Back in 2009 Pete Carroll was on top of the college football world at Southern Cal. He had collected a few national titles, tutored a few Heisman winners, and was churning out some of the best NFL talent in the country.
Then the Seattle Seahawks came knocking with a rare opportunity among the NFL ranks. Carroll was presented a chance to run an NFL team with the same outlook and approach that he had built USC with.
"When this opportunity came here, it was expressed and clearly laid out that I could have the same type of responsibility and the same kind of approach. It's been really instrumental, because the way we do things is not the way a lot of other people do things." Carroll told Fox Sports.
As Carroll goes on to explain, professional football may be a business, but the football aspect needs to be run by football people, and Seattle has provided him that opportunity from day one. In his first two seasons, as he built the foundation in Seattle his way, he went 14-18, then, in 2012 the Seahawks went 11-5 and lost to Atlanta in the NFL Divisional game. 2013 was the year that Carroll brought a Super Bowl title back to Seattle, and now they're a win away from back-to-back titles.
"It's done our way. We have our own language, our own control, our own decision-making process."
"I think it has made all the difference in the world. It's what every coach needs, I think, to be at his best. The format and structure that is generally accepted in the league is not that. I understand why."
Think of Carroll's words the next time you go in for a head coaching interview.