(Ed note: Screw SI, We may have started the Inc.com curse. Stanford. Ugh.)
How do you define success? For the USC Trojans, national championships are the measuring stick. Right now, the men of Troy are at 11 and counting…
Head coach Pete Carroll took a little time out of his off-season regime to give the readers of Success magazine a little insight into his managerial prowess and what makes him tick (hint, it rhymes with swampetition). I now truly believe that inviting one particular alum turned business writer is just the karma USC needs to get to New Orleans on January 7.
At the very least, it would ease the pain of Success folding (the irony is more than duly noted).
Having worked for a number of magazines that went into the shredder, I’ve learned this: When life throws a new defensive wrinkle at you, call an audible. Thus, Inc.com has picked up the Pete Carroll package, which includes both an interview with Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and a picture of some paunchy dork being humbled by the manly girth of All-American offensive tackle Sam Baker.
To kickoff Carrollpalooza, here is an Inc.com slideshow of the Trojan Horse's lessons from the gridiron.
Fight on.
What does it take to win 90 percent of the time? Whether you're on the field or in the boardroom, there's a formula for success -- recruiting the right people, keeping them motivated, and finding ways to bring out their best abilities. A little help from Will Ferrell and Snoop Dogg never hurts either...
It's a couple of days before the annual University of Southern
California intrasqaud spring scrimmage and practice is buzzing. The intensity
of the players is only outdone by the coaching staff. Coordinators and position
coaches are flying around the field, jumping on backs, cajoling their
respective units, slapping fives, and doing whatever it takes to get the team
fired up for the public introduction of the 2007 Trojans. A few hundred fans,
family members, alumni, journalists, local high school players, and football
nuts in tracksuits and Trojan visors, take in the open practice and make
predictions on the upcoming season. It's a wild scene, especially considering
the season kickoff is still four months away. Standing in the eye of the storm, soaking up the choreographed chaos
in his sunglasses, is head coach Pete Carroll.
In any organization, leadership at the top is essential. And like a top-notch CEO, Carroll has to recruit the best talent, build a talented senior management group, create innovative models, and come up with an arsenal of motivational techniques. So far, he has done just that. Under Carroll's reign, the numbers don't lie, even though they may sound made up. Since a 2-5 start in 2001, Carroll's teams have gone 63-7 -- winning at a 90 percent clip -- prior to this season. As of late, the Trojans have won five straight Pac-10 titles and been to five consecutive BCS bowls. Carroll, however, isn't one to rest on his impressive laurels, because the only season that matters at this feisty practice is the next one.
So far, so good. The consensus preseason No. 1 team in 2007, the Trojans have opened up 4-0, including a 49-31 dismantling of the No. 14 Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. USC is off to fast start in the team's quest to win a third national championship in five years, but since there is no college playoff system and one loss can doom a system, it would seem like Carroll would never be able to relax and enjoy the ride.
Prior to the madness of the regular season, however, Carroll
is the epitome of California cool. Sitting in his office in an ensemble of jeans,
a loose-fitting black dress shirt, and loafers, he could just as easily be a
successful venture capitalist, albeit one who clutched a football throughout
our discussion. It would seem as though coaching at a perennial top-tier
program would mean a constant reevaluation of objectives, tactics and
personnel, but for Carroll, it all comes down to one goal. "This program
is built on a single thought -- that we want to do things better than they've
ever been done before," he says.
And it starts with making sure everyone in the USC family is empowered to achieve at the highest level. "We have a relentless ongoing process of proving to everyone in the program how they're worthy," Carroll says. "We want our players, coaches, and staff to be confident and understand the scope of their ability, so they know what they are capable of doing." Carroll's favorite word is "compete," which he doesn't define by the number of national championships, but rather by the ability of USC to maintain a high-level program year in and year out. It's an all-encompassing philosophy that reaches far beyond the hash marks.
In temperament, Carroll is a big-picture guy and understands
the nature of the USC beast. "I want to have as many distractions and
interferences as possible, so we learn to deal with it on a regular basis and
don't have to click in and click out of that mentality," he says. This
doesn't just include raucous practices, but also unique motivational tools that
may come across as fun-and-games to outsiders, but are all part of his overall
design. Unlike many of his surly, sleep-deprived brethren, Carroll seems to be
having fun on -- and off -- the Saturday afternoon sidelines. There aren't many
head coaches who would jump off into a pool off a high dive after practice, invite
Snoop Dogg, George Lucas, and the Fonz to hang around the team, or don a
"Ricky Bobby" NASCAR suit alongside alum (and good luck charm) Will
Ferrell to fire up the troops. Then again, there aren't many coaches who have
been ranked in the AP Top 10 for some 60 weeks. "I'll do anything I can to
teach and motivate, to help these guys focus on reaching a higher level,"
Carroll says.
The overall success of the program feeds upon itself, which is why the USC recruiting class is consistently ranked near the top. Carroll says that the sheer talent brought in every year serves as its own checks-and-balance system "We get guys who are puffed up, but when they get here, everybody is like that, so the level of competition around them evens it out," he says. "If they're not humbled just by coming in, they'll get humbled on the practice field." Carroll says it is a much bigger, but equally important, challenge to keep the guys way down on the depth chart engaged as it is to get the most of out stars like Heisman hopeful, quarterback John David Booty. "The more attention I pay to those guys, the better the juice is about the overall feeling of the team," Carroll says. "I want them to realize that without them, we wouldn't be a team. It might not be playing time, but we recognize them for what they do in practice, meetings, or drill work."
