troubled USC, The Sporting News, January 1, 2001. Cite error: The named reference "SN010101" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Pete Carroll Letters: Initial Reaction Could Be Better", Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2000.
- ^ Larry Stewart, You Don’t Have to Be a USC Alum to Hate This Hire, Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ J A. Adande, Now Garrett’s Back Is Against the Wallet, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ Bill Plaschke, It Didn’t Take Long for the Fight to Get Knocked Out of Bruins, Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2001, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ Ted Miller, Trojans had no BCS peer once Carroll arrived, ESPN.com, May 22, 2008, Accessed May 22, 2008.
- ^ Bill Plaschke, Westwood, Ho!, Los Angeles Times, October 25, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b Ted Miller, Pac-10 coaching rankings: Carroll on top, ESPN.com, August 6, 2008, Accessed August 6, 2008.
- ^ a b Mike Farrel, Times are a-changin', SI.com, June 15, 2007
- ^ a b Andy Staples, Wall-to-wall with Pete Carroll, SI.com, March 6, 2008, Accessed February 17, 2009. Cite error: The named reference "SI030608" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Ted Miller, Breaking news!, ESPN.com, February 17, 2009, Accessed February 17, 2009.
- ^ a b Gary Klein, USC's Pete Carroll tops national salary list, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2009, Accessed February 26, 2009
- ^ Ted Miller, Catching up with Pete Carroll, Part I, ESPN.com, August 20, 2008, Accessed August 22, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein, Carroll Says He Has No Interest in Coaching the 49ers, Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2003, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ Sam Farmer, HE’S PRO USC, Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2003, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ Sam Farmer, 49ers to Go After Carroll, Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2005, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ Sam Farmer and Gary Klein, New year, same question: Will Carroll return to NFL?, Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2008, Accessed January 16, 2009
- ^ Ted Miller, Catching up with Pete Carroll, Part II, ESPN.com, August 20, 2008, Accessed August 22, 2008.
- ^ David Wharton, ‘Trojan Walk’ is USC football team tradition, Los Angeles Times, August 23, 2008, Accessed November 3, 2008.
- ^ Scott Wolf, USC back on the Oregon fail, Los Angeles Daily News, November 1, 2009
- ^ Stewart Mandel, Uprooting the 'upset', SI.com, October 3, 2007.
- ^ Dennis Dodd, Carroll's decorated resume makes him -- and USC -- best of the best, CBSSports.com, July 14, 2008, Accessed July 21, 2008.
- ^ Mike Celizic, Carroll could be the next Rockne, Associated Press, August 2, 2007.
- ^ Mike Lopresti, A few legends might enjoy success of Carroll's Trojans, USA TODAY, August 24, 2007.
- ^ Adam Rose, USC Trojans in the NFL: 2009 draft recap, LATimes.com, April 27, 2009, Accessed April 27, 2009.
- ^ Eddie Pells, (6) USC 49, (13) Illinois 17, Associated Press, January 1, 2008.
- ^ Ivan Maisel, Carroll's coaching propels USC to top of decade ranking, ESPN.com, July 27, 2007.
- ^ Storied programs dominate Ladder 119's top rungs, ESPN.com, July 27, 2007.
- ^ Bruce Feldman, Major programs have implemented the spread offense, ESPN the Magazine, September 24, 2007.
- ^ Mark Schlabach, Carroll, Tressel helped define first 10 years of BCS era, ESPN.com, May 21, 2008, Accessed May 21, 2008.
- ^ Steve Harvey, College Football - Bottom 10, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2009
- ^ Pete Carroll NFL Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com
- ^ Gary Klein, Carroll is selected coach of the year, The Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2006
- ^ Pat Forde, Coaches, players embracing trickeration trend, ESPN.com, August 9, 2007.
- ^ Adam Rose, All Things Trojan: Salute To Troy: Them's Fight On Words, latimes.com, August 26, 2007.
- ^ a b Jerry Crowe, Carroll found inspiration, and it led to his glory days, Los Angeles Times, October 22, 2007, Accessed August 22, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein, USC defense thinking safety first, Los Angeles Times, September 22, 2007.
- ^ Kurt Streeter, Carroll goes by the book to teach football at USC, Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2007, Accessed February 11, 2009
- ^ Doug Krikorian, Commentary: Trojans feed off Carroll's charisma, Daily Breeze, August 21, 2007.
