Pete Carroll to the Falcons?

[TFoA]

The real question is why would the Falcons take a chance on another College coach after getting burned by one this last season? There are plenty of qualified NFL assistants that they should probably be looking at before dipping back into the college ranks.

Which is why I'm currently pissed with Blank for even entertaining the thought of getting another college coach. I mean, Pete Carroll might have NFL Head Coaching experience...but he didn't cut it as an NFL head coach. We just got burnt by a college coach, why go after another?!

And leaving USC would also be the dumbest thing Carroll can do. I think that unless Blank can give him complete control and make him the highest paid coach ever (and he'll deserve every penny if he can somehow turn this ship here around), Carroll should stay his ass in Los Angeles. I don't want him, and he shouldn't want us.

Right now, I'd feel better with Jim Caldwell as HC and Tom Heckert as GM than having Pete Carroll doing both jobs.

[jkrdevil]

Pete Carroll is a great recruiter. He is also a mediocre football coach. He can win year after year at USC because he can easily recruit players there and just out talent the opposition. You can't do that in the pros. Even at USC you can see hints at that he isn't the greatest coach with the upset losses to UCLA two years ago and Stanford this year this in addition to poor coaching decisions and clock management in the Texas game 3 years ago. If I'm an NFL owner I'm not going to turn to Pete Carroll to turn by bottom rung franchise around. I'm going to hire a GM and a coach with more of a track record in the NFL. Not a guy who has underachieved in the league in the past.

[BlueSky]

I live in the Atlanta metro area and this was covered to death by local sports radio yesterday. Want to know the bottom line?

Arthur Blank called Pete Carroll, who is on vacation in Hawaii, and Carroll took his call and was willing to discuss the Falcons opening. That's it.

ESPN took what is nothing more than Carroll's courtesy and made it a story.

What a joke.

[Mac the Knife]

Exactly. The Atlanta Falcons are interested in Pete Carroll is akin to my being interested in Jessica Alba.

Yes, there's interest.

No, it's not mutual.

Turn the page.

[infrared41]

ESPN took what is nothing more than Carroll's courtesy and made it a story.

Imagine my surprise.

[tBBP]

I live in the Atlanta metro area and this was covered to death by local sports radio yesterday. Want to know the bottom line?

Arthur Blank called Pete Carroll, who is on vacation in Hawaii, and Carroll took his call and was willing to discuss the Falcons opening. That's it.

ESPN took what is nothing more than Carroll's courtesy and made it a story.

What a joke.

All of which makes one wonder how ESPN even caught wind of this phone call in the first place...

...what--did they get some kind of special back-door exemption to get into President Bush's whole phone-tap spying thting or something???

[leedsunited]

Gotta be leverage to get a king's ransom at USC, right? Lifetime security, right?

He's not that stupid to think he can work in the NFL? He hasn't really changed from his days with the Pats/Jets - laid back, hands off, delegate most of the gruntwork to assistants - that don't fly in the NFL, son.

[Tentomushi5150]

Speaking of ESPN's rampant overblowing of this situation: on multiple occasions the idea of Pete Carroll being the head coach of the expansion LA franchise when it comes to fruition was discussed. So not only are they speculating on things that have a grain of truth, they're also creating scenarios that have zero basis on fact.

I think USC's recent history of throwing away their chances at a National title is enough to keep somebody interested in their job. While he may be able to keep his program in constant contention, that only accounts for so much. I'm in no way trying to belittle what he's done, but it's not like he's done everything to the point that it's boring.