Pete Carroll Came to Praise Mark Sanchez, Not to Bury Him (This Time)

The USC Coach spins a new tune for Mark Sanchez’s Pro Day

At the press conference that preceded Pro Day at USC earlier this week, Pete Carroll had nothing but praise for his former quarterback, Mark Sanchez.

The scene before NFL scouts and the media was a complete turnaround from the one that took place a few months ago when Sanchez announced that he was entering the NFL Draft instead of returning to USC for his final year of eligibility.

At that press conference, Carroll buried his quarterback in front of the national media, deriding Sanchez’s judgment and his readiness to turn pro and then walking out and leaving Sanchez to face the press alone.

At the time, Carroll was criticized for his actions. Later, realizing that his performance didn’t win him any kudos, Carroll said that he loved Sanchez and that he wasn’t upset by the announcement but rather by the setup for the press conference.

Still not satisfied with this spin, Carroll told the Pro Day reporters and scouts this week that his actions at the initial press conference were only meant to test Mark Sanchez’s resolve.

He said that all of his remarks, even his statement that Sanchez had made a "bad choice" were intended to see if Sanchez truly had his heart set on turning pro right away or if he would waffle.

Testing his resolve? By throwing your former quarterback under the bus in front of the national media and then walking out? Is that what you call it, Pete?

I call it the Mother of All Spins. Even Nick Saban and Urban Meyer would be hard pressed to top that one.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not now nor have I ever been a Pete Carroll basher. I truly like the guy. He is a fantastic college football coach. He is a tremendous recruiter, a great motivator, and the ultimate competitor. He’s even a humanitarian.

Not only has he done a terrific coaching job at USC, what he has done with "A Better L.A." is nothing short of remarkable.

What I don’t like is his inability to admit his mistake. Not that he was wrong about Sanchez. He may have been 100 percent on the money.

Maybe Sanchez isn’t ready to take on the responsibilities of an NFL quarterback. Maybe, like the other 60 percent of quarterbacks that Carroll mentioned who leave early, he, too, may fail.

But a "bad choice?" No, I’m afraid you’re dead wrong there, Pete.

Sanchez realized he had a better chance of making guaranteed money (and a lot of it) by coming out this year. No doubt the decisions by Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford to remain in college one more year opened his eyes.

And the recent trade of Jay Cutler to Chicago puts pressure on the teams ahead of Denver (No. 12 in the draft) to take Sanchez off the board.

But the only "bad choice" here, Pete, was calling him out the way you did and then walking off. Your immature actions embarrassed both Sanchez and his family, publicly on national television. And to say that you were only doing it "to test his resolve" is even more ludicrous.

NFL scouts wouldn’t be any less inclined to favor Sanchez had Carroll told them that he was disappointed in losing a possible championship quarterback and that he let his emotions get the best of him and acted immaturely.

But to say, "I challenged him. I wanted him to make the right decision" sounds like something that Carroll wants future quarterback recruits and their parents to understand, not NFL scouts.

Carroll has been in the NFL. He knows they pick them as they see them. But parents of an All-Star high school quarterback may see NFL dollar signs down the road.

So, what is wrong if their son leaves college a year early? I’m sure they don’t want to hear their kid’s coach tell the world that their son has made a "bad choice" and isn’t ready for the NFL.

So, now Pete Carroll is signing the praises of Mark Sanchez, but for all the wrong reasons.