Carroll looks to lead Trojans to national glory
■ Miier nearly two aecaaes away
from college game, Pete Carroll
will bring his Trojans to Autzen
Stadium with a 1-1 record
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
After a season in which the USC
Trojans fell to their worst record in
a decade, a cry went out in South
ern California for a change. Paul
Hackett was out as head coach; re
placing him is Pete Carroll.
After spending 16 years in the
pro ranks — including four as a
head coach — Carroll returns to
the college game, where he once
spent 10 years as a graduate assis
tant, secondary coach and defen
sive coordinator. The 2001 season
is his first as a head coach at the
college level.
When Carroll’s name first
popped up as Hackett’s potential
replacement, there was an outcry
from USC alumni. Because Car
roll had never been a head coach
in college, some Trojan fans wor
ried he wouldn’t be up to the
challenge. Carroll hadn’t been on
a college campus in an official
manner since 1983 with the Pacif
ic Tigers, and some believed the
college game may have passed
him by. But once he was hired,
his doubters disappeared.
“I just knew from the first day
he came in at the press confer
ence that he was for real,” junior
linebacker Mike Pollard told the
Daily Trojan. “I knew that he
would be taking us places we’ve
never been.”
Unlike Hackett, who was far
from being a player’s coach, Car
roll is much more popular among
his former players and is begin
Courtly USC Media Serviees
use head coach Pete Carroll has returned to collegiate sidelines for the first time since 1983, after coaching in the NFL for six seasons. In two games this season, Carroll has a 1-1 record.
ning to endear himself to some on
the Trojans’ roster.
‘‘[Carroll] can relate to players,
and he really cares about us, and
that’s what we need,” junior run
ning back Sultan McCullough told
the Daily Trojan.
From 1974-83, Carroll spent 10
seasons at Pacific, Arkansas,
Iowa State, Ohio State and North
Carolina State. In 1978, while a
secondary coach under the tute
lage of Lou Holtz, Carroll helped
guide the Razorbacks to an Or
ange Bowl victory. Carroll again
returned to a major bowl in 1980,
this time with Ohio State. The
Buckeyes lost by one point, 17
16, to USC.
After proving himself in the
college game, Carroll got the call
to join the Buffalo Bills in 1984.
From there, he spent time with
the Minnesota Vikings, New York
Jets, San Francisco 49ers and fi
nally the New England Patriots.
Carroll was head coach for one of
his five seasons in New York,
and all three with the Patriots,
going 33-31 overall.
While with the Vikings, Carroll
was an understudy to legendary
coach Bud Grant while overseeing
the team’s defensive backs.
“He’s got that intangible I think
head coaches have to have,”
Grant said. “The thing that helps
Pete the most as a head coach is
his ability to see the whole pic
ture. He’s secure enough in his
knowledge and his ability to take
what he learns on the practice
field and use it to make the tough
decisions and stand by them.”
Two games into the 2001 season,
Carroll has led the Trojans to a 1-1
record and has enjoyed what he’s
seen so far. But it has also been a sur
prise — albeit a favorable one.
“I underestimated what [col
lege] would be like,” the first
year collegiate head coach said.
‘‘I did not give the athletes
enough credit at this level. Their
responsiveness, their intensity,
their attitudes and their willing
ness to learn — it has really
made this a fun experience so far,
more so than I would have imag
ined. Obviously, since I have
been comparing it to the NFL, it
has been very different and excit
ing.
“It has really been fun.”
010028
$6.99 STUDENT VALUE MENU
• 1 - Large 1 Topping Pizza
• 1 - Medium 1 Topping Pizza & Twisty Bread
$9.99 STUDENT VALUE MENU
• 2 - Medium
• 1 - Large Cheese Pizza & 10 Chicken Wings
$12.99 STUDENT VALUE MENU
• 2 - Large Topping Pizzas
• 3 - Medium 1 Topping Pizzas