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Carroll's Jets season was a wild ride
Hoops, bowling and a fake spike marked brief run in N.Y. for Seattle's Super coach
Time has weathered his boyish looks, and his salt-and-pepper hair has lost the pepper. He's no longer a boy wonder, but Pete Carroll is enjoying his wonder year at 62. He's one victory from the pinnacle of his profession and, perhaps fittingly, it could happen where he experienced his absolute low.
Carroll was the New York Jets' coach in 1994, and he never made it to 1995 because of a perfect storm that some people still can't explain. He was undermined by a Hall of Fame quarterback's sleight of hand, by sports-talk radio, by a friend's cancer diagnosis, by a firing in Philadelphia and by a reticent owner who, overnight, became George Steinbrenner with a suntan.
The Jets were a black hole for most of the 1990s, and Carroll -- so young, so vibrant -- got sucked into the nothingness after a 6-10 record. He was fired a week after the season, blindsided by the news. He hasn't talked much about it over the years. Earlier this week, Carroll -- now the coach of the Seattle Seahawks, returning to New Jersey for Super Bowl XLVIII -- said it was "kind of a hairy time." And he didn't say much more than that about his first head-coaching gig.
Some scars just don't heal.
"Why the hell did we fire him?" former Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason asked this week. "I've talked to Pete over the years and I still haven't gotten a good answer. It's frustrating as hell."
Esiason showed up to the Jets' facility after the '94 season to pick up a bonus check, looked out a window and noticed Rich Kotite in the parking lot. Kotite had just been fired by the Philadelphia Eagles, so Esiason thought that maybe he was joining Carroll's staff as a position coach. In reality, Kotite was tabbed to replace Carroll, plunging the organization deeper into chaos.
Before it turned ugly -- a five-game losing streak at the end of the season -- there were actually a few months of hope and promise.
The Jets' former defensive coordinator, promoted to replace close friend Bruce Coslet after a disappointing finish in 1993, was an instant hit. Carroll reinvigorated the organization with his energy, enthusiasm and upbeat approach, creating a Boys Club atmosphere. He held free throw shooting contests, home run derbies, bowling nights and family picnics. He walked the hallways bouncing a basketball and he blasted James Brown in his office during the late nights of devising game plans.
"If Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick are black coffee, Pete is spiced latte," said Esiason, comparing their coaching styles.
Carroll installed a basketball court adjacent to the practice field, complete with a fiberglass backboard and a professionally lined, synthetic surface. In retrospect, it became the symbol of his coaching tenure.
After practice, he'd play three-on-three with his coaches, often times as reporters watched, waiting to interview him. Carroll, a terrific athlete, conducted more than a few interviews with sweat dripping from his brow. This was long before the days of live, totally predictable news conferences.
During practice, Carroll let reporters on the court, occasionally resulting in an errant shot that rolled into the middle of the field. Nothing can replace the sight of a basketball scooting past the legendary Ronnie Lott in a defensive backs drill ("Little help?"), but, hey, no one seemed to mind. Pete was cool with everything.
"Playing for Pete was -- I don't want to say a walk in the park -- but he made it fun," former defensive end Jeff Lageman said. "We understood that it's a bottom-line business, but you were able to come to work, have fun and enjoy the game in its original form."
Lageman said Carroll had an "Eastern philosophy" that reminded him of Phil Jackson, the NBA's Zen Master. Carroll emphasized the journey, not the destination, and his players rallied around him. Even when he tried to get tough, he followed with a punch line.
One time, Carroll feigned anger in a defensive meeting, claiming he was disappointed with the effort in a morning walk-through. He showed a tape of the walk-through, deciding to pick on Lott for not hustling. Lott, one of the fiercest competitors there ever was, sat in his chair, fuming. The room was silent.
"Ronnie had steam coming out of his ears," Lageman said. "After a couple of plays, Pete stopped the film and said, 'We just can't have this kind of thing.' Ronnie was about to come unglued, jump out of his chair and kick Pete's ass."
A second later, a message flashed on the big screen: LET'S GO BOWLING.
The players roared with laughter.
"It was all a big joke," Lageman said. "We went to a bowling alley, drank beer and bowled."
Carroll was willing to try almost anything to break up the monotony of the football routine, a method he still applies with the Seahawks. In Jets training camp, he signed former World Cup soccer goalkeeper Tony Meola as a place-kicker. On some days, the Jets ended practice with penalty kicks, with the players -- even 300-pound linemen -- trying to boot a soccer ball past Meola.
Carroll's unconventional ways were designed to foster team chemistry and competition, as there was always a competitive element to his quirky extracurricular activities.
He also believed in the psychology of sports at a time when it wasn't fashionable to think outside the box. For instance, he took a big picture of Giants Stadium and hung it in a meeting room. At the time, the Jets rented from the New York Giants, creating a stigma that some believe hurt their ability to have a home-field advantage.
