Pete Caroll to the Dolphins?

[Ranger12 46]

Pete Caroll is vacationing in Costa Rica right now and a Dolphins owned plane just recently landed there. As a Dolphins fan, I say why the heck not?

Link

MIAMI -- Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga's travel itinerary suggests he's trying to lure Southern California coach Pete Carroll back to the NFL.

Carroll has been on vacation in Costa Rica, and a Huizenga-owned plane flew there Sunday, then returned to Fort Lauderdale, according to flight records. The same plane was used to take Dolphins officials to Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Diego, Jacksonville and Minneapolis to interview candidates to replace Nick Saban.

[Raven_tiger 5]

Pete has been there and done that. He is King at USC, earns a good salary, why change?

[jdub5793 0]

Think it's possible? Think it'd even work?

[autiger518 1]

Please for the sake of all that is good and holy please dont let Caroll become the coach of my Phins. Wayne, get your head out of your a$$ and stop going after college coaches.

[JohnDeere 0]

Why would CPC leave USC? He doesn't have to worry about the Salary Cap in So Cal.

[WAR-MATT 2]

Please for the sake of all that is good and holy please dont let Caroll become the coach of my Phins. Wayne, get your head out of your a$$ and stop going after college coaches.

I did not think WH would go after another college coach.

[Ranger12 46]

Please for the sake of all that is good and holy please dont let Caroll become the coach of my Phins. Wayne, get your head out of your a$$ and stop going after college coaches.

But, you have to think about the fact that before Saban, he hired two former NFL head coaches and they did not get the job done either as far as getting our team to the Super Bowl. Wannstedt did okay, but he resigned and went back to the college ranks at Pittsburgh after spending 15 years in the NFL, 11 of those as a head coach.

I thought for sure Jimmy Johnson would have took us to a SB... I mean the guy had already won a MNC at the college level and a Super Bowl with the Cowboys, but that did not pan out either.

Looking at available coaches with NFL head coaching experience, the pickings are pretty slim as far as I think who could get the job done. So who doe he go after? I say bring Coach Don Shula back and Marino as the OC/QB coach. The good things is that those two guys are heading the panel to search for a new coach, so maybe Wayne will finally find the right man for the job this time.

[SouthLink02 8]

I agree with Wilbon on PTI on ESPN

Carroll has done it all at USC. He has been king of the mountain for 3-4 years now.

He may get that itch to try and show people that his NFL stint originally was not who he is...which many college coaches want to show, imo, after being the best in college.

[autiger518 1]

Please for the sake of all that is good and holy please dont let Caroll become the coach of my Phins. Wayne, get your head out of your a$$ and stop going after college coaches.

But, you have to think about the fact that before Saban, he hired two former NFL head coaches and they did not get the job done either as far as getting our team to the Super Bowl. Wannstedt did okay, but he resigned and went back to the college ranks at Pittsburgh after spending 15 years in the NFL, 11 of those as a head coach.

I thought for sure Jimmy Johnson would have took us to a SB... I mean the guy had already won a MNC at the college level and a Super Bowl with the Cowboys, but that did not pan out either.

Looking at available coaches with NFL head coaching experience, the pickings are pretty slim as far as I think who could get the job done. So who doe he go after? I say bring Coach Don Shula back and Marino as the OC/QB coach. The good things is that those two guys are heading the panel to search for a new coach, so maybe Wayne will finally find the right man for the job this time.

Bud, trust me, I know the pickings are slim but I would rather take a chance on an unknown assistant (ie a Sean Payton) then go after Pete Carroll (more on why in a sec). I totally agree that Wayne sucks at picking a head coach, but you have to understand as well that the NFL coaches he picked were not good representations of the league.

Lets take a trip down memory road...First off "amen" we should have never fired Shula, and I would be all for Shula coming back, but I doubt he would even if Wayne did offer him the job. Now, in comes Jimmy Johnson the savior of the great Dolphins.....WRONG...let me tell you right now that all JJ was doing was drawing a Social Security paycheck...Don't get me wrong I thought Johnson was a good hire at the time but the moment he hired Wanstache, I started to think things were gonna go downhill.....quick. It is a well known fact down here that JJ didnt even show up in the second year of his contract, Wanstache (or just Stache) was running the team, JJ showed up about Wednesday before game day.

So JJ leaves and were stuck with Stache, a guy that pretty much ran the Chicago Bears into the ground...(He led the Bears to only one postseason appearance in his 6 years at Chicago and compiled a 41-57 record. After posting back-to-back 4-12 seasons, sound familiar) this was the beginning of the end for the Miami Dolphins we know and love.

In comes Nick Saban (again at the time I agreed with the hire, I was especially glad to see Wanstache go). I never would have thought the Saban would leave the Phins in worse shape then when he found them....(one caveot: this is as of right now, I still have faith the Culpepper Experiment still could work).

