Pete Carroll to Atlanta: Another Boilerplate Offseason Story?

by Nestor on Jan 9, 2008 4:23 PM PST in Football

Here we go again. It is another off season, which means we get to read another round of stories on NFL teams going after Pete Carroll. But the latest story involving the Atlanta Falcons (check out the discussion in gbruin's diary) is a little interesting for a couple of reasons: 1) apparently PC is interested and 2) the Falcons are desperate enough to offer full control of the team. From the WWL:

USC coach Pete Carroll is interested in the Atlanta Falcons' head coach opening and is expected to speak with Atlanta owner Arthur Blank via phone Wednesday, sources at the American Football Coaches Convention in Anaheim told ESPN's Joe Schad.

Blank is expected to offer full control of personnel decisions to Carroll and the sources said that is what intrigues Carroll most. Carroll is currently on vacation in Hawaii.

The boys over at BeatSC.com didn't waste any time jumping on the story offering up the following angle on Carroll and the Falcons:

So the Falcons need someone that "lives" in the inner city, who isn't afraid of Johnny Law, and who already HAS EXPERIENCE bossing around a Dog Fighting guy. After all, Vick could be coming back to the Falcons in 18-24 months, with good behavior, so they'll need someone who isn't all bark and no bite to train him and whip him back into shape. And Carroll is just the man for the job. Carroll currently employs - and defends - admitted Dog Abuser Todd McNair. McNair is the Assistant Coach who supposedly KNEW about Bushgate and Jarrettgate to the point that sc should get the NCAA Death Penalty, and he is also the guy who pled out on multiple counts of Dog Fighting-related charges. When these facts all came to light - after Vick was busted - Carroll passionately DEFENDED McNair, and said that he would have hired him even if he KNEW about the charges at the time.

Pom Pom's expertise in dealing with convicted dog abuser could come in really handy, especially now that stories are floating around about how Vick may get out of jail early.

More significant here, I think, is the blockbuster Bush scandal that is lurking around in the background. From the last we heard on this, the NCAA was still looking into the mess and the story will come back in the spotlight with a new book:

[O]n the negative side for USC fans, the book's accounting says $47,000 went directly to Bush out of the overall $291,000 that went to his family. That makes it hard to deny he knew what was going on. While the photo section lacks any photocopied receipts, bank statements, or otherwise, the Author's Note says that a website will publish much of it. As of this blog post the site (www.tarnishedheisman.com) has not gone live. According to a "WhoIs" search, it's reserved under the name of a company run by the book's author, Don Yaeger. It's going to be tough to doubt the validity of something from Yaeger (a former associate editor and an investigative reporter for Sports Illustrated) and publisher Pocket Books (a division of Simon & Schuster). Expect the hard-evidence's release to coincide with the book's on January 15.

Adding to the situation's shady factor are a pair of references to characters guaranteed to make the Trojan nation uneasy ... memorabilia dealers and Suge Knight.

Bush has gotten himself out of some tough spots in the past, but this is a whole new ballgame. Instead of quietly refuting things and replicating his on-field elusiveness, maybe he could pull a Roger Clemens.

You can order a copy of "Tarnished Heisman" by going here. So who knows maybe Pom Pom is looking to skip town before the hammer drops on Southern Cal.

Then again, I am not going to hold my breath. I could care less if he decides to stick around or jump ship. However, since all these stories about Pom Pom being "interested" in NFL jobs are out there, I imagine the issue will become a topic of interest on the recruiting trail for Rick Neuheisel and a number of other college football coaches around the country.

We will have to see how this plays out and see if this turns out to be yet another boilerplate Carroll to NFL story. For now though, the details that are out there make this particular one interesting (and entertaining).

GO BRUINS.

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Comments

Those damn publishers

That Tarnished Heisman book would have made great Xmas gifts to my SUC buddies. Now it's too late.

by Tydides on Jan 9, 2008 4:34 PM PST reply actions

Hmm

I was thinking about buying an extra copy and mailing it to the NCAA head quarter? What does everyone else think about the idea? Anyone else up for it?

by Nestor on Jan 9, 2008 4:36 PM PST up reply actions

Sounds good to me

I had read somewhere that some Notre Dame and LSU fans had already planned on doing so. We should definately join in. It couldn't hurt, right?

by OutOThsWrld on Jan 9, 2008 4:51 PM PST up reply actions

I'm in

It's hilarious. It's a good idea. Count me in.

greg in denver

by gbruin on Jan 9, 2008 5:29 PM PST up reply actions

Hell yeah!

It wouldn't cost more than a certain ad in the Daily Bruin I pitched in on.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Jan 9, 2008 7:03 PM PST up reply actions

I wouldn't be surprised...

if Southern Cal tried to buy every copy. Then it would be on the TOP SELLERS list and everyone will read it. I will mail a copy to my homey on trial in Nevada.

by bruinelder on Jan 9, 2008 4:46 PM PST up reply actions

Mailers to NCAA HQ

Nestor, I will contribute to that cause. Maybe a series of books so there is no choice. If you have the contact information at the NCAA, I will do it today. Good idea.
Bill

BillSouthBay

by Mensgym on Jan 9, 2008 4:46 PM PST reply actions

I hope PC stays

I would like to see him on their sidelines the next few years trying to avoid losing to RN coached Bruins. If he leaves and we do well, people like Brent Hamburger will never give UCLA the credit it deserves.

by SinnerBoy 99 on Jan 9, 2008 4:48 PM PST reply actions

I couldn't agree more!

USC has had an amazing run during the Pete Carroll years but it has not been as golden as they would like to believe.

Two National Championships? No, not really.
He runs a clean program? No, not really.
He's a really nice guy? No, not really. Ask Mike Bellotti.

Point is, USC loves to promote and protect its image, and getting PC out of there before the hammer drops will be a way of preserving the mythical quality of his run.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Jan 9, 2008 7:00 PM PST up reply actions

Prescient

In one of the links above, Nestor was doing a decidedly good imitation of Nostradamus:

Now let's see. We get a new football coach around December and NCAA lower the boom on one of the most (allegedly/morally) corrupt college football programs in the history of the game.

We may have a happy ending after all.

by whp68 on Jan 9, 2008 5:44 PM PST reply actions

Buy a copy for the obnoxious SC fans in your life

I ordered a copy for a buddy of mine who went to SC.
When I told another friend of ours who went to UCLA with me, his response was "Get him the coloring book version. He went to SC."

by razksig on Jan 9, 2008 6:22 PM PST reply actions

Carroll to NFL

He would have a much harder time with the Falcons. Everybody gets paid in the NFL, whereas he had an advantage at $C in terms of $49K to Bush and like payments to other "student-athletes". Also, having criminals in the program is par for the course in the NFL, whereas the willingness to look the other way was a distinct advantage for his win-loss record at $C.

by islandbruin on Jan 9, 2008 9:35 PM PST reply actions