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As Seattle Interviews GMs, Pete Carroll’s Departure Approaches Definitively Fishy

Jan 11, 2010, 9:52 PM UTC

â†µIn the aftermath of Pete Carroll's recently-finalizedâ†µdeparture from USC the two main trains of thought have been competing cynicisms. Cynicism the first: Carroll is getting out of Dodge before the NCAA hangman swings by. Cynicism the second: the NC$$ would never do anything serious to one of their cash cow programs, lol. â†µ

â†µâ†µDoctorâ†µSaturday stayed away from endorsing either of those viewpoints in favor of highlighting Carroll’s successful stints as an NFL head coach—and the bizarre reaction to them—a decade ago, and since I tend to listen to DocSat’s take on things I had swayed myself away from Cynicism The First and towards Cynicism The Second. This is almost compelling: â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥But the defining trait at the center of Carroll’s philosophy is an intense competitiveness in everything he does, a mantra that’s driven the hordes of coveted blue chips to construct his kingdom at USC, but that no doubt also leaves Carroll anxious to redeem his reputation in the league where he spent 15 of the prime years of his career. … â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥Seattle is his chance to overturn that legacy, in a place where he has a chance to fit in, and a chance to build another first-rate operation in his own image -- to extend the analogy, a place where he’s Michael Corleone, the face of the family, no longer toiling in the shadow of Parcells or anyone else.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µYou and I would find this insane, but Pete Carroll is not you or I. â†µMaybe, just maybe, Pete Carroll feels the same way you do after dragging Temple to multiple national championships on your Xbox. Boy, this is great and all, but this one bump season was sort of insulting and putting together another ridiculous recruiting class just isn’t that interesting. It’s time to bump up the difficulty level.â†µ

â†µ

â†µRecent events, however, swing the pendulum back.
â†µ
â†µ One:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥A revisedâ†µâ‡¥list of GM candidates has expanded to four, with [Patriots senior football advisor Floyd] Reese, Steelers executive Omar Khan, Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross, and Packers director of football operations John Schneider due to interview this week, according to Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk.com editor and a SN contributor.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µThe consistent rumor has been that Carroll would not look at another NFL job in which he did not have total control—“build another first-rate operation in his own image” as per DocSat above. When the Carroll-to-Seattle rumors first popped up they universally assumed Carroll wouldâ†µbe the lord and master of everything. Somehow, the Fritz Pollard Alliance—the organization that enforces the NFL’s Rooney Rule—steppedâ†µin and nixed that:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“Our position is, if Pete Carroll comes there as the head coach, he will only be in charge of the 53-man football roster,” Wooten said. “That’s the extent of his authority. Because of their commitment to swear that to us, we have agreed to let them interview Leslie Frazier.â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“They can hire Pete Carroll if they want. But he cannot be anything more than a head coach. He does not have control of the draft. â†µâ‡¥He does not have control of the trades. He does not have the last word on anything other than the 53 men he puts out on that field each and every week.”â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µIt’s unclear why this organization can make that decision for the Seahawks and why they’re okay with Carroll being the head coach, but not the GM, with only a perfunctory Rooney Rule interview, but it is what it is. Carroll was given until today to say yes to something he’s said no to a dozen times before, and he went ahead with it. â†µ

â†µâ†µWhile it’s possible that Carroll really wanted out due to boredom and may have flirted with the NFL one too many times to comfortably return to USC—that he’s now caught in a situation he’s displeased with but feels he has to go anyway—if Charley Casserly is correct, Carroll is definitely getting out of Dodge. Itemâ†µtwo:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥The NCAA turned down USC’s request to self-impose sanctions and restrictions on the school’s football program, which may have hastened Pete Carroll’s departure to the Seattle Seahawks, CBS NFL insider Charley Casserly reported on The NFL Today pregame show.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µWow. If true, this invites a cascade of questions: why did the NCAA allow the basketball program to impose its own sanctions after they had rolled the O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush investigations into one uber-case? â†µDoes this imply that what the NCAA has in mind for the USC football program is significantly harsher than the self-imposed one-year postseason ban, two years of minor scholarship reductions, and assorted minor restrictions the basketball program instituted? Does Carroll know how bad it’s going to be, or is he just guessing? How badly will this hurt USC’s coaching search, and how long will recruits wait before bolting?â†µ

â†µâ†µWe know that the NCAA has talkedâ†µto Reggie Bush and that both Bush and Carroll willâ†µbe deposed in open court after last-ditch attempts to settle, dismiss, or take the lawsuit to confidential arbitration. We know that the head basketball coach directly paid a runner who already got USC in trouble with the NCAA. And thanks to Joe McKnight we know that very little in the way of sketch slowed down. From the outside this is the clearest case for “lack of institutional control” since SMU. â†µ

â†µâ†µIs it too much to hope that USC will pay full price for its transgressions? Increasingly, it seems like it’s not. â†µ

â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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