Fire Carroll?

Posted by DontBendDontBreak | Filed under Failing To Deliver, Media Bias

As a USC football fan (and college football fan in general), I spend a lot of time on ESPN reading every bit of news, trivia, and biased opinion that I can find.  The other day, Ivan Maisel’s column pointed out a very interesting bit of information: “In just one game, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel has measured up to USC coach Pete Carroll. The Trojans’ 14 losses over the course of Carroll’s seven-plus seasons have been by a total of 59 points. The Bruins needed only one loss for Neuheisel to tie Carroll.”

Now as much as we love seeing the ucla bRuins get blown out (by a Mountain West team!), what really caught our attention was the fact that Pete Carroll has lost 14 games.  For those of you keeping score at home, that averages out to two losses a season, and that kind of playing ain’t going to bring home anymore crystal balls.

After looking into it further, we learned some things that are worth pointing out.

For starters, one of those losses was by more than a touchdown, an 11-point thrashing at the hands of arch-rival Notre Dame back in 2001.  That was during Bob Davie’s last season coaching them, when he went 5-6 and was fired.  So they obviously weren’t very good.  And yet Pete Carroll couldn’t beat them.

He also lost to USC’s other arch-rival, the miserable ucla bRuins, as everyone well remembers.  This was the same ucla team that only beat Rice by 10 points.  Lucky for Carroll he didn’t have to play any teams from Texas that year.

Pete’s average margin of loss is over 4 points per game.  So even if USC had gotten two safeties in each game, they still wouldn’t have won most of them.  (And no Pete, I don’t mean safeties like the great Troy Polamalu, one of Hackett’s great finds that made you look good.)

Much of this information has been lost in the recent barrage of biased media attention lavished upon Coach Carroll over the past few years, including an upcoming interview on 60 Minutes. (Really Pete, shouldn’t you be spending your time teaching your quarterback not to throw interceptions in the end zone instead of telling Mike Wallace how you help unemployed men in the inner city find jobs?)

With all of the praise heaped upon the 57-year old coach, you might think that USC has gone undefeated and won 7 national championships under his leadership. Not so. The Trojans haven’t even reached the championship game since 2005, a game that they lost by an uglier-than-the-final-score-indicates 3 points.

The last time the Trojans actually managed to win a national championship? 2004. Can you even remember what you were doing in 2004? We surely can’t. Back then Tyrone Willingham was still coaching Notre Dame, the average price for a gallon of gas was $1.73, and the Yankees were still good.

More importantly, the current USC seniors weren’t even out of high school yet. They’ve been forced to endure three seasons of mediocrity with little hope that anything will change this year.

We’ve heard the grumblings among Trojan fans and alumni.  The diehards are fed up, and the bandwagoners are on the verge of jumping ship if we don’t win another national championship soon.  And that’s not going to happen with Pete Carroll as coach.

That might not be the popular opinion, but the truth seldom is.  We aren’t saying that he hasn’t helped the program in a few ways, but what has he done for us lately?

The Trojans should have won the last two national championships, but Coach Carroll couldn’t keep the team focused, choking in very winnable games by refusing to adjust the game plan.  He’d rather bask in the declarations as having the “best team ever” than actually bother with winning on the big stage.

Now that all USC has left on its schedule are beaten and bruised PAC-10 teams and a Notre Dame team that’s better at tackling its own coach then its opponents, the path to the national championship seems inevitable.  And it is, as long as Pete Carroll doesn’t get in the way.

Us true fans won’t settle for anything less than a national championship.  A REAL one, none of that only getting the AP title crap.

So it’s official, Pete. We’re calling you out. The pressure’s on.

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Permalink | September 17th, 2008

7 Responses to “Fire Carroll?”

  1. Troy Says:
    October 5th, 2008 at 11:49 pm

    I don’t get it. What are you “true fans” complaining about? Here’s something to think about.

