Steve Bisheff - Always Compete: An Inside Look at Pete Carroll and the USC Football Juggernaut

Always Compete: An Inside Look at Pete Carroll and the USC Football Juggernaut — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Always Compete: An Inside Look at Pete Carroll and the USC Football Juggernaut" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...59

Table of Contents

First and foremost, I want to thank Pete Carroll for his time, his availability, and, most important, his trust. I would not have undertaken this project without his approval, and I was honored that he gave it. He and the members of his staff were as cooperative, patient, and understanding as they could be, considering they were in the midst of a heated and competitive football season.

The many friends, associates, players, and coaches from all over the country who have known and worked with Carroll were unfailingly cooperative. I would like to thank them for their time and their insight.

I want to express gratitude to my agent, Ian Kleinert of Objective Entertainment in New York, who happens to be an avid USC football fan, and to my friend and legal adviser, Sam Perlmutter, a longtime Trojans supporter who helped originate and complete the deal for the book.

USC Sports Information Director Tim Tessalone, one of the best in the business, was a huge help, along with his assistants, Paul Goldberg, Jason Pommier, and David Tuttle. Whether it was chasing down a player after practice for an interview or finding a desired statistic or fact, they always managed to come through.

I want to thank St. Martins Press, my enthusiastic and supportive editor, Marc Resnick, and his assistant, Sarah Lumnah, for their faith and their commitment to this project.

Fellow author and former mentor, Loel Schrader, and friend and noted author Steve Springer both deserve thanks for their advice and encouragement. Scott Schrader was kind enough to assist in my recruiting research, and my Irvine neighbor and computer expert Josh Wertheimer was always there to help out in an emergency.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention my wife, Marsha, who not only provided her usual love and support but her own tech knowledge, along with a keen copyreading eye that helped immeasurably.

John Wooden: An American Treasure
Fight On!: The Colorful Story of USC Football
(with Loel Schrader)

Excitement Amid a Fragile Spring

I t is one of those almost-too-good-to-believe, 75-degree Los Angeles afternoons in late March, and the usual large, cardinal and goldclad crowd spills through the sun-splashed gates at Howard Jones Field for the first day of USC spring football practice. The veterans among the spectators are dressed comfortably but are carrying Windbreakers or sweaters, well aware that the brisk spring winds will come rattling in about the same time the early evening shadows creep onto the manicured lawn before practice is over.

The head coach doesnt seem concerned with any of that. Pete Carroll, wearing a thin, white, form-fitting, long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants, sprints onto the field, clapping and chirping, flashing a smile as wide as the L.A. Coliseum tunnel. Carroll, with his face seemingly more tan than ever and his gray hair blowing in the breeze, looks like a kid who cant wait to open his new, giftwrapped PlayStation 3. His bouncy enthusiasm is infectious, and several of the players look up and grin at him as they begin their calisthenics.

Thanks to Carroll, USC football is an institution again in L.A., the happy, winning substitute for the nations No. 2 marketthat is still incredulously without an NFL franchise. Instead of Rams or Raiders merchandise, everyone can now be seen wearing USC gear at the malls and theaters and casual restaurants around this sprawling megalopolis. The Trojans have become the citys biggest winners, more consistent than the Lakers, more successful than the Dodgers, and clearly overshadowing the basketball exploits across town at UCLA.

It is not just all the winning, it is the style and caliber of players he has developed at USC. In his first seven years on the job, Carroll produced thirty All Americans and eleven first-round NFL draft picks, including four in the 2008 draft. It is a remarkable record, and the steady stream of victories has created a rare comfort zone for Carroll, who seems to tease the USC faithful every off-season by listening to an assortment of NFL head coaching offers. Few, if any, college coaches have less job pressures than he does. Still, you can sense a rustle of discontent from some boosters and alumni who have been spoiled by all the Trojans have achieved. They point out its been four years since they won their second of two national titles under Carroll and three years since theyve been back to the BCS Championship Game. Theyre hungry to wave those large cardinal colored foam fingers in the air and proclaim Were No. 1 again.

