Sports Realm

Since 1888, the University of Southern California (USC) ad fielded a college football team. From the beginning of the program, they have been a winning program that regularly dominated their Pac-10 Conference opponents. In addition to many conference titles, the team has also won 11 national crowns, competed for many others, and remained one of the most consistently high-ranked teams in the modern game. The last decade has been one of their best, as they have established a home in the upper echelon of the AP and BCS polls, while appearing in the top 10 of every other poll. It is worth noting that at least part of that decade of success occurred during the years in which Pete Carroll was coaching the Trojans.

Not the first choice

Proving that hindsight is indeed 20/20, Carroll’s initial selection in 2000 as the coach of the USC team was an unwelcome one from the perspective of both fans and alumni alike. Coming as he did from the coaching ranks of the NFL – and not having coached in the college game for more than a decade and a half – there were many who believed that he was simply not the man for the job. However, after first attempting to lure Oregon State’s coach to the team, and then following that up with a failed attempt to acquire the coach from Oregon and an unsuccessful overture to Mike Riley of the San Diego Chargers organization, USC’s athletic department eventually settled for Carroll. To his credit, Pete had never backed away from openly campaigning for the job, which he saw as perfect fit for him and his family. The truly odd thing about the reluctance to hire him is the fact that USC had in fact tried to hire him three years before, but he was unable to leave his job with the Patriots.

A bumpy start

In the beginning of Carroll’s time at USC it appeared as though he and the team were providing his critics more than their fair share of ammunition. The 2001 campaign began about as badly as it could have, with the Trojans limping out to a 2 win and 5-loss beginning to the season. Immediately, the sports media began calling Carroll’s hiring a mistake, declaring that the mighty Trojans were now doomed to fade even farther into mediocrity.

What happened instead surprised everyone but Carroll and the players who had come to believe in his system. The Trojans began to win – and refused to stop. They bounced back from that abysmal start and proceeded to win 67 of their next 74 games, dominated their way to two national championships, and re-established the Trojans’ football program as an elite force in the college ranks. In addition, the USC teams under Carroll captured every conference championship from 2003 to 2008.

As you might expect, it didn’t take the pundits long to declare that Pete Carroll had been one of the smartest coaching selections in history – and that they, of course, had known it all along.

Freddie Brister is a big fan of Football check out his: West Virginia Watch