Recent Stories with tag pete carroll

Pete Carroll becomes the first Seahawks head coach to star in a "Funny or Die" video, as the folks who brought you Baby Pearl make this skit with Rob Riggle as a psycho USC fan trying to convince Carroll to stay.

 

You heard a lot of talk about collaboration from Seahawks brass yesterday.

"My job is to take the football organization and make sure that there’s fantastic collaboration," said CEO Tod Leiweke. Leiweke apparently has a new favorite phrase: "working shoulder-to-shoulder."

I, for one, will believe it when I see it. I suspect the Era of Good Feelings will last exactly 99 days--the duration between now and the April 22nd NFL draft.

At said draft, the Seahawks will have a #6 pick, and a #14 pick. What they do with those two picks will in large part determine how the franchise performs this decade. The decision could well determine the destiny of Carroll's career as Seahawks coach, and by extension his legacy for all-time. Don't think Carroll won't know that.

Likewise, the pick will determine Tod Leiweke's future as a sports executive. He may have the most successful launch of an expansion franchise in U.S. pro sports history notched on his sword, but if he presides over the collapse of an NFL franchise, he can write his ticket to the unemployment line. Don't think Leiweke won't know that.

Now--when it comes to these picks, you can't really "collaborate" on a decision. You've got a draft board full of players, and you have to pick one in that slot. You can't mix and match players. It's not like buying groceries, where you can get the cheap wine but get some killer tapanade. Nor is it like college recruiting, where if you aren't sure about the blue-chip running back you can recruit two or three extras....

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Pete Carroll, New Seahawks Head Coach

After one year from his unproven head coach, the team owner had seen enough. In 2010, the team is the Seahawks, the owner is Paul Allen and the coach is Jim Mora. In 1995, the team was the New York Jets, the owner was Leon Hess and the coach was new Seahawks grand poobah Pete Carroll.

Carroll's success as USC's head coach--winner of two national championships, seven Pac-10 titles, author of a 34-game winning streak--will earn him a reported $35 million of Paul Allen's Microsoft millions.

It's a package Carroll probably couldn't imagine fifteen years ago, when he was a victim of the same owner impatience that cost Jim Mora his job. After taking over an 8-8 Jets team that had barely missed the playoffs, Carroll's 1994 Jets regressed to six wins, and Carroll was let go.

"I'm 80 years old and I want results now," said Jets owner Leon Hess upon introducing Carroll's replacement. "I'm entitled to some enjoyment, and that means winning."

Let's hope Paul Allen's judgment is better than Hess's was--the replacement, Rich Kotite went 4-28 in two seasons as Jets coach.

Carroll made his way back to an NFL head coaching gig two seasons later, becoming the Patriots head coach when Bill Parcells left to replace Kotite in New York. He lead the Patriots to two consecutive playoff appearances, but when New England slid out of the playoffs in 1999, he was fired. Owner Robert Kraft later said Carroll suffered from having replaced the legendary Parcells.

Carroll worked as a consultant the next season before being hired as USC coach in December of 2001. He was the school's fourth choice after successful college coaches Dennis Erickson, Mike Bellotti, and Mike Riley turned the Trojans down. Carroll's hiring was deeply unpopular (imagine if the Huskies had hired, say, Dom Capers) but he built a decade-long dynasty at USC.

Carroll won't be able to recruit his way to success in the NFL like he did at USC. And his rah-rah style may be better suited for motivating college athletes than professional ones....

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Paul Allen: Wanted Mora Out

It makes me question the very existence of free will to note that a single person, in a single year, oversaw both one of the best seasons in Seattle sports history and one of the most disastrous.

As CEO of Sounders FC, Tod Leiweke led the most successful expansion team launch ever. Puget Sound Business Journal named Leiweke Executive of the Year--an honor previously won by the CEOs of Costco and REI.

But Leiweke won't win any awards for his performance as CEO of the Seahawks. He presided over a complete breakdown in team management, coaching, and playing.

Now Leiweke's boss, Paul Allen, has taken control of the football franchise. Leiweke wanted to keep head coach Jim Mora, reports the Times' Danny O'Neil--perhaps waving his "executive of the year" plaque around for effect during the meeting--but Allen overruled Leiweke and ordered Mora fired.

Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke: Wanted to Keep Mora

Mora's departure, and the non-renewal of GM Tim Ruskell's contract, frees the Seahawks to look for a "guru"-type candidate, one who would get to pick his players and coach them, too. Leiweke interviewed USC coach Pete Carroll earlier this week, according to the L.A. Times, and Mora's firing could be a prelude to Carroll joining the team.

The last time Allen exerted such control over the Hawks was after the 2004 season, when he, at Leiweke's urging, fired then-GM Bob Whitsitt. The next year, with Ruskell as GM, the Seahawks made their first Super Bowl.

At the time, Leiweke sang the praises of a united operation: "I don't think you get to [13-3] unless you have everyone pulling in the same direction. This isn't a widget business, it's a people business."...

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Matt Barkley, who is perfect in every way

While I hope the Husky football team isn't looking past the Vandals to the next week's matchup against USC, we fans are under no such limitations. Thus, I point you to this fawning piece about USC true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who is apparently the greatest human being in world history.

According to Mandel, Barkley "reminds you of a young Joe Montana."

Barkley's private quarterback tutor (??!!!??) says: "Once every so many years, you find this one person that has something, you can't explain it, but you feel it."

Hmmm. I know that feeling, I think it's called love. 

Which is something Barkley wouldn't know anything about! He's more chaste than Tim Tebow. Actual quote from Barkley: "Girls? No, I don't associate with them."

More chaste than Jesus, actually, who was buddies with Mary Magdalene.

Moving on from personal magnetism and celibacy, Barkley is apparently a very advanced quarterback. He has the physical tools at 6-2, 230 lbs., but he also has the all-important...

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