Pete Carroll and USC: The End of an Era

Football Fiends,

All weekend, the rumors have been flying around the Internet and ESPN. Beloved USC Coach Pete Carroll – in talks with the Seattle Seahawks? Say it isn’t so, Pete! But alas, it is so.  Carroll officially handed in his resignation at USC on Sunday evening.

All week I will do a retrospective of the Pete Carroll years here on Gridiron Goddess. Most Trojan fans look at his era as having two distinct periods 2001-2005 and 2009-2009.

Carroll brought glory back to the USC football program. After mediocre runs by Ted Tollner and Larry Smith and the second coming of John Robinson, USC football found itself in the dark period known as the Hackett years. Paul Hackett was disastrous for USC football.

When Pete Carroll came in, he turned it around. He exuded the boundless energy and enthusiasm of a teenager. He embraced USC’s traditions and customs and forged a few of his own. Open practices, famous alumni stopping by for pep talks,  his infamous pranks – Carroll embodied everything we love about USC for nine years.

He will be missed. All weekend my Trojan friends and I have been in mourning. How can you replace Pete? You can’t. You just move forward. You remember what it was like when you had the perfect coach for your team. We’re incredibly grateful for the run we had with Carroll at the helm.

In his nine seasons at USC, Carroll went 97-19, winning two national championships,  coaching three Heisman Trophy winners, playing in seven consecutive BCS Bowls and winning seven Pac-10 titles. He’s sent an impressive 53 Trojans to the NFL over eight seasons. Expect 10 or more to join those ranks this year as well.

The entire USC family owes Coach Carroll a debt of gratitude. Never has it been more fun and more exciting and more spirited and more USC than in the Pete Carroll years.  He leaves a gaping hole where his giant personality and huge heart resided. Heritage Hall will be quieter without Pete. Sure, we’ll get a new coach and we’ll be a great team again. USC is still USC with or without Pete Carroll.

But it will never be the same.

Pete Carroll and the University of Southern California were a perfect match for each other. The kind of match that only happens once in a lifetime.

Next up: A look at Pete’s  introduction to USC and his 2001-2002 Trojan football teams.

-Your Gridion Goddess