I have had this argument with my Trojan friends (yes, I have some) who don't give John Wooden the proper credit because they said he got all of the talent that he wanted and had no competition.  Well, that is just a farce, and 10 championships in 12 years speaks for itself, as well as the man and what he is all about.  But that is not my purpose of this post, instead it is to argue another point......that of Pete Carroll.

Has any coach in America been "less" suceessful than Pete Carroll when considering that with all that talent, he only has one National Championship to show for it?  No, that AP championship is not a championship.  If you don't hoist the crystal ball, you aren't the champs! 

Anyways, Pete Carroll is a great recruiter.  We can admit that.  However, when it comes to coaching, he is average at best.  Is there any other coach in the country, in any sport, that when he takes the field he has a better player at every position than the coach across from him?  I haven't thought of one yet.  Not Coach K at Duke, not Phil Jackson with the Lakers, not Bill Belicheck with the Pats.  Only Pete Carroll, of all the coaches around, always has better players at every position that the coach he is coaching against.  And what does he do with that talent?  One true national championship (2004-2005) and many of memorable losses.  How about 13-9, how about losing to Vince Young and Texas, the debacles against Oregon State.....and do I need to mention Stanford?  Yet, after every Rose Bowl and playing an overrated Big Ten team, Pete and Co. always say they are the best and they are being robbed.  The facts are that Pete goes into every year with supreme talent, only to figure a way to "screw it up".  In college football, with the talent he has, he only has a few games each year where his team has to play their best to win........maybe one or two games each year.  The other games, they just have to show up and give a decent effort.  Hell, this year they were losing to Stanford at halftime, were challenged by our Bruins, were threatened by an average Arizona team.......yet, here we are after beating a bad Big Ten team listening to them get cocky and give out the usual Trojan belllyaching!

John Wooden won with great talent, not an easy feat.  Pete Carroll figures out a way to lose with great talent, and is never called out for it.  He has had the best recruiting classes in the country for something like a billion years in a row, and no BCS title?  I won't even talk about the men when it comes to integrity and respect, that isn't even worth the discussion.  However, if there ever was a coach who has done less with more than Pete Carroll?  Well, I would like to meet him.