College football is in the midst of a massive upheaval. Nowhere is that more true than in the Pac-12, the conference whose future is very much in doubt, with two-thirds of the school set to leave after the 2023-24 school year. And Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is not happy with what’s going on.
Before returning to the NFL with the Seahawks in 2010, Pete Carroll was the head coach at USC for nine seasons. USC played in the Pac-12 (the Pac-10 during Carroll’s tenure).
Speaking to reporters at Seahawks training camp on Sunday, Carroll voiced his displeasure that with the massive realignment, a lot of the traditions of college football are being pushed to the side, if not vanishing.
“I don’t have enough information to comment clearly,” Carroll said per Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk. “But I’m really disappointed. I would think that there’s a lot of people, a lot of fans that are disappointed, too. I know that it’s a financial turn that they do and they’ve got to make their decisions and all, but there’s something about the tradition of it that gets lost and I don’t know where they recapture that, I don’t know how they recapture the traditions that have been there so long.”
He also clarified that his issue isn’t just what’s happening in the Pac-12, but throughout the country.
“It’s not just our conference out here, it’s around the country too. I really don’t understand. I’m pretty disappointed in college football right now. Just in general. Just disappointed it’s gone the way it’s gone. With all of the stuff that is happening, I hope they can get it right. And it comes out way better than maybe I can imagine it in my limited capacity here. I just kind of like the tradition of it, that I feel like we are missing. I don’t know how you recapture that.”
USC enjoyed a lot of success under Carroll’s watch. The Trojans won a split championship in 2003, an undisputed BCS National Championship in 2004, then rode a perfect season to return to the BCS title game in 2005, with much of that coming from the brilliance of Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.
Of course, officially, a lot of that did not happen. Years after those triumphs, USC was hammered with sanctions because of violations that surfaced regarding improper benefits to Bush. So, all of USC’s wins in 2004 and 2005 were stripped, as was Bush’s Heisman Trophy. That all happened while Carroll was coach.
Those issues left the Trojans to deal with significant sanctions, which were handed out before the 2010 season got underway. By that point, Carroll had jumped to the Seahawks.
So, to a lot of people, Carroll’s words were not well received.
You know what else got stripped bare? USC's trophy case after Pete ran for the NFL to stay a step ahead of the NCAA investigators. https://t.co/0ymNUvTpQm
— Pointless Exercise (@desipiodotcom) August 7, 2023
Lol not the best dude to listen to when it comes to college sports. https://t.co/LRVtXhfzpg
— Zach Takes (@ZachTakes) August 7, 2023
You covered up an investigation and then dipped for NFL to leave your players hanging once the weight of sanctions was coming.
Sit this one out https://t.co/G8FW2vNve0
— ya boy JoeyK (@ScooterMcgilli1) August 7, 2023
If anybody knows about jumping out of the PAC 10 for more money it would be Pete Carroll! https://t.co/gFhvsGgO1G
— MichaelPGibbons (@MichaelPGibbons) August 7, 2023
Lol from the dude who bolted to the NFL when sanctions were gonna hit at USC. https://t.co/7iEGqpuks8
— Bennie Mac – Be Nice… (@BenMcC1908) August 7, 2023
Of course, Carroll’s past in college football doesn’t mean that these comments are incorrect. But his past in the sport makes his complaints about the loss of tradition harder to take seriously.