Rest at link---Pete Carroll's only season as New York Jets coach was a wild ride - ESPN
Hoops, bowling and a fake spike marked brief run in N.Y. for Seattle's Super coach
Time has weathered his boyish looks, and his salt-and-pepper hair has lost the pepper. He's no longer a boy wonder, but Pete Carroll is enjoying his wonder year at 62. He's one victory from the pinnacle of his profession and, perhaps fittingly, it could happen where he experienced his absolute low.
Carroll was the New York Jets' coach in 1994, and he never made it to 1995 because of a perfect storm that some people still can't explain. He was undermined by a Hall of Fame quarterback's sleight of hand, by sports-talk radio, by a friend's cancer diagnosis, by a firing in Philadelphia and by a reticent owner who, overnight, became George Steinbrenner with a suntan.
The Jets were a black hole for most of the 1990s, and Carroll -- so young, so vibrant -- got sucked into the nothingness after a 6-10 record. He was fired a week after the season, blindsided by the news. He hasn't talked much about it over the years. Earlier this week, Carroll -- now the coach of the Seattle Seahawks, returning to New Jersey for Super Bowl XLVIII -- said it was "kind of a hairy time." And he didn't say much more than that about his first head-coaching gig.
Some scars just don't heal.
"Why the hell did we fire him?" former Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason asked this week. "I've talked to Pete over the years and I still haven't gotten a good answer. It's frustrating as hell."
Esiason showed up to the Jets' facility after the '94 season to pick up a bonus check, looked out a window and noticed Rich Kotite in the parking lot. Kotite had just been fired by the Philadelphia Eagles, so Esiason thought that maybe he was joining Carroll's staff as a position coach. In reality, Kotite was tabbed to replace Carroll, plunging the organization deeper into chaos.
Before it turned ugly -- a five-game losing streak at the end of the season -- there were actually a few months of hope and promise.
The Jets' former defensive coordinator, promoted to replace close friend Bruce Coslet after a disappointing finish in 1993, was an instant hit. Carroll reinvigorated the organization with his energy, enthusiasm and upbeat approach, creating a Boys Club atmosphere. He held free throw shooting contests, home run derbies, bowling nights and family picnics. He walked the hallways bouncing a basketball and he blasted James Brown in his office during the late nights of devising game plans.
"If Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick are black coffee, Pete is spiced latte," said Esiason, comparing their coaching styles.
Carroll installed a basketball court adjacent to the practice field, complete with a fiberglass backboard and a professionally lined, synthetic surface. In retrospect, it became the symbol of his coaching tenure.
After practice, he'd play three-on-three with his coaches, often times as reporters watched, waiting to interview him. Carroll, a terrific athlete, conducted more than a few interviews with sweat dripping from his brow. This was long before the days of live, totally predictable news conferences.
During practice, Carroll let reporters on the court, occasionally resulting in an errant shot that rolled into the middle of the field. Nothing can replace the sight of a basketball scooting past the legendary Ronnie Lott in a defensive backs drill ("Little help?"), but, hey, no one seemed to mind. Pete was cool with everything.
"Playing for Pete was -- I don't want to say a walk in the park -- but he made it fun," former defensive end Jeff Lageman said. "We understood that it's a bottom-line business, but you were able to come to work, have fun and enjoy the game in its original form."
Lageman said Carroll had an "Eastern philosophy" that reminded him of Phil Jackson, the NBA's Zen Master. Carroll emphasized the journey, not the destination, and his players rallied around him. Even when he tried to get tough, he followed with a punch line.
One time, Carroll feigned anger in a defensive meeting, claiming he was disappointed with the effort in a morning walk-through. He showed a tape of the walk-through, deciding to pick on Lott for not hustling. Lott, one of the fiercest competitors there ever was, sat in his chair, fuming. The room was silent.
"Ronnie had steam coming out of his ears," Lageman said. "After a couple of plays, Pete stopped the film and said, 'We just can't have this kind of thing.' Ronnie was about to come unglued, jump out of his chair and kick Pete's ass."
A second later, a message flashed on the big screen: LET'S GO BOWLING.
The players roared with laughter.
"It was all a big joke," Lageman said. "We went to a bowling alley, drank beer and bowled."
Carroll was willing to try almost anything to break up the monotony of the football routine, a method he still applies with the Seahawks. In Jets training camp, he signed former World Cup soccer goalkeeper Tony Meola as a place-kicker. On some days, the Jets ended practice with penalty kicks, with the players -- even 300-pound linemen -- trying to boot a soccer ball past Meola.
Carroll's unconventional ways were designed to foster team chemistry and competition, as there was always a competitive element to his quirky extracurricular activities.
He also believed in the psychology of sports at a time when it wasn't fashionable to think outside the box. For instance, he took a big picture of Giants Stadium and hung it in a meeting room. At the time, the Jets rented from the New York Giants, creating a stigma that some believe hurt their ability to have a home-field advantage.
Rest at link---Pete Carroll's only season as New York Jets coach was a wild ride - ESPN