Last season ended much like the one in 2006, with USC semi-grudgingly accepting a bid to the game that once was its ultimate goal, the Rose Bowl, where it systematically whipped yet another overmatched Big Ten opponent, this time Illinois. Back-to-back, 11-2 bowl-winning seasons would be cause for celebrations at most universities, but not here, where the bar has been raised to a whole different level. Maybe thats why there is an undercurrent of uneasiness about the start of this spring practice. Or maybe its just the fact that, for the first time since a tall, left-handed kid named Matt Leinart squeezed out the job at the end of spring, the Trojans arent sure who their quarterback will be in the opener at Virginia on August 30.

Once Leinart took control as a sophomore, he held onto the position for three glory-filled years, going 37-2, leading the teamto those two national titles and winning the Heisman Trophy along the way. When he left for the NFL, everyone knew that John David Booty, whod been waiting patiently, would take over. Booty quarterbacked the team for two seasons, and although he never matched Leinart, he had a nice, two-year run, losing only three games he started and directing the team to consecutive Rose Bowl victories.

Now, at least publicly, Carroll and his coaches are saying the job is open. We want to take our time, and hopefully get a real sense of someone we can count on at the position, Carroll tells me in our first real one-on-one interview of the season. We want to do it right. Were not necessarily going to go for the biggest, strongest arm. Well go for the quarterback we think will help us win.

Still, those whove been around the program the longest quietly believe the choice has all but been made already. They have come to trust Carroll and his instincts. They should. He picked Leinart over Matt Cassel, the backup to Tom Brady who eventually took over when Brady was injured with the New England Patriots, even when the two quarterbacks were basically even coming out of spring practice. He said he sensed something special in Leinart. Whether he senses the same thing in Mark Sanchez is difficult to know, but one thing is clear: Carroll has never had a quarterback controversy in his previous seven years at USC, and he certainly isnt looking for one now. So the sense is that Carroll wants Sanchez, the fourth-year junior whos been around the program for three seasons, to win the job, despite the challenge he knows is coming from flashy Mitch Mustain, the much-hyped transfer from Arkansas.

Around the rest of the country, on ESPN and in most L.A. area newspapers, this has been proclaimed as the hottest spring quarterback duel in college football. These are, after all, two kids who were national prep players of the year their senior seasons in high school. Most of the ardent boosters and alums think this is about which of the two quarterbacks proves to be a better leader and more accurate, mistake-free passer. In the quiet reality of theUSC coaching chambers, however, its about more than that. It is about a philosophy and some off-the-field politics that are understood but never openly discussed, even in the staffs private meetings in Heritage Hall.

Next page

1234567...59

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Always Compete: An Inside Look at Pete Carroll and the USC Football Juggernaut»

Look at similar books to Always Compete: An Inside Look at Pete Carroll and the USC Football Juggernaut. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Bill Rabinowitz

The Chase: How Ohio State Captured the First College Football Playoff

Christopher Walsh

Nick Saban vs. College Football: The Case for College Footballs Greatest Coach

Mark Mayfield

Back on Top!: The Alabama Crimson Tides 2015–16 Championship Football Season

Dan Weber

Miracle Moments in USC Trojans Football History: Best Plays, Games, and Records

Matt Doeden

The College Football Championship: The Fight for the Top Spot

Ben Axelrod

Urban Meyer vs. College Football: The Case for College Footballs Greatest Coach

Josh Katzowitz

Johnny Football: Johnny Manziels Road from the Texas Hill Country to the Top of College Football

Will Carroll

The Science of Football: The Math, Technology, and Data Behind Americas Game

Spurrier

Head Ball Coach

University of Southern California

Cardinal and gold: the oral history of USC Trojans football

Stewart Mandel

The Thinking Fans Guide to the College Football Playoff

Pete Carroll

Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion

Discussion, reviews of the book Always Compete: An Inside Look at Pete Carroll and the USC Football Juggernaut and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.