    Best USC Winning Percentages
    1. Goddard/Suffel 1.000 &*
    2. Elmer C Henderson 0.865 &
    3. Pete Carroll 0.840
    4. Lewis R. Freeman 0.833 &*
    5. Harvey R. Holmes 0.759 &
    6. Howard Jones 0.750 &
    7. John McKay 0.749
    8. John Robinson 0.741
    9. Jesse Hill 0.722 &
    10. William Traeger 0.700 &*

    So if you take away the coaches that coached fewer than ten games (noted with an asterisk) and the coaches who coached prior to the “modern” era of college football (before 1960, noted by an &), here’s your new list.

    1. Pete Carroll 0.840
    2. John McKay 0.749
    3. John Robinson 0.740

    You could make the argument that John Robinson’s terms as coach should be considered separately, which would give him 2nd place with a 0.817 winning percentage from 1976-82. So as far as winning football games goes, Carroll is currently the best USC has ever had.

    ‘Okay’, you say, ‘but what about national titles? Pete only has one and a half!” Very true. Here’s the breakdown on national titles:

    USC’s 11 National Titles
    1. Howard Jones: 4
    2. John McKay: 4
    3. Pete Carroll 2
    4. John Robinson 1

    A BCS crystal ball is a unanimous national title. USC’s first unanimous title was 1972, so here’s how the numbers change:

    1. John McKay: 2
    2. John Robinson: 1
    3. Pete Carroll: 1
    So he’s not at the top of this list. I don’t think that’s a good reason to fire Pete just yet. But if you want to complain about the 15 *gasp* losses, look at everyone else again. Pete has coached 93 games, with 15 losses. McKay’s first 95 games featured 25 losses. Robinson lost 14 times in 82 games. No other USC coach comes close to these records, so there’s still no case for firing Pete.

    So what case is there for firing Carroll? As it stands now, he’s one of the greatest head coaches in USC football history, and you’d be hard pressed to find a coach good enough to replace him. Other stats you can’t complain about include:

    –6-1 vs Notre Dame
    –6-1 vs UCLA
    –5-2 in all bowl games played
    –3-1 in the Rose Bowl
    –2-0 in the Orange Bowl
    –3 Heisman Trophy Winners
    –42 NFL Draft Picks
    –Home Game Attendance: Rose from 57,744 per game in 2001 to an all time high of 91,480 in 2006

    Yeah I can TOTALLY see why Pete should be in the hot seat. He’s only the most successful coach in USC history.

    So it’s official petesonthehotseat.com, I’m calling you out. If you think Pete’s done such a bad job, why don’t you give your readers a list of suitable replacements? And while you’re at it, tell us why you think they would do a better job.

  2. Kirk Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    I am ready for a change. We need to change with the times. It was great when Pete lead our teams to blowout victories and superstars were playing like nobody had a chance. Some teams are lucky and play the best football of their lives for one half and USC still blows them out in the second half winning by 21. Those days are in the rear view mirror. These awesome players Pete is recruiting deserve to play for a coach that will bring them back to the promise land. I hate losing to Pac-10 teams. I agree, we are losing all those fans we gained with our 2004 National Championship. The time is now to get somebody to bring this program back up. Fight on

  3. Javon Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    Southern Cal is no longer invincible. Pete Carroll has done a fine job and he deserves his just due. I do believe he has run his course and USC is wasting time with him now. I don’t want to see the day when he becomes lapped by the Pac-10. Pete if you are reading this, I love you, but do not overstay your welcome. I want to remember you as dominant.

  4. PHILLIP Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    I want Jon Gruden! I think he would be a wonderful fit at USC. What do you guys think?

  5. Manny Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    Mike Shanahan, he won back to back Super Bowls as a head coach of the broncos.

  6. The Judge Says:
    December 5th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    You guys are morons…

  7. James Says:
    January 10th, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    Maybe Jeff Tedford. Jeff Fisher would also be a good fit.

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