The Seahawks officially named Pete Carroll as their next head coach on Monday. While speaking to the media about his decision to leave USC, Carroll said that his pending move wasn’t in reaction to a possible probe that the Trojans’ program faces.

From ESPN.com:

“Not in any way,” Carroll told the newspaper. “Because I know where we stand. It’s just a process we have to go through. We know we’ve fought hard to do right.”

Carroll, a longtime coach and coordinator in the NFL before joining USC in 2000, said he had for a while “given up” on a return to the pro ranks.

“But it came out of nowhere,” he told the Times.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter first reported Saturday morning the Seahawks and Carroll had reached an agreement in principle.

“I’ve given everything I’ve had,” he said. “There was never going to be a good time.”

Carroll’s former quarterback and current Jet signal caller Mark Sanchez took a funny shot at his old head coach in the wake of Carroll leaving USC: