Pete Carroll Hardly Speechless In Seattle

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Pete Carroll's audition for a 5-Hour Energy commercial was mistaken by the Seattle media for an introductory press conference. Seahawks-introduce-Carroll/2497cdd2-002d-4c75-ac56-cfc2d335da25" target="=new">(watch here)

Carroll spoke—very rapidly—Tuesday in his first official appearance as the Seahawks' new coach .

The high-energy, silver-haired charmer told reporters he couldn't turn down a chance to become an NFL head coach for the third time, despite an excellent run at USC in which he won two national titles, seven Pac-10 championships, and 97 games in nine years.

"I hope we can do things better than they've ever been done around here," Carroll said at the press conference that was carried live on ESPN Tuesday afternoon. "I love setting our standards so high that maybe it doesn't even seem feasible."

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Carroll's semi-prepared remarks seemed to cover most angles, but a reporter was able to ask about the laid-back, and consequently undisciplined culture, at USC, and how the coach will adjust to a much more buttoned-up tone in the NFL. Carroll said he enjoyed the open-practice environment at which Will Ferrell and other celebri-fans visited, but he's ready for the seriousness of the pros.

"It was an atmosphere that is not quite common in the NFL, but I coach this game with tremendous energy with the intent to play with extraordinary discipline," he said. "This program (will be) about competition. You'll see in all aspects of what we do that we'll be in a relentless pursuit of perfection. We're going to compete like crazy."

ESPN's Tedy Bruschi credited Carroll's ability, but lashed out at the coach's claim that NFL guys are "just a little older" than the USC players he recruited. Bruschi said age is just one of many differences between college and pro players.

"It's not the same thing," Bruschi said on SportsCenter Tuesday. "You get 10-year, 11-year, 12-year vets who aren't afraid to undermine authority and question a coach's decisions. You're not dealing with college attitudes anymore. How will he deal with those issues? That's going to be interesting to watch."