Seahawks Make Carroll Move Official

LOS ANGELES -Outgoing USC football coach Pete Carroll said today he couldn’t resist the opportunity to return to the National Football League as coach of the Seattle Seahawks, insisting he “can’t pass up a competitive challenge.”

Carroll met privately with USC football players to thank them for their effort and share “marvelous memories” that he has had with them and the Trojan football program over the last nine years.

“It hurts right now, it hurts to separate right now,” Carroll told reporters after the meeting. “It hurts me and it hurts these guys and I know that our fans … wish it could just keep on going. You know, why can’t it just keep on going?

“Well, it can’t keep on going because I can’t pass up this opportunity that’s come up,” he said. “If you know anything at all about me, I can’t pass up a competitive challenge. … What this next step presents is the challenge of a lifetime, truly, in the most difficult of settings, the most challenging levels of performance.

“It’s just, it’s just too good to pass up for me,” he said. “I have to go.”

Carroll, 58, previously coached the New York Jets and New England Patriots. He has an NFL coaching record of 33-31 in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs. He also worked as a defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings and was defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.

He insisted his decision to leave USC had nothing to do with an NCAA investigation into alleged improper benefits given to star running back Reggie Bush in 2004-05, or reports of a strained relationship with Athletic Director Mike Garrett.

“It has nothing to do with anything that has happened, anything that’s taken place,” Carroll said. “Anybody that’s writing about issues or things here, whether it’s the NCAA or with the administration — Mike Garrett and I have gone shoulder-to-shoulder at this thing for years. He is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever been around and we went after this thing to get everything done. And so if you say something else, you’re not telling the truth. It has been a marvelous run for us together.”

Carroll’s contract with the Seahawks is reportedly a five-year, $32.5 million deal.

But Carroll insisted his decision wasn’t a financial one.

“It wasn’t about money. It wasn’t about those other kinds of tangible issues. It wasn’t. It was about the challenge. The challenge became greater and just too exciting to pass up,” he said.

Carroll was expected to be introduced in Seattle on Tuesday.

“We are excited to add Pete as our coach,” said Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke. “He brings a great passion for winning and a positive attitude that is contagious. We now turn our full attention to the hiring process for a general manager. Our intended structure if for Pete and the new GM to work in a collaborative capacity on football matters.”

During his nine seasons at USC, Carroll had a 97-19 record, leading the team to seven Pacific 10 Conference titles and two national championships.

Under his tenure, USC became the only school to win three straight Rose Bowl games.

He also coached Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer in 2002, Matt Leinart in 2004 and Bush in 2005.

“I had hoped this day would not come. This is a big loss to all of us,” USC President Steven Sample said. “But we are proud of Pete Carroll and proud that the Seattle Seahawks recognize his talents and his accomplishments and are offering him this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He rewrote the book on college football and now he intends to do the same for professional football. And my guess is that he will succeed wonderfully.”

Trojan players and coaches were told about Carroll’s decision via a text message from an assistant coach, the Los Angeles Times reported.

It was unclear whether some of Carroll’s assistant coaches would join him in the NFL. Reports have surfaced that offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. might by with him in Seattle.

There were also concerns that USC might lose some of the recruits that Carroll had lined up. ESPN reported that when rumors began surfacing Friday that Carroll might be going to Seattle, other schools began contacting players scheduled to enroll at USC in the fall.

All-American receiver Kyle Prater said on NBC’s broadcast of the All-American Bowl that he planned to talk with his family and advisers before deciding whether to enroll at USC. He said he was postponing a scheduled trip to Los Angeles today to sign with the team and enroll in classes.

Carroll said he spoke to Prater on Sunday night.

“I told him, `We’re not disconnecting. I’ll just see you down the road,”‘ Carroll told The Times. “This is an amazingly great class if it can hang together.”

Garrett reportedly wanted to hire Oregon State coach Mike Riley to replace Carroll, but Riley has signed a contract extension that will keep him in Corvallis through at least the 2019 season.

“Due to the fact there is a lot of speculation on my future, I want to make it known that I’m very excited to be coaching at Oregon State University and I anticipate doing so for a long time,” Riley said in a statement released by the school.

Riley was USC’s offensive coordinator under then-coach John Robinson in the mid-1990’s, and was in the running for the head coaching job before Carroll was hired in December 2000.

Some early names that have surfaced as possible replacements for Carroll are Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio and Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher.