Sources: USC's Carroll interested in Falcons' opening

jester2trife

CTG Media Pirate
Courtesy of ESPN.com

USC coach Pete Carroll is interested in the Atlanta Falcons' head coach opening and is expected to speak with Atlanta owner Arthur Blank via phone Wednesday, sources at the American Football Coaches Convention in Anaheim told ESPN's Joe Schad.

Blank is expected to offer full control of personnel decisions to Carroll and the sources said that is what intrigues Carroll most. Carroll is currently on vacation in Hawaii.
The Falcons' interest in talking to Carroll about their opening was first reported Tuesday night by ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli.
Carroll, who has previously been a head coach in the NFL with the New York Jets and New England Patriots, is the biggest name on the list of Atlanta candidates.


Carroll, 56, recently completed his seventh season at Southern California with a resounding victory over Illinois in the Rose Bowl. He has led the Trojans to two national championships and compiled a 76-14 record. The 14 defeats have been by an average of just 4.1 points.


Southern California was 11-2 this season and many observers felt that, had it not been for injuries, the Trojans might have vied for the national title. Carroll's .844 winning mark at Southern California is the best in the nation among active coaches with at least five seasons of experience.


Over the past few seasons, there has been rampant speculation that Carroll might be lured back to the NFL, but he has rebuffed all overtures to return to the pro game. Conventional wisdom is that Carroll would only consider an NFL job if he had full control over the football operation.

In his first NFL head coaching stint, Carroll lasted just one season with the Jets, taking the team to a 6-10 record in 1994. He coached the Patriots for three seasons, 1997-99, and was 28-23, with one division title and two playoff berths.


The Falcons suffered a bad experience this season with a coach hired from the college ranks, when Bobby Petrino, formerly of Louisville, resigned with three games remaining to fill the Arkansas vacancy. But unlike Petrino, who had been an NFL assistant for three seasons, Carroll has prior head coaching experience in the league and was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for 12 years as well. In the past, Carroll has listened to NFL interest from Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, Arizona and Houston.

I hope he leaves so I dont have to hear these homers around here claiming how SC is the best every year. Id love to see UCLA rise up against them, but they probably never will...

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man I wouldn't take the Falcons job ever.

ATL is a minimum of a 4yr project just to get above .500 again

That job is going to be nothing but a headache for anyone
 
Blanks got money to burn and has always ran a class organization, although the standings might not favor them more often than not. The only thing he ever really did (or McKay) that was absolutely detrimental to the organization was draft an athlete 1st overall instead of a QB...

xXx
 
Leave it to ESPN to further blow smoke up Peteys whitey tighties by calculating the average margin of loss in the 14 games he lost.
 
Atlanta has to be the worst job in the NFL right now and maybe pro sports. They are in such a deep hole. No star player to build around on either side of the ball. No QB that can even be a little bit productive. This is no doubt a minimum of a 3 year probally just to get them back to 500. Carroll should go to the Skins. He would have them rolling in 2 years into a legit contender
 
New book "Tarnished Heisman" and the fact that there is good reason to believe the NCAA will at some point shit on usc makes me think pom pom might actually be considering this.

I mean last year, he probably would have run to San Diego to take over the Chargers job, but SD wanted no part of him.

He's looking for the perfect spot before he moves on, and the Chargers would have been that spot. Its hard to believe he'd leave what he has at sc for the clusterfuck that is the falcons.
 
New book "Tarnished Heisman" and the fact that there is good reason to believe the NCAA will at some point shit on usc makes me think pom pom might actually be considering this.

I mean last year, he probably would have run to San Diego to take over the Chargers job, but SD wanted no part of him.

He's looking for the perfect spot before he moves on, and the Chargers would have been that spot. Its hard to believe he'd leave what he has at sc for the clusterfuck that is the falcons.

This is untrue. Although he was pursued by the Chargers, he wants a job with total control. He wants control of personnel decisions as well as coaching. AJ Smith is the GM in San Diego and will be for a long time. I think he recently signed a 5 year extension, but am not quite sure about that, although I recall him recently doing so....

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i think he'd prefer inheriting LT, Merriman, Gates and the rest of the talent the Chargers have....over having personnel control for a cellar dweller like the falcons.

if the the guy goes back to the NFL, its because he wants to win big and make up for the way he went out, like a loser. SD would have given him the best chance.


edit: he was absolutely NOT "pursued" by the Chargers. If anything, Pom Pom pursued the job.
 
If Carroll is given full control, which it seems Blank is considering, he has to take it. This is what he wants and not many teams will give it to him.
 
he can have full control, he won't turn that place around for another 3-4 yrs. if thats what he is into, than so be it but I don't think a guy who is use to winning at a very high rate is going to like losing at a very high rate
 
Word is the investigation of USC is clamping down.
Pete has to run now or explain to all of those 5 star RBs why he bold face lied to them. The Joe McKnight plot thickens.

Pete figures he has plenty of experience paying the best players in the country to play for him and now he can do it without looking over his shoulder.
 
what I am hearing is that he's talking to Atlanta just to be nice to them, and maybe to get the usc people to give him more money. Word is that he has no real interest in the job.
 
I dont see that being the case gridiron. If I remember right he has been courted to be the coach atleast a couple times the last few years and he hasnt event talked to them. He just said no. so i think hes defintly interested atleast a little bit in this one. For whatever reason that is I have no idea. Atlanta has to be the sports franchise in the worst shape right now
 
SC is about to get plenty of sanctions, forfeit a couple of Pac 10 titles and Bush-league will forfeit his heisman. Cheerleader Pete has been running a dirty program and its all about to come out. He lies to his recruits, which is why more and more of them are starting to transfer. Now that Slick Rick is at UCLA, Los Angeles is officially about to become the Official Home of NCAA Violations. This should be good for LA Times entertainment in the near future...

xXx
 
just curious, after the season the Falcon players had with Petrino are they going to second doubt Carroll or start with a clean slate?
 
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