NFC South: The Gall Of Troy, Former Trojans Bush and Carroll Meet Again

The NFL is a small town really.

You always meet your ole' pals again somewhere down the road.

And, if Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll have any bitter feelings towards each other, they aren't saying so publicly.

Kind words have been flowing back and forth in abundance between the two as the Saints prepare to host Carroll's Seahawks on Sunday.

The whole Trojan empire came crumbling down in June.

Those NCAA gestapo bastards, as former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown used to affectionately refer to them, stripped USC of bowl eligibility and scholarships and the 2005 BCS Championship win over Oklahoma.

Shortly thereafter, Bush became the first Heisman winner to return the award.

Carroll fled the seen of the crime during the quiet before the storm, accepting the VP of football operations and head coaching job in Seattle where, in spite of a pedestrian 5-4 record, he has the Seahawks atop the NFC West.

It's not the good ole' wild, wild west these days. One game over 500 will leave you sitting pretty.

In his recent book Win Forever, Carroll does not mention the NCAA as his reason for leaving USC for the Seahawks.

Maybe that would be too much like stating the obvious.

In fact, the coach is downright philosophical about his decision.

"You see the beauty of life is that it doesn't stop," says Carroll."It keeps moving and keeps evolving, and as I look toward my next competitive challenge with the Seattle Seahawks, I can't help but feel re-energized, more enthusiastic, and as focused as I have ever been in my career."

Apparently, having the NCAA off one's ass does wonders for the soul.

"Yet it is vital for me to share why I am so excited. Not that I wasn't happy at USC, but why I left has everything to do with who I am at my core. I'm a competitor. and when I was weighing my options...to either remain at USC or accept the position in Seattle...I had to trust my intuition, my philosophy, and my vision, and that led me to what ended up being an obvious decision,"

It's good to know that a little thing like a major NCAA scandal was not a factor in Coach departing for the NFL.

As for Bush he is saying nothing but classy things about his former boss.

Bush told the Times-Picayune this week that Carroll is a player's coach with a great personality.

He says he's a fun guy, a positive guy, one helluva guy.

Carroll is equally effusive in his praise of Bush.

"When Reggie played this year they won the first two games and they've been 4-3 without him," Carroll told Seattle reporters this week. "I know they want to get him back. He's just a factor. They use him in so many different ways and he's so explosive that you have to take guys to him and utilize your plan accordingly, because they do (the same). He's a fantastic player and he's going to help special teams as well. So he certainly will help those guys."

Those smartass talking heads say look for Bush and his Saints to prevail against a Seattle team that does everything good but nothing particularly great.