It was no secret that Pete Carroll fought hard to remain the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, but after back-to-back 9-8 season the organization decided a new direction was best and brought in Ravens defensive Mike Macdonald for a fresh start.
Carroll is one of the only coaches (alongside Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson) who have won both a Super Bowl and national title, and at 72 still seems to have plenty left in the tank.
While talking with 93.3 KJR recently, Carroll said he's in the best shape of that he's been in a long time.
Asked if he's ready to jump back into coaching right now as training camps are taking place around the NFL, he offered a rather interesting response.
"Well, I get asked a lot, so I'm pretty familiar with answering that I could coach tomorrow."
"I'm physically in the best shape I've been in a long time. I'm, ready to be ready to do all the activities that I'm doing and feeling really good about it. I could, but I'm not desiring it at this point."
He didn't slam the door shut on a return to the sideline, simply sharing that he's got some other things he's excited about doing and if 48 years in coaching is what he ends up with, he feels good about that.
When the Seahawks decided to move on, they initially announced that Carroll would remain with the organization in an advisory role, but he shared with KJR that he really hasn't talked to Macdonald but once and is sticking to watching his former team on TV and staying away "with purpose," and not visiting them at all.
As for this fall, other than watching the Seahawks on TV, Carroll shared that his fall plans include a role at USC.
Not on the gridiron though, but rather as in a yet-to-be-specified teaching role.
"It's going to be a really exciting endeavor when it's all finalized," he said.
A Pete Carroll class on leadership perhaps? That's something that would be intriguing to a lot of folks and Carroll would crush it with a Master Class. He could tie in when to work in some occasional pranks keep the mood light and fun?
Whether Carroll coaches again or not, he seems genuinely excited about this next chapter and I, for one, am excited to see the same type of enthusiasm he approached coaching with translate to his next venture.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.