Collectively, it may be hard to keep success from going to the Trojans helmeted-heads, but Carroll understands the bigger picture. His overall record as coach of the NFL's New York Jets and New England Patriots is a pedestrian 34-33 (although he did take the Pats to the playoffs in 1997-98). And each campaign starts with a blank chalkboard, so it doesn't matter if numerous pigskin prognosticators have USC ranked as the preseason No. 1. Carroll is more concerned with meeting his long-term goal of being the best program -- ever. "I'm fine with it," he says of his pro record. "i think winning national championships is just as cool as the Super Bowl. I want to retire knowing we were good for a really long time. Nothing more."
Pete Carroll: At a Glance
Education: Degree in business administration from Pacific University; master's degree in physical education from Pacific University.
Coaching Career: Thirty-three years coaching experience. Carroll began as a graduate assistant at Pacific in 1974, later assistant-level stops included Arkansas, Iowa State, Ohio State, and North Carolina State. NFL coaching positions with the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, and the San Francisco 49ers. Head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots.
Coaching Achievements: Three time Pac-10 Coach of the Year and the nation's winningest active coach (84.4%) in six years at USC.
Salary: Reported to be in the $5 million-a-year range.
Community Work: Carroll works with local groups and organizations to combat urban issues through his anti-gang foundation, A Better LA.
Family: Married to Glena, the Carrolls have three grown children. Oldest son Brennan is tight ends coach at USC.
"What Coach Carroll Taught Me"
Carson Palmer, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals: "Coach Carroll is an easy guy to be around. He's
got that likeability, and because he loves and cares about the program, it's
infectious. He's sure of his abilities, but there is no arrogance or cockiness.
Unlike so many coaches, he doesn't just do things because that's how they've
always been done. Coach would turn drills into small competitions so they would
have more energy than a routine three-hour practice. Carroll and I would run
through plays, in a game we called 'football calls.' As a quarterback, he
taught me not to give the defense too much credit, not to assume the other side
of the ball isn't going to screw up, because that's often when big plays
happen. I learned to trust in seeing what I see and reading what I 
read. I've
taken that same approach in the NFL.
"The night before the Notre Dame game my senior season, Carroll loaded the team on the bus. Instead of going to the hotel for the usual meetings, we went to the [Los Angeles] Coliseum where all the lights were on. He had us huddle up at mid-field and hold hands. Coach wanted us to experience the peacefulness and the quiet, and to think about the USC tradition and what a special place it is to play…. 24 hours later the place was rocking with the biggest rivalry in sports. That's what makes it so much fun to play for him.
"The Bengals have had a lot of off-field issues recently, and I try to follow the example Coach Carroll set. He dealt with the guys with bad attitudes and the guys in trouble the same way as everyone else, even though they were giving his program a bad name. I try to lead by example, to let the guys know that football is my job and it's important to me, but to still be there for my teammates. I try to do what I can to help the guys going through tough times, as opposed to shunning them.
"If anything, I wish I had more than two years under Coach Carroll. I feel fortunate that our paths crossed."
Carson Palmer, the #1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft and a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, led the Bengals to the 2005 NFL playoffs after a 15-year drought. Palmer won the 2002 Heisman Trophy, finishing his USC career with a 38-17 victory over the University of Iowa in the Orange Bowl.
Brandon Hancock, USC Fullback 2002-2007: "I had season-ending injuries, twice. Coach Carroll
told me that certain people have intangible qualities and asked me to step up
and be a leader in the rehab room, to keep guys from getting down on
themselves. In football, you can be a hot commodity and then swept under the
rug a bit, but Carroll still managed to stop by and let us know that we could
come back stronger than before. He sees everything as an opportunity. Even when
I was on the sidelines, he encouraged me to be the biggest cheerleader and to
help the other fullbacks any way I could. You can't help but get on board.
"Carroll is fiery with enthusiasm, but he's also such a people-person that he always did a great job of keeping the pulse of the team and individual players. If he sensed dissension, he would confront the person one-on-one and see if they could remedy the problem themselves. His philosophy is bigger than the football program. It's not a four-year commitment, it's a forty-year commitment to the USC family. He brought back legends who wore the cardinal-and-gold like Sam Cunningham and Ronnie Lott and embraced the alumni. Some coaches wants to etch out their thing, but Coach Carroll went to the throwback jerseys to rekindle the essence of Trojan football.
"He's a prankster. One Halloween practice, he staged a
fight with running back LenDale White, who stormed off the field. A few minutes
later, White was on top of a nearby building, screaming, and then a dummy
wearing his jersey was thrown from the roof. It caused a big stir. Coach caught
some hell in the media for the fake suicide, but it was pretty funny. We loved
it. When there's work to be done, Carroll will drop the hammer, but he
understands it's about having fun. Some coaches are stoic and distant, but most
players call Carroll a cool cat. He's a great communicator and rhetorician, and
so passionate…I hope I can inspire people throughout my life as much as Carroll
has inspired mine."
Brandon Hancock was the starting fullback on two national championship teams. He carried a 3.91 undergrad GPA, was on track to receive a summer 2007 Masters in Communication Management and Entertainment, and will traveling with the Trojans this fall as a broadcaster for ESPN.
(Inc.com, September 2007)
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