Pete Carroll is headed to Seattle.
The University of Southern California head coach submitted his resignation Sunday evening and accepted an offer to become the eighth coach of the Seattle Seahawks, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
USC players and coaches learned the news from a text message sent out by an assistant coach, according to the report.
Although the Seahawks have not said the deal is final, an announcement could come as soon as today.
Carroll built an impressive résumé during his nine seasons at USC, winning 84 percent of his games, seven Pacific-10 Conference titles in a row and two national championships. But Carroll reportedly longed to return to the NFL to prove he could win at the highest level.
He compiled a 33-31 record as a head coach in the league, including one season with the New York Jets and three with the New England Patriots, making the playoffs twice in four seasons.
However, Carroll’s tenure in the pros, which ended in 1999, is viewed as mixed at best.
The Seahawks created a head coaching opening by firing Jim Mora on Friday after he finished with a 5-11 record in his first and only season in charge in Seattle.
The Seahawks may be calling for Carroll at the right time, with the Trojans facing the possibility of NCAA sanctions and Carroll’s relationship with USC athletic director Mike Garrett becoming strained.
The Trojans reportedly were interested in bringing back former USC assistant Steve Sarkisian, now the head coach at Washington, but Sarkisian said he’s not interested and that Washington is his dream job.
USC has another target in Oregon State coach Mike Riley, according to reports in Los Angeles-area papers.
Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke traveled to Los Angeles to hammer out contract details with Carroll on Friday. Reportedly at issue was the scope of Carroll’s role with the Seahawks, with Carroll wanting full control over the team’s football operations, and the Seahawks unwilling to relinquish control of the personnel department as they did with Mike Holmgren in 1999, leaving Carroll with control of just the 53-man roster.
A compromise could be setting up the chain of command so that Carroll reports directly to Leiweke.
The Seahawks also are expected to begin the process of hiring a general manager this week, with New England Patriots senior consultant Floyd Reese and Pittsburgh Steelers salary cap specialist Omar Khan the newest names added to the team’s list of finalists, according to reports from ESPN.com and the league’s Web site.
Those two join N.Y. Giants head of scouting Marc Ross and Green Bay Packers front-office executive John Schneider as candidates who will be interviewed by the team this week.
Reese has a history with Carroll, with the two coaching together for a season with the Minnesota Vikings in 1985.
Philadelphia general manager Tom Heckert and Baltimore Ravens personnel man Eric DeCosta withdrew their names from consideration for the general manager position last week. Heckert is set to join the Cleveland Browns as general manager today.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
eric.williams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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