Pete Carroll has reportedly agreed to terms to become the new coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and leave the monster of a program he built at USC. Sporting News’ Matt Hayes addresses three burning questions the move raises:
1. Can he succeed? No. His 33-31 regular-season record (1-2 in the postseason) with the Jets and Patriots in the 1990s is much more the norm than exception in the coach-eating league. The NFL is set up for parity; the Pac-10 was set up for USC to dominate.
2. Will USC disappear? No. But the program won’t be nearly as dominant without Carroll’s dynamic personality wooing elite recruits. That unique campus and those magnificent facilities (that’s sarcasm) weren’t landing recruits.
3. Who’s best suited for the USC job? If one NFL washout works, why not another? Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, a USC alum, is treading water in Jacksonville. A defense-first, charismatic coach — haven’t we seen this before?
Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.
This story will appear in the January 10 edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.
Pete Carroll has reportedly agreed to terms to become the new coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and leave the monster of a program he built at USC. Sporting News’ Matt Hayes addresses three burning questions the move raises:
1. Can he succeed? No. His 33-31 regular-season record (1-2 in the postseason) with the Jets and Patriots in the 1990s is much more the norm than exception in the coach-eating league. The NFL is set up for parity; the Pac-10 was set up for USC to dominate.
2. Will USC disappear? No. But the program won’t be nearly as dominant without Carroll’s dynamic personality wooing elite recruits. That unique campus and those magnificent facilities (that’s sarcasm) weren’t landing recruits.
3. Who’s best suited for the USC job? If one NFL washout works, why not another? Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, a USC alum, is treading water in Jacksonville. A defense-first, charismatic coach — haven’t we seen this before?
Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.
This story will appear in the January 10 edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.