- ^ a b J. R. Moehringer, 23 Reasons Why A Profile of Pete Carroll Does Not Appear in this Space, Los Angeles Magazine, December 2007, Accessed August 12, 2008.
- ^ Coach Carroll's April Fool's Joke on YouTube
- ^ Dave Albee,Carroll Chronicles: Celebrities love to practice with Pete, Marin Independent Journal, August 29, 2007.
- ^ Rhett Bollinger, White's prank put scare into USC, Daily Trojan, November 1, 2005, Accessed May 4, 2008.
- ^ Ted Miller, Griffen ready to leave his mark on Pac-10 QBs, ESPN.com, May 2, 2008, Accessed May 4, 2008.
- ^ Adam Rose, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/31/sports/sp-uscside31, Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2008, Accessed February 11, 2009.
- ^ Gary Klein, Mitch Mustain gets a kick out of being No. 2 quarterback for USC, Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2009, Accessed October 15, 2009.
- ^ 8 Ways Pete Carroll Cultivates Champions, SUCCESS Magazine, July 2008, Accessed July 2, 2008.
- ^ David Wharton, USC football practices are a draw, Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2008, Accessed August 11, 2008.
- ^ Ben Malcolmson, The USCRipsIt Practice Primer, USCRipsIt/PeteCarroll.com, August 6, 2008, Accessed August 11, 2008.
- ^ Ben Malcolmson, A numbers game, USCRipsIt/PeteCarroll.com, August 12, 2008, Accessed August 14, 2008.
- ^ a b History, A Better LA, Accessed February 11, 2009. Cite error: The named reference "ABETLA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Gary Klein, Gang Tackling, Los Angeles Times, November 25, 2004, Accessed February 11, 2009.
- ^ Kurt Streeter, USC's Carroll reaches out to the streets, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2008.
- ^ Pete Carroll Laps Will Ferrell in Charity Swim KABC Channel 7, April 14, 2007, Accessed February 11, 2009.
- ^ Klein, Gary (2009-04-21). "USC's Pete Carroll hosts website for kids …". LA Times. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ Kendrick, Jonathan (2009-04-22). "Former Trojans Preparing for NFL Draft …". Daily Trojan. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ Miller, Ted (2009-04-21). "And in Pete Carroll news today …". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ a b Jill Painter, For USC coach Carroll, coaching is part fun and sun, Los Angeles Daily News, August 12, 2007.
- ^ USC Football Riding 10-Game Win Streak Hosts Hawaii For First Time Since 1930, USC Athletic Department, September 8, 2003
- ^ Pete Carroll, post, Twitter, February 23, 2009, Accessed February 26, 2009.
- ^ Pete Carroll, post, Twitter, February 25, 2009, Accessed February 26, 2009.
- ^ a b Profile: Brennan Carroll, USC Athletic Department.
- ^ Player Profile: Jaime Carroll, USC Athletic Department.
- ^ Gary Klein, Carroll does his part to get out the vote, Los Angeles Times, November 4, 2008, Accessed January 16, 2009.
- Player Bio: Pete Carroll, USC Athletic Department, Accessed Aug. 3, 2006.
- Neil Hayes, Carroll Exceeds All Expectations, Contra Costa Times, Nov. 10, 2005, Page b01.
- Stewart Mandell, For Pete's sake: Carroll spurs USC's quick rise back to national prominence, CNNSI.com, Dece. 30, 2003.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Pete Carroll official profile at USCTrojans.com
- Facebook page
- Twitter stream
- Pete Carroll coaching record at the College Football Data Warehouse
- Pete Carroll at Rivals.com
- A Better LA official website
- CampPete.com official kids' website
- 1951 births
- Living people
- American football safeties
- Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches
- College football head coaches
- Iowa State Cyclones football coaches
- Minnesota Vikings coaches
- National Football League head coaches
- Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches
- Pacific Tigers football coaches
- Pacific Tigers football players
- People from San Francisco, California
- People from Marin County, California
- NC State Wolfpack football coaches
- New England Patriots head coaches
- New York Jets coaches
- New York Jets head coaches
- San Francisco 49ers coaches
- University of the Pacific alumni
- USC Trojans football head coaches