Can Pete Carroll Sell In Seattle?

If you look at the recent polls asking Seattle Seahawks fans whether or not they think Pete Carroll is the right fit as head coach for this floundering franchise...the results do not look very promising. 

In fact, almost 40 percent of those fans polled do not think Carroll is the right man for the job. It's estimated that 25 percent are not sure. Those numbers do not make for a very convincing case.

Talk to those players on the Seahawks who have played for Carroll at USC and you will hear a different tune...one of his enthusiasm, discipline, dedication, and intelligence.

So, what will it be?  Success, or another season of total meltdown?

Well, in this sports writer's opinion, the difference is in the sales pitch!

Sales pitch?! 

Yes, it will come down to how well Pete Carroll presents his total package and whether or not the Seahawk players and fans actually buy what's in the portfolio.

Let's face it...athletes in this league are so similiar in their abilities, so close in the talent ratings that it boils down to one thing...the right leader, and proven systems to match.   

The athletes must have it to BELIEVE...so they can PERFORM at their peak! 

Jim Mora and Greg Knapp might have been good coaches, but they couldn't sell beef at a steakhouse. 

Just look at some of Mora's last press conferences in Seattle. There was nothing is his demeanor that would have convinced any player or fan that he even had a clue about what to do next.  In fact, at the end of the season, Mora lost all composure and his cool with the press, only to apologize later in the final post-game press conference.

It was pretty pitiful.

And then there was Greg Knapp. Where did he bring his power run game from? Atlanta, Oakland, and Houston?  His plan was to keep a portion of Holmgren's West Coast offensive system while implementing more zone-blocking techniques in the O-line, with a running back by committee approach. By the time he was done designing it, he was so confused, that he could barely relay the concept to the team.

And, sadly, some of the best fans in the league reaped the results of another lousy season. Even worse than that was the fact that after week four...yes, week four...all hope was lost. 

And really, what kind of hope for success could they have had? Mora only had one winning season as a head coach (Atlanta 2004), and Knapp who followed Mora around (49ers, 1997-2003 and Falcons) contributed to his mediocrity.

So, how does one sell a team on winning, if you have never consistently accomplished it? You better be a real slick salesman. 

Mora wasn't. Just like in Atlanta, he came apart at the seams emotionally and professionally in Seattle, sporting a 5-11 season.

Contrast that with an individual like Pete Carroll. He brings enthusiasm, he brings experience to pressure, he brings a very successful and solid winning program. 

There will be no evidence of a sleep-producing offense and inconsistent defensive schemes. No contemplation about whether or not to hold on to a 16-year lineman (Walter Jones) who has been injured two years in a row. No starting of a center (Chris Spencer) that is snapping the ball with his off-hand.

But most importantly...Carroll will never give any indication of uncertainty as to where this team is and where it is going.

His team will be conditioned, prepared, and will play with the swagger necessary for preliminary success in the NFL. He will systematically rebuild this team step-by-step. 

And what might be step one?

Well, don't be surprised if he starts with someone like Sam Bradford, or Jimmy Clausen (QBs) as the No. 6 pick, and Russell Okung, or Anthony Davis (OTs) as the No. 14.

Carroll is 33-31 as a NFL coach (okay, not great, but you know he has developed from there) and no one can argue what he did at USC...winning a record 34 straight games at one point (2003-2005), adding a few BCS and Rose Bowl spoils to his trophy case. 

He sold players on joining his contagious approach to winning year-after-year, and systematically improved his USC program to epic proportions...while under more pressure and scrutiny than most NFL coaches face their whole career.

Just ask those Seahawks who played for him while they were Trojans. They are signed, sealed, and delivered. Many more will be as well.

Get ready with your pens Seattle, you are about to be signing on the Pete Carroll "bottom-line"...you'll be glad you did.