Pete Carroll's Golden Parachute

Pete Carroll's fantastic tenure at USC will be remembered as one of the greatest in College Football history. He will leave behind a remarkable 97-19 win/loss record, seven PAC 10 championships, and two National Titles in nine years.

His players have virtually re-populated the NFL, with former Trojans standouts highlighting nearly every roster in the league.

The Trojan machine was perennially ranked in the top 10 (seven straight top five finishes), always a preseason title contender, and always stocked with talent.

Six months ago it was unthinkable that it would have ended so quickly.

Reports leaked late Friday that Carroll was in serious contract discussions with the Seattle Seahawks to replace the suddenly dismissed Jim Mora. Interest in Carroll on the Seahawk's end is completely understandable, as there isn't a higher profile coach available.

Still one has to wonder why Pete Carroll is available?

He is rivaled only by Kobe Bryant in "King of LA" status.

He is the leader of the most revered dynasty in college sports. He has a team loaded with young talent and recruiting efforts that show no signs of slowing.

He makes a very comfortable $4.6 million per year and has as little job security pressure as any coach in the world.

He is at a talent hotbed in a warm weather climate with every possible perk to attract a young man trying to decide on where to spend his next four (sometimes three) years.

Why would Carroll take a chance returning to the NFL, where he had marginal at best success with the New York Jets and New England Patriots?

As of now, he's most well-known for being the coach before Belichick in New England. To be fair, Carroll did record a 34-33 mark in four NFL seasons. He did coach the Patriots to a division crown in 1997 (losing to Pittsburgh in the divisional round of the playoffs) and returned to the postseason in 1998.

Carroll now returns to take over a franchise in turmoil.

The Seahawks are in search of direction. Since coach/GM Mike Holmgren left two years ago, the bottom has fallen out for Seattle. Their quarterback is old and often injured. They are suffering for play makers on both offense and defense.

They will be picking in the top ten for the second straight year, and making that selection with a new GM as well as a new coach.

The task at hand seems daunting.

Sure there are the $2.5 million reasons per year that Carroll may have been eager to take the job in Seattle. Still, Carroll doesn't seem to be driven by money and fame alone.

Plus the move seems to contradict the advice he often gives to players, like current Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez to stay in school.

It is all together possible that Pete Carroll isn't going to Seattle, but rather running from USC.

A 9-4 finish to the season this year showed blemishes on the Trojan armor. Two of the squad's best underclassmen have already declared themselves eligible for the NFL draft.

There is a current NCAA investigation underway into the USC football program stemming from possible gifts awarded to Reggie Bush in 2006, and the recent scandal involving Joe McKnight and his self-described "Baby Momma's Boss' Range Rover" won't lighten the mood of NCAA investigators.

The USC basketball program is already serving a self imposed suspension for recruiting violations regarding one-year player rental O.J. Mayo, and several money/gift issues on the football side of the same Athletics Department can't be giving anyone in Indianapolis the warm-and-fuzzies.

Stiff sanctions are looming, and the words the NCAA are using to describe the state of the program are "lossed" and "control" rather than "talent" and "rich."

Carroll may have simply seen the writing on the wall and taken the parachute offered by the Seahawks.

By the speed at which Mora was fired and Carroll was hired, you have to wonder who made the initial contact.

In leaving, Carroll may, in a way, tarnish his own legacy at USC. He may be remembered more in the vein of Dennis Erickson than Steve Spurrier.

Each left their program at the height of success to see the school fall upon harder times, but Erickson left Miami in tatters. Sanctions, lost scholarships, and broken reputation led to a decade of depression for the Hurricanes.

If reports of impending NCAA sanctions come true, the USC program could face a similar downturn.

As a hint of the trouble ahead, USC's top choice to replace Carroll, Oregon State head coach Mike Riley Sunday signed a contract extension with the Beavers stating that he was staying home in Corvallis.

The next two names on the list were quickly crossed off as Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans publicly said he was not interested and Ken Norton Jr. resigned, presumably to join Carroll in the Emerald City.