Pete Carroll's Legacy - By Nate Ruelas

Pete Carroll's history began at an early age. Carroll was born September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California, and attended Redwood High School in California. Pete was a multi-sport athlete playing quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive end. Carroll also played basketball and baseball, achieving the School Athlete of the Year honors award in 1969. As high school ended, Carroll took his athletic abilities to the College of Marin, where he would play football for two years before transferring to the University of the Pacific. 

At Pacific, Carroll was in a fraternity while playing free safety on the football team. As his football career continued, Carroll earned All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association honors in both years at Pacific. Carroll also earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973. After Pete graduated from Pacific, he tried out for the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League but could not make the team because of his small frame and arm injuries.  As Carroll was a great team player with always positive energy, he earned himself a coaching job as a graduate assistant on the University of Pacific coaching staff. Carrol also earned his secondary teaching credential and his master's degree in physical education. He worked with wide receivers and secondary defenders and would be inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in ‘95. 

Photo: Seattle Times

After graduating from Pacific, Carroll's colleague was hired by the University of Arkansas and later convinced the head coach to hire Pete. Caroll spent the 1977 season as a graduate assistant helping and working with the secondary under Cope. He and the coaching staff lead the University of Arkansas to a victory in the 1978 Orange Bowl that season. The next season, Pete Carrol moved to Iowa State, where he was again working as the assistant for the secondary under Earle Bruce. When Bruce moved to Ohio State University, he again hired Pete to work secondary at Ohio, taking the squad to an unfortunate loss in the 1980 Rose Bowl. 

Pete would coach many different colleges. But once Bob Cope became head coach at Pacific, he brought Carrol as an offensive coordinator. Carrol left Pasfic after that year and went into the NFL in ‘84 as a defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills. The next year, he moved on to work with the Minnesota Vikings, where he kept a similar position for five years. The success of the Vikings led to his hiring of the New York Jets, where he served as a defensive coordinator for four seasons. In 1994, Pete was assigned Head Coach of the Jets. Pete's energy and youthful enthusiasm, he painted a basketball court in the parking lot where he and his assistant coaches would play 3v3 games regularly in their spare time. 

Photo: Seattle Sports

In week 12 of the season, the Jets lost to a fake spike against the Miami Dolphins. And the Jets lost their remaining games, going 6-10. Pete was fired after one season. Pete Carrol was later hired by the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as the defensive coordinator for the next two seasons. His success led him to the Head Coach position of the New England Patriots in ‘97. The Patriots lost the playoff round in 1988 and missed the playoffs after a late season. This led to Carroll being fired in 1999. 

On December 15, 2000, Pete Carrol was the Head Coach at USC, signing a five-year contract. After a slow start to the season, the team proceeds to go 67-7 over the next 74 games, winning two national championships and playing for another. Carroll is considered one the most effective recruiters in college football, bringing in multiple top-ranked recruiting classes. Carroll’s team won a school-record 34 straight games from 2201-2005. 

Photo: Seattle Times

On January 11, 2010, Pete left USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks. He agreed that he would sign a 5-year contract for $33 million. 2013 was Seattle’s run to the Super Bowl XLVIII. The season started with four consecutive wins during pre-season. The regular season began with a 12-7 victory at Carolina. The Seahawks had an 11-2 record, giving the best record in the conference. The close win over the 49ers, with Richard Sherman picking the ball off, secured the win for the Seahawks. On February 2, 2014, the Seattle Seahawks were selected for the Super Bowl. The Seahawks end up winning 43-8 against the Denver Broncos. Pete Carroll led the Seahawks to multiple regular season games, getting close to the Superbowl in some years. But Pete Carroll’s Head Coaching career ended on January 10, 2024, after 15 years of coaching. He is still involved in the program as an advisor. But the question remains: who will be the next head coach of Seattle behind such a legend?