Why Something Is Up In SoCal

Imagine a situation in which you worked at a place that was seen as untouchable, you were regarded as a hero locally and you were very, very well paid for what you did. This is what Pete Carroll's life was like as the head football coach at The University of Southern California. When Carroll was hired 9 years ago, the skeptics were not hard to find. Carroll was a man that had just finished an atrocious NFL career that was anything but successful. He turned the USC program around and the Trojans became perennial contenders for the national championship. Every year, USC is near the top and Pete Carroll's name has become synonymous with winning. So, why is Pete Carroll leaving the Trojans to be the next head coach of the Seattle Seahawks?

There are many seemingly logical reasons: Carroll wants another shot to prove that he can cut it in the NFL, Carroll's star running back Joe McKnight just declared himself eligible for the NFL draft, and of course the Seattle job is going to pay him a few million more per year. Those all seem like good reasons to make a move. Not to mention, Carroll has been courted by many NFL teams over the past few years. He has always turned these offers down and said that if the right opportunity came along he would consider a move back to the NFL. I don't believe that this is that opportunity. Carroll jumped ship in less than 24 hours. The previous Seahawks coach could not believe that he was being fired. Jim Mora was under the impression he was going to a meeting to talk about their open General Manager position and he was blindsided by a firing. Carroll was reported to have taken the job within 24 hours of Mora's firing, and within another day he had agreed to the contract in principle. The only delay was that the Seahawks had to fulfill their "Rooney Rule" obligation, but that's another blog for another time. I don't think that Pete Carroll was just waiting for the Seattle job to open up. I don't believe that that is his dream job. Something is up in SoCal.

Pete Carroll is leaving because the house of cards that he has built over the past 9 seasons is about to come crumbling down and he doesn't want to be at the bottom of the wreck when it does. Whether it be recruiting infractions, NCAA infractions such as players receiving money, something to do with Carroll's personal life, a dispute between Carroll and the Athletic Director or something else that I can't think of. . . something is up. It is hard to believe that Carroll would leave the bright lights of LA for a foggy dystopia in Seattle. Pete Carroll is running from something. Something so bad that it would drag his name through the dirt to the point where these kinds of NFL jobs would no longer be available to him.

Some people are saying that he is seeking a new challenge. Hey Pete, you want a challenge? Your USC team just went 9-4 overall and 5-4 in the conference. You lost to Washington, Oregon, Stanford and Arizona and just lost the conference title for only the second time in 9 years. You played Boston College in the Emerald Bowl, a game that you should have won by 30, but you won by 11. A game that is so overlooked, it is played in a baseball stadium and both teams have to stand on the same sideline. You want a challenge? Stay where you are and return the glory to USC...again.