Pete Carroll, former Seattle Seahawks head coach, is trodding on unfamiliar territory this fall. For the first time in nearly 25 years, the college football and NFL seasons are about to start and he doesn’t have a coaching job.
As wrong as that seems, considering the 72-year-old Carroll has spent his entire professional life as a football coach and been successful at both the college and pro level, the decision is his choice.
“I could coach tomorrow,” Carroll recently told Seattle sports radio station 93.3 KJR. “I’m physically in the best shape I’ve been in in a long time. I’m ready to do all the activities that I’m doing and feeling really good about it. I could, but I don’t really — I’m not desiring it at this point.”
The latest — and perhaps last — chapter of Carroll’s coaching career ended in January when he and the Seahawks parted ways after 14 years. He wasn’t in the mix for any of the other head coaching jobs this offseason, but that doesn’t mean he’ll spend the football season watching Red Zone and making notes.
Instead, Carroll will return to USC, where he served as head coach from 2001-2009, to take a teaching job. He wasn’t able to reveal any details, but he said “It’s going to be a really exciting endeavor when it’s finalized and all that.”
“I’m excited about it because there’s more stuff to teach,” he said. “There’s more stuff to share. Everybody wants to know what I’m doing and all that, am I coaching or what am I doing, I’m working with some really fun people and some exciting opportunities to do some really cool stuff and putting things together … for others, so I’m going to keep working that way and see what happens.”
Carroll didn’t close the door on returning to coaching at some point, but it doesn’t seem like something he’s actively pursuing. He doesn’t want to wait for the next opportunity in coaching; he wants find his own opportunities, wherever they are.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m not waiting on it at all. I’m going ahead. I’ve got other things that I want to do that I’m excited about, and I’m going to see how all that goes. I’m not thinking that I’m holding my breath and that kind of thing. If it’s been 40-something years, 48 years or whatever coaching, and that’s it, I’ll feel OK about that.”
Some guys want to coach until they die, keeling over on the sideline with the headset firmly attached to their ears and a clipboard in hand. And it seemed like Carroll, who was the NFL’s oldest head coach in 2023, was one of those guys.
But reality can be surprising. Carroll is leaving that headset behind. He’s met new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald just once, a chance meeting in a parking lot. He’s not paying attention to his former team, preferring to wish them luck and just “let them go.” Carroll, who has always tried to forge his own path in football, has moved on.
