Was Pete Carroll Scared Away From USC? Rick Neuheisel Thinks So...

Well, it appears that "Slick Rick" Neuheisel is up to his old antics again.

Just when you think that the 'ol gambler learned his lesson from his failed UCLA "The football monopoly in L.A. is officially over" advertisement gaffe, he goes and sticks his foot in his mouth again.

ESPN reports that while speaking to Dan Patrick on his radio show, Neuheisel said the following when he was asked about why Pete Carroll left the Trojans to return to the NFL:

"In my heart of hearts, I think he got tired of trying to defend these different kind of offenses," Neuheisel told Patrick. "Oregon had their way with Pete's defense...I think he got tired of having the quarterback be a factor in the running game."

I don't think anyone would argue that by Trojan standards, last year was a disappointment.

9-4, by any objective Trojan standard, just doesn't cut the mustard.

On the other hand, if UCLA somehow manages that same 9-4 record this year, I'm sure Neuheisel will be doing backflips into Norm Chow's loving arms.

And that is why Neuheisel should just learn to keep his mouth shut.

Pete Carroll earned his NFL riches by leading the Trojans back from mediocrity and returning the men of Troy to national prominence only one year removed from a 6-6 record in his first season.

The 2002 Trojans, led by eventual Heisman trophy winner Carson Palmer, finished 11-2 and began an NCAA record of seven top-four finishes.

Rick Neuheisel?

His UCLA Bruins finished 7-6 in his second year, breaking .500 by beating mighty Temple in something called the "EagleBank Bowl."

This followed his inaugral season where the Bruins finished 4-8.

Of course, Neuheisel should be cut some slack for that first year.

After all, Neuheisel had been away from the game for some time after leaving both the Colorado and Washington programs in shambles.

But I digress.

The point is that is that Neuheisel would best serve himself and his Bruins by focusing on his task at hand, which is to do what Pete Carroll did for the Trojans and return UCLA into something besides an "also ran" in the Pac-10.

It must put a smile on Pete Carroll's face to know that he is still in Neuheisel's head, while Carroll is hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Northwest.

As for Carroll, it would be a surprise if slick Rick has even crossed his mind.

For Neuheisel to speculate that Carroll left because he couldn't figure out how to defend a spread offense with a running quarterback is laughable on many levels, not the least of which is that Carroll would leave just because he lost a couple of games in blowout fashion.

If anything, Carroll probably regrets that he won't get another shot at Oregon and Stanford.

Which brings up another question.

If Neuheisel was so sure that a running quarterback would be effective against USC, why didn't he install some form of a wildcat offense prior to his annual loss against the Trojans in 2009?

It's not like Neuheisel had anything to lose after all, his offense could only muster seven points against a Trojan defense that, according to Neuheisel, was so bad that it chased Carroll off to Seattle.

Do yourself a favor, Rick.

The next time you come up with a silly theory for...well...anything, keep quiet.

And people think Lane Kiffin says crazy things...