Pete Carroll
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Peter C. Carroll (born September 15, 1951 in San Francisco, California) is the head coach of the University of Southern California team, having held that position since 2001, and has led the team to the AP National Championship in 2003 (LSU won the BCS National Championship) and both the AP and BCS National Championships in 2004, including a 55-19 defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl BCS National Championship Game. The Trojans lost to the University of Texas in the BCS Championship Game, 41-38, following the 2005 regular season, falling short in their bid to become the first team since Minnesota in the 1930's to win three consecutive national titles. Carroll, Joe Paterno, and Bobby Bowden are the only active coaches with two AP National Championships.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early life and College
Pete Carroll was born in San Francisco and raised in nearby Marin County. He attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California where he was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball, earning the school's Athlete of the Year award as a senior in 1969. After high school he attended junior college at the nearby College of Marin, where he played football for both years, though only lettering in his second year, before transfering to the University of the Pacific. At Pacific, Carroll played the position of free safety for two years, earning All-Pacific Coast Conference honors both years (1971-72) and earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973. After graduation, Carroll tried out for the the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League but did not make the team. To make ends meet, he found a job selling roofing materials in the Bay Area.
[edit] Early Coaching Career
Carroll's energtic 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. Carroll agreed and enrolled as a graduate student, earning a 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 (became an offensive line coach on NFL teams), Walt Harris, Ted Leland (became athletic director at Stanford University) and the late Bob Cope (became defensive coordinator of Kansas State University). He was inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
After graduating from Pacific, his colleague Bob Cope was hired by the University of Arkansas and he convinced Lou Holtz to also hire Carroll. Carroll then spent the 1977 season as a graduate assistant working with the secondary, with the Razorbacks winning the 1978 Orange Bowl that season. The following season he moved to Iowa State University, where he was again an assistant working on the secondary under Earle Bruce. When Bruce moved onto the Ohio State University, he brought Carroll and made him Seconday Coach, and the squad made it to the 1980 Rose Bowl (coincidently losing to USC). Carroll next spent three seasons as the defensive coordiinator 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.
[edit] National Football League
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 5 seasons (1985-89). His success at with the Vikings led to his hiring by the New York Jets, where he served as defensive coordinator under Bruce Coslet for 4 seasons (1990-93). In 1994 Carroll was elevated to head coach of the Jets, but he was fired after one season, going 6-10.
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. His 1997 Patriot team became Division champions and made the playoffs, but his subsequent two teams did not fare very well, missing the playoffs twice and he was fired after the 1999 season. His combined NFL record as head coach was 33-31.
With no one hiring him for a coaching position, Carroll 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.
[edit] Head Coach of USC
Carroll was named the Trojans' head football coach on December 15, 2000, signing a 5-year contract. He was not the Trojans' first choice, as the USC Athletic Department under Director Mike Garrett tried to initially hire more high-profile college coaches to replace fired coach Paul Hackett including Dennis Erickson (then-coach of Oregon State University), Mike Bellotti, and Mike Riley (then coach of the San Diego Chargers). Carroll actively pursued the position, as his youngest child, Jaime, was then a player on the Women of Troy's successful volleyball team. After the other three primary candidates turned down the position, USC hired Carroll. The choice was scrutinized by the media and vocally criticised by 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. 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. Their criticism became louder when Carroll's first USC team opened the 2001 season going 2-5. However, after the slow start, Carroll's teams proceeded to go 52-5 over the next 57 games, winning two national championships and bring USC back to college football prominence.
[edit] Pete Carroll's NFL Record
| Year | Team | Record | Playoffs | Other Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | New York Jets | 6-10 | Did not advance | Lost final 6 games; Carroll was fired |
| 1997 | New England Patriots | 10-6 | 1-1 | Division champions |
| 1998 | New England Patriots | 9-7 | 0-1 | |
| 1999 | New England Patriots | 8-8 | Did not advance | Carroll was fired |
[edit] Pete Carroll's record at USC
| Year | Record | Bowl | Final Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6-6 | Lost Las Vegas Bowl to the University of Utah | Unranked |
| 2002 | 11-2 | Won Orange Bowl against the University of Iowa | #4 AP Poll, #4 BCS Poll |
| 2003 | 12-1 | Won Rose Bowl against the University of Michigan | #1 AP Poll, #2 BCS Poll |
| 2004 | 13-0 | Won Orange Bowl (BCS Championship Game) against the University of Oklahoma | #1 AP Poll, #1 BCS Poll |
| 2005 | 12-1 | Lost Rose Bowl (BCS Championship Game) to the University of Texas | #2 AP Poll, #2 BCS Poll |
[edit] Accomplishments at SC
Carroll is 54-10 (84.4%) as a head coach at USC. His team won a school record 34 games straight games from 2003-2005, a streak that started after a triple-overtime loss to California and ended with the 2006 Rose Bowl.
Since becoming USC head coach Pete Carroll has lead a resurgence of football at the University of Southern California. Here is a summary of program highlights:
- Two BCS Championship Game appearances (win over Oklahoma, loss to Texas);
- Four AP Top 4 finishes, including national championships in 2003 and 2004;
- Four BCS bowl appearances;
- Four Pac-10 championships;
- Still-active win streaks for home games (27), Pac-10 games (23), Pac-10 home games (19), road games (15) and Pac-10 road games (11) to go along with the just-snapped victory strings for overall games (34), non-conference games (16) and games against AP Top 25 teams (16);
- A national-record 33 consecutive weeks as AP's No. 1-ranked team;
- A winning record of 92.3% (48-4), including 8-0 against traditional rivals Notre Dame and UCLA;
- A school-record 52 straight 20-point games;
- Nineteen All-American first teamers;
- Three Heisman Trophy winners;
- Four Top 5 recruiting classes.
[edit] Coaching Awards
[edit] 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. He
- Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year
[edit] 2004
- 2004 National Quarterback Club College Coach of the Year
- 2004 ESPN.com Pac-10 Coach of the Year
[edit] Criticism
In 2002, the father of USC tailback Justin Fargas invited former USC Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson to a team practice. After the practice, Simpson was allowed to come onto the field and meet the players and pose for pictures. Many questioned Carroll's judgment to allow this to happen, as Simpson was accused of murder in 1995 (he was found not guilty in his criminal trial but was later found liable in a civil trial). In response to public criticism for his decision, Carroll stated that, "It was good to have him out here. At SC, our guys hold a Heisman Trophy winner in the highest regard. For them to get a chance to see him and visit with him was very special for them." Several former USC star players, including former running backs Anthony Davis and Jon Arnett, expressed criticism of the visit.
It has also been reported that Carroll never told his 2003-2005 quarterback Matt Leinart that offensive coordinator Norm Chow would not be returning to the school. Chow left USC for the Tennessee Titans a month after Leinart's decision. It has been suggested that this knowledge was kept from Leinart in an attempt to get him to play another year at USC rather than moving on to the NFL.
[edit] Reference
- Jason Anderson, Pete's party began at Pacific , The Record, Aug. 2, 2006, Accessed Aug. 3, 2006.
- 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.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Bruce Coslet | New York Jets Head Coach 1994 | Succeeded by Rich Kotite |
| Preceded by Bill Parcells | New England Patriots Head Coach 1996–1999 | Succeeded by Bill Belichick |
| Preceded by Paul Hackett | University of Southern California Head Football Coach 2001– | Succeeded by incumbent |
