Osprey was not necessarily for the hiring of Carroll and took a wait and see approach. now he loves the guy.. Everyone else in the league cant stand his smug ass. Just shows when he is your smug ass you can overlook it.
Heh.
I remember him as the coach of the Pats & Jets - dealing with the northeast media and more often than not coming off confused, lacking confidence and not really being able to win the support of his players or owners.
Next thing I know he's the smiling face that is starting to dominate college at USC - a school where the best thing I can say about them is that they aren't Notre Dame ....... but clearly a lot of success and a lot of buy in
USC definitely didn't get any more likeable with him there - a lot of the players that were visible were kind of obnoxious and pranks like the Lendale White fake suicide were just stupid
I was definitely skeptical of him coming in - not because of anything at USC, but because I couldn't shake those NE & NYJ teams ..... also wasn't quite sure what to expect from the guy ...... but the team made the commitment, so what can you do - I'm a Seahawks fan, he's the Seahawks coach and if it blows up they'll just fire him and life goes on
However, the difference was very noticeable with the press - this guy had confidence and the full support of ownership. He found a GM that was aggressive and they formed a tight partnership.
Hasselbeck tells a story about when he first started at one of the early meetings he asked every player to stand up - then he asked them to switch chairs on the other side of the room ........ one veteran player just stood there - he was cut within the week
He made sure that he wasn't going to fail this time due to a lack of players of owners buying into what he did and had the confidence that his way would be successful
That first year they had almost 300 roster moves - there was no preferential treatment to USC guys or really anyone ..... the best players will make the team and those that give the best opportunity to win will play .... the game is about the football - keep it, control it and take it away and things will go well
He manages his coaches very well - he manages his roster very well - puts in a ton of hours, very organized and for someone who comes off as always upbeat is very old school and very no-nonsense in his approach
He's also fantastic in the community
So basically I respect his approach
I love how he manages the program and his philosophy to football - after watching years of front office power struggles, bend but don't break finesse defense and a precision offense that would stumble anytime one of the pieces went down it's nice to have a team that is focused on just grinding on teams that lives by next man up all the way down to how the roster is put together
As far as the in-game coach ....... I think there is still some work to be done there
He's proven to be a good engineer & mechanic - but can he handle the car he made? - it's not a given that he can
However, for everything else - yeah ... I enjoy having him as the coach - entertaining, dedicated, honest, good style of play .... a good fit in Seattle
His in-game conduct is nicer than Holmgren who would erupt at least 2-3x per game ....... he doesn't feel the need to bury kickers in press conference or decry the need for more dirtbags like Mora ..... there is no infighting
He's built a team of players that win or lose is fun to follow - they play hard, stick up for each other and there are no dividing lines on the roster ....... the 8th receiver on the roster makes a whatever catch in a preseason game? - the starting DBs are the first ones to slap him on the back when he gets to the sideline ...... they're all out for each other and that makes it fun
I can definitely understand and relate to the perception - I definitely used to carry it as well ....... I can also understand how he would rub people the wrong way, but perception doesn't match reality IMO
Here is a Q&A with Hasselbeck where he responds to the "rah-rah" stuff
On Coach Carroll's rah-rah attitude and how it has influenced the Seahawks
"I think he's got that reputation as a rah-rah guy, but I wouldn't say that. He looks young but I think he's the second-oldest coach in the NFL. He is very much an old school guy. Most of his talks to the team go back to guys like John Wooden, Bud Grant or different people he coached or played with in San Francisco or wherever, even in college, stories that none of us even remember, hardly. Today I was talking to him about the '85 Bears, the game they played in Minnesota, he was in Minnesota at the time. So I don't see him as a college coach. I know he spent the last nine years at USC as a college coach, but I really see him as a long-time NFL coach who happened to go to USC for nine years to perfect his coaching style.
So yeah .... he's our jerk and we like it
Although honestly, there are still Seahawks fans (read as Duck, Huskie & Coug fans) that really don't like the guy - insinuate that everything he does is a lie, etc and there was a definite backlash when he was hired
