It's official: so long, Pete...
 

Straight from the horse's mouth:

Seahawks | Report: Pete Carroll resigns at USC; agreement with Seahawks close at hand | Seattle Times Newspaper

Now it's time to go get Mike Riley.

Pete Carrol was a total failure in the NFL the last time he tried going pro, wasn't he?

No, but he will be this time.

You sure Sammy?

I am far from being a Carrol fan, but I enjoy him in the sport. Now, I think he should see how successful Saban was at Miami to know that maybe this isn't the best route. College coaches like having COMPLETE control over one's team. I don't think Carrol is going to be able to have anywhere near the success that he had at USC.

This move by the Seahawks doesn't leave me with the "Warm Fuzzies". They don't need a Rah Rah college head coach running the entire operation. Defining talent on the NFL level is completely different than recruiting high school players. This is a huge draft for the team & he has the potential to cripple the team for many years to come. I doubt the players are going to respond any different to Pete than they did to Mora. The Seahawks screwed the pooch when they let Mike Holmgren get away, they should have handed the team over to him.

I'm a big Pete carroll fan. I've met him several times and believe it or not I saw him as a high school game a couple years back and he recognized me and remembered my name. he's got a great memory.
My earlier post indicated that I think his first go-around as head coach in the NFL didn't result in failure but this next one prolly will.

In his one season as head coach of the jets, they finished 6-10 with was actually not that bad for the jets. the reason he was fired was because they lost the last 6 games in a row. That and the fact that they didn't have any real talent. Remember marino's fake spike of the ball that resulted in a game-winning touchdown? That was the beginning of the end of Carroll's job with the jets.

In his first season as head coach of the patriots they won their division. The second year they made the playoffs but lost the wild card game. The third season they barely missed the payoffs and he was fired.

The biggest contributing factor to his firing was prolly that he replaced a legend, Parcells. Big shoes to fill.
The team deteriorated a little every year he was there but that was more due to loss of talent that coaching.

His combined NFL record as head coach was 33–31. While not great, that should not be considered failure. Lots of coaches in the NFL right now would love to have that record especially when coaching perrenial losers like the jets and the patriots who for a long time were lucky to have a winning season once in a while.

I agree that he probably won't be successful this next go-around, and here's why:
He has developed and refined his personal style which is based on high emotion and internal competition. He can get players fired up like no one else can.
He also makes players fight for their positions every week. They compete against each other, not with each other. That won't fly in the pros.

With that style comes highly motivated and spirited plays, but also a lack of discipline.
His teams make great plays and stupid plays. They make up for the lack of discipline by playing over their heads most of the time.

But again, that doesn't work in the pros.

Motivation isn't what makes pro players perform.
What works in the pros is discipline and incredibly well-worked out strategies. Extreme talent and preparations. Not emotion.
Numbers, tendencies, percentages, and advantages.
It's a complicated science at that level, not a game.

If he's smart he'll assemble a really strong coaching staff and stay out of their way but that's not how he usually operates.
If he tries to coach in the pros like he's done in college over the past decade or so, he'll fail badly.

Add to that the fact that he will be coaching the sea-chickens and he doesn't stand a chance unless he has a few more miracles saved up.

This MIGHT be part of a strategy to get the sea-chickens moved from seattle to a bigger and better market.

One other thing:
One of the commentators on TV this past weekend said something I really liked, I'm not sure if this is word for word but it went something like this:
"Coaching poor teenagers is allot easier than coaching rich adults".

I definitely agree to that, and that's exactly the reason I will watch college ball over the NFL anyday.

That's a great line.

You've got that right, and it's why watching the pros is such a drag these days. College is still fun to watch, and it probably always will be, because the majority of those kids will not go on to "play on Sunday" to use an already way over-used phrase. They play with as much heart as the coach instills in them.

Do we know who USC is trying to replace him with yet?

Mike Riley of Oregon State was mentioned early, but last night's TV news says he's sticking with the OSU Beavers...

I've never seen the thrill of college football. How is super rich universities exploiting minority kids for no money whilst themselves making hundreds of millions "fun"?

College ball is basic training for the pros...something like 2% make the cut.

I guess that's a relative term. He actually had a winning record but he didn't win anything. Most say he is too rah rah for the professional athlete but that seems to have changed a bit recently. Look at the successful coaches now. They aren't the task masters of back in the day @ Lombardi, Knoll, etc.

That indictment could be used against a lot what passes for entertainment in general these days.

To me, pro ball has become so polished and sophisticated that there just doesn't seem to be any room for spontaneity anymore. I think a little razzle-dazzle makes the game fun. Granted, the speed of the pros is just mind-boggling, but something has been lost in the last few years. my humble opinion. (But it was fun to read that the Patriots lost yesterday!:))

I don't see the colleges twisting anyone's arms to get them to play sports.
These kids WANT to play and work really hard to get to play.
In return most of em get a basically free education from a good institution ($$$$$$$), a few minutes of fame, some help growing up, and a chance to be someone besides a street thug.

For many of them this is the only chance they get to make a good life for themselves.
that's worth quite a bit.

1. Word is that OSU cut Riley a lifetime deal to keep him from going to USC.

2. Welcome to the PNW Pete.

3. I was thinking that USC would be tough to beat next year, but now I think it will be easier...

4. I agree with sammy, but one addition: those kids also risk a significant chance of a debilitating injury, esp. the linemen.

I actually forgot about his stint with NE. I was remembering only his short and tumultuous stay with the Jets.

And the universities make BILLIONS of dollars. It is a total scam.