Former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll plans to teach at USC this spring
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks talks with former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lumen Field on December 31, 2023 in Seattle, Washingt (Jane Gershovich / Getty Images)
Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said in a radio interview on Tuesday that he intends to return to USC in a teaching role next spring.
Carroll spoke with Dave "Softy" Mahler and former Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR on Tuesday afternoon from Los Angeles, where he said he was working on some of his future plans after a 14-year run as head coach in Seattle.
"I'm kind of keeping it undercover here for a bit, but I will wind up working down at USC," Carroll said. "I’m going to wind up teaching down there and I’m looking forward to that. It’s going to be a really exciting endeavor when it’s all finalized and all that — (it’s) not quite yet.
"… and there is some other stuff that I’m advising and consulting with, some other clubs, not football, some other things that I’m excited about."
Carroll was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Seahawks in January, with the team announcing he would move into an advisory role with the team. Carroll had a 137-69-1 record in the regular season in his time with the Seahawks, which included five NFC West titles and 10 playoff victories with the team's only Super Bowl victory in February 2014.
Carroll didn't land another coaching job this offseason and has occasionally made an appearance at University of Washington football practices this fall, where his son, Brennan, is the offensive coordinator under Jedd Fisch, who once served as an assistant coach for Carroll with the Seahawks.
Carroll said he just returned from a visit with other coaches to Kuwait to an American military base for a basketball tournament for troops. Carroll said that he's enjoying the other things currently available to him right now with a return to coaching football not something he's actively seeking at the moment.
"I get asked (that) a lot so I’m pretty familiar with answering that," Carroll said about possibly coaching again. "I could coach tomorrow. I’m physically in the best shape I’ve been in a long time. I’m ready to do all the activities that I’m doing and feeling really good about it. I could (coach) but I’m not desiring it at this point. This isn’t the coaching season — we’ll see what happens (then). (But) 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 want to see how all that goes. I’m not thinking that I’m holding my breath (to coach), that sort of thing. If it’s been 40-something years, 48 years or whatever, coaching and that’s it, I feel OK about that.
"Looking back at what’s happened and what we’ve done over the years and the 14 years (with the Seahawks) and then the nine years at SC, I feel pretty good about all that. And if that is what it is and that’s the end of my coaching, I can live with that."
The interview was Carroll's first locally since his departure from the Seahawks. Carroll said he's not been around the team much as he's letting the new coaching staff establish themselves with the team. He only briefly met head coach Mike Macdonald once in the parking lot, but they haven't spoken otherwise.
Carroll didn't get into details about what he would be teaching at USC or all that his future has in store.
"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."