If there’s an NFL coaching job open, it means Pete Carroll’s name gets tossed around, whether he’s actually interested in it or not — and he always has at least one phone call with the owner of a franchise that wants him as a head coach, and then says no, due to lack of personnel control (among other matters). It’s happened with Miami, Arizona, and others since he reinvented himself at Southern Cal — and apparently now both the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins are mentioned as possibilities.
I don’t understand why this speculation is even seen as valid until Carroll interviews or signs on the dotted line with an NFL franchise. The reasoning is there: he wants full control over personnel, much like he has with USC. No NFL owner, especially neither Arthur Blank nor Daniel Snyder, would do that. In fact, those two are meddlesome, as owners go. As far as the college-to-NFL thing, Carroll is an exception because he’s been there, but he thrives on that control and molding factor as much as Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino do, even though he’s a completely different coach personality-wise.
Look, I’ll buy possible rumors of Carroll leaving Heritage Hall when it involves a California pro team that isn’t the Raiders and only believe said rumors when he signs on the dotted line with a franchise. He’s the only coach these days to say “I’m not interested” and actually mean it.
Filed under: NFL, coaches, college football | Tagged: Atlanta Falcons, Pete Carroll, things I'll believe when they actually happen
I think if all of this crap concerning Reggie Bush comes to fruition, Carroll will jump ship in a heartbeat. If he does, and goes to Atlanta, it’s a good possibility that Blank will give him the keys to the kingdom and let him have complete control. That wouldn’t be the case in D.C. with Snyder.