Pete’s on the Hot Seat

The title is in no way an attack on Joe Paterno, a coach that deserves the utmost respect.  Unlike Pete Carroll, he has changed his coaching style over the years, and he allows his great coordinators to do as much of the work as possible.

Sure, he’s 82 years old, but that makes him a whippersnapper compared to the Rose Bowl, which was first held 106 years ago.  It’s the oldest bowl game, and it’s definitely showing its age.  If it were a human, odds say it would be dead.  Which it is.  This year’s Rose Bowl is as lifeless as can be.

This season Oklahoma had many great accomplishments, but two shine above the rest.  Their quarterback, sophomore Sam Bradford, won the Heisman Trophy.  And, more importantly, they moved above a number of one-loss teams (Texas, Texas Tech, Penn State, USC, and Alabama) in the BCS to claim an appearance in the national championship game against Florida.

Both of these achievements were due to one thing:  Offense.

Well, it’s official.  Current USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will be the new coach of the Washington Huskies.  USC’s offense will never be the same again.  The Rose Bowl will be the last time to witness play-calling that no mortal man can comprehend.

Sarkisian’s creativity (his brilliance) is in his lack of creativity.  He follows the mantra that the best offense is a good defense.  And since he isn’t in control of the USC defense, he applies this rule the best way he can:  By essentially telling the other team’s offense that he thinks it sucks.

We’ve been inactive for quite awhile.  Some might have taken that as a sign that we were content with the job Pete Carroll was doing.  Far from it, as the season is about to come to an end in just the way we predicted, with USC lined up to play in its fourth consecutive Rose Bowl, against a pushover Big 10 team, this particular one being led by a man who’s likely to coach from home.

So no, we’re not happy.  We’ve just been biding our time watching the coaching carousel spin round and round, hoping the administration would be smart enough to tell Carroll his ride is over instead of allowing him to continue reaching for that elusive brass ring that he will never grasp.