According to ESPN.com, Pete Carroll resigned as the head coach of the USC Trojans on Sunday so he can take over the same position for the Seattle Seahawks. ESPN.com is also reporting that Carroll will take offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates with him to Seattle.

A source said Bates was tempted to be reunited with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, but the long-term security with Carroll was a major factor in his decision to join the Seahawks rather than the Bears. Bates was Cutler’s offensive coordinator with the Broncos in 2008.

Current Trojans said they had not heard the decision yet from Carroll, but heard about the Daily News report.

“Wow. Well, I’m not surprised,” junior running back Marc Tyler said to ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne. “I think by now most guys wanted it to hurry up and happen so we can see who is going to coach us next.”

Sophomore defensive end Malik Jackson said while he was a little surprised, he understands why Carroll is leaving.

“Wow, I can’t believe we’re one of those teams looking for a new coach,” Jackson told Shelburne. “I’d heard about it all weekend, but I’m still kind of surprised.

“I don’t blame him though. We all have to make decisions in our lives. If I could’ve said something that’d make him come back, I would’ve. But I’m not mad at him. He has to do what he thinks is best for himself. Everybody does.”

It must be rather jarring for USC players and those associated with the program that Carroll is leaving. He’s been a mainstay there since 2001 and I’m sure that people grew accustomed to him shooting down offers to re-join the NFL and figured he would never leave.

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Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Pete Carroll has reached an agreement to become the next head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Carroll was fully expected to be introduced by the Seahawks as early as Monday, assuming they comply with the Rooney Rule this weekend.

The hangup could be locating a candidate to interview that would put the Seahawks in compliance with the rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head-coaching hires.

But the bottom line is, Carroll’s agreement with Seattle is “100 percent done,” one NFL source close to the situation said.

In a text message to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Friday, Carroll said, “You know I haven’t responded to a NFL question in two years.”
But a league source told Mortensen that Carroll was trying to persuade USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates to join him in Seattle — as opposed to Bates pursuing the same position with the Chicago Bears.

First and foremost, I don’t think Dan Rooney had this situation in mind when he and the league established the “Rooney Rule.” It’s crap that a minority will be brought in to interview for a position that he has zero chance of getting and therefore, the Seahawks should be fined just like the Lions were in 2003 when they hired Steve Mariucci without complying with the rule.

As far as Carroll goes, we can speculate all we want about why he chose now to leave USC and pursue the NFL again. Maybe it was money, maybe it was the perfect situation, or maybe he’s running from something. Either way, he’s going to be on the Seahawks sidelines next year and if I were a fan, I’d have mixed feelings about the deal.

There’s no doubt that Carroll is an outstanding college coach, but he’s already failed twice at the pro level. That’s not to say that the third time won’t be a charm, but I would have my doubts if I were a player or a fan, because his methods haven’t worked before. Granted, he ran a pro style system while at USC so in terms of game planning, he should be fine. But his ra-ra approach didn’t work with the Jets or Patriots, so it stands to reason that it won’t work in Seattle.

There’s already a rumor making its way around the net that Carroll might target Matt Leinart to be his quarterback. But as of right now, that makes little to no sense. First of all, the Cardinals aren’t going to trade within the division and secondly, Kurt Warner is nearing the end of his career and Arizona probably still has some hope that Leinart can be “the guy.” The rumor makes little sense, but we’ll see how this whole thing transpires.

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