Pete Carroll Lands Jay Cutler's Quarterback Coach

Leave it to Pete Carroll to run head-on into a bee hive and make off with their honey, unscathed.

Just days after all the turmoil at Heritage Hall over his reaction to Mark Sanchez’s decision to enter the NFL and Carl Smith’s decision to interview with the Cleveland Browns, Carroll has landed a big one.

Just hours ago, Carroll announced that he has hired the Denver Broncos’ quarterbacks coach, Jeremy Bates, and named him as the assistant head coach of the offense.

"Jeremy is truly one of the brightest young minds in football right now," Carroll said.

The 32 year-old Bates coached the quarterbacks and wide receivers for the past three seasons with the Denver Broncos, operating under former head coach, Mike Shanahan, and offensive coordinator, Rick Dennison.

Bates has been one of the main factors in the steady rise of Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, who has become one of premier NFL passers in just three seasons.

Together, the Dennison-Bates tandem led the Broncos to the NFL’s second-best offensive showing in 2008 with an average of 395 yards per game.

"We’re ecstatic that he’s joining us to tutor our quarterbacks and other offensive players," Carroll said, "This is an extraordinary opportunity for all involved, and Jeremy should do nothing but help immensely in continuing our championship ways."

Carroll wasted no time in replacing Carl Smith, his previously-announced quarterbacks coach, after Smith decided to interview for the quarterbacks coaching vacancy with the Browns.

Altogether Bates has seven years of NFL coaching experience, having coached with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets before joining the Broncos in 2006.

Carroll said Bates will coach from the field during games and call the plays, while offensive coordinator John Morton will run the offense from the press box.

This is the same set up that the Trojans had in 2005 when they played Texas for the BCS Championship. Lane Kiffin called plays from the press box while Steve Sarkisian coached from the sideline.

Coming on the heels of all the heat that Carroll took from his public disagreement over Mark Sanchez’s decision to enter the NFL draft, this shows that Carroll has definitely put that chapter behind him and has already started writing a new one.

Whether that chapter will be titled the Aaron Corp, Mitch Mustain, Garrett Green, or Matt Barkley Era remains to be seen. But no doubt Jeremy Bates will have an important hand in editing their work.

In addition to Bates, last week Carroll hired Brian Schneider as the Trojans special teams coordinator. This is the first time in eight seasons that USC has had a full-time special teams coach.

Schneider, 37, comes to USC from the Oakland Raiders, where he was considered among the top special teams coordinators in the NFL.

Other evidence that a brand new chapter is beginning can be found in the video department, where the staff has been assembling and organizing all the 1-on-1 practice tapes from this past season so that players can watch them and look for ways to improve.

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