Now back to Carroll, IMHO no one coach is gonna miraculously turn the Phins around, they need a complete overhaul (a la Patriots) we need to drop everything we have and go after good young talent and build a team with chemistry. Carroll has been in the NFL....he has failed in the NFL...Totally different beast IMO...the hours are different you have to work 365 days a year as an NFL coach, you have to deal with salary caps, and free agents and blah... blah... blah... There have been a few successful college coaches that have made the trasition to the NFL but they are very few, so many more have successfully made the opposite trasition from NFL to College. Carroll is another Saban he's a whiner, its never his fault, and I believe the end result would be the same, he would be gone in a few years. We need a guy who has NFL experience and who can help rebuild the Phins, I dont know who that is, but I certainly dont think its Pete Carroll.

[autiger518 1]

Now something that I would be interested in seeing is Shula take the job for this year only, and next year when Belichick's Contract is up with the Pats go after him, or talk to Cowher after he's had his one year vacation, he has already stated that a return for him is not out of the question, he just wanted to take some time off.

[Ranger12 46]

Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that Pete Caroll is the man for the job. I am just saying that so far, coaches with NFL head coaching experience have not fared any better then a college coach when it comes to the Phins. Though I would say that Saban has been the biggest bust since Coach Shula retired. So, that was why I asked, who does he go after? Can he limit himself to the NFL only at this point? I don't know what the correct answer is.

Like you said, there needs to be a complete overhaul and younger talent. Our defense is probably close to being the oldest in the league. But, we also need to get a QB that is a threat because RB is never going to amount to anything in Miami as being the only offense we have, especially with our crappy OL.

I think Shula would come back if asked. He has already accepted Wayne's offer to help lead the search. Shula's departure was more cordial between he and Wayne then it was led to be believed in the media. Wayne never fired Shula, but he "retired", even though that retirement was a little forced. But that was because the natives were restless with some pretty mediocre seasons in Shula's last couple of years and Shula knew it was time to step aside so that he did not put his good friend in a tough spot of having to fire him. But, he did not do it until he knew Wayne had a good replacement lined up, which is why JJ was announced soon after Shula's retirement.

Our problem ever since the prime Marino days, and I am actually old enough to remember when Dan Marino was a rookie back in 1983, was that we never had a consistent RB behind him. We had some decent ones for a season here or there, but nothing consistent, which is why the guy is #1 all time in pass attempts, among the other records he holds. Now the Phins finally have a RB that could be a consistent threat, but as luck would have it, we can't find a decent QB now.

[AUloggerhead 2,253]

Carroll says no right now, but he sounds intrigued at the idea: Link

C

arroll says he's staying at USC, but likes Huizenga's ideas

Jan. 9, 2007

CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- Pete Carroll says he's committed to staying at Southern California, but the coach of the Trojans seems intrigued by how Wayne Huizenga runs the Miami Dolphins.

Carroll said Tuesday that he met with the Miami owner for about four hours in Costa Rica over the weekend. The Dolphins have been without a head coach since Nick Saban left to take the Alabama job last week.

"This was the one instance I've come in contact with that has all the elements I have talked about," Carroll said at a news conference on campus. "(Huizenga) has structured a program where the head coach has the entire say, from top to bottom.

"It's a one-voice program. I don't think there are any other situations like that in the NFL."

Carroll said he was not offered the Miami coaching job, and stressed that he has never thought about leaving USC since arriving after the 2000 season.

Don't worry, Trojans fans: Pete Carroll is staying put. (US Presswire)

"I'm thrilled to be here," he said. "As I've been the whole time, I haven't wavered. I know that being curious about it has helped me appreciate what we have here.

"I absolutely expect to be here."

The 55-year-old Carroll formerly coached the New York Jets and New England Patriots before coming to USC, and has often said he preferred coaching in the college ranks because he had complete control.

"It was a major statement he made finding me out there," Carroll said regarding the meeting. "In a situation where you have an alternative, it's worth finding out what it is.

"This was the only time I've even thought about talking with anybody (from the NFL). Here's a situation where a guy would give a head coach the opportunity to do anything he wanted to do. He's an awesome guy."

Carroll also said: "I love the Trojans. I love being here, we're in the middle of something that's really special. I don't want to take any steps away from it."

Huizenga met with Carroll on Sunday. The Dolphins owner initiated contact, leaving messages on Carroll's cell phone, and the USC coach said he felt obligated "to at least listen."

Carroll said he had no idea as to the progress of the Dolphins' coaching search and didn't know if or when he would speak with Huizenga again.

I've got to tell you that I'm always chasing a challenge," Carroll said. "I'm teased by all challenges."

Advertisement

Carroll returned Tuesday from Costa Rica, where he had been vacationing since No. 4 USC beat No. 8 Michigan 32-18 in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The Trojans have won 56 of their last 60 games and figure to enter the 2007 season as one of the nation's top-ranked teams.

Only four USC players who started in the Rose Bowl are seniors, although there's a good possibility leading receiver Dwayne Jarrett will pass up his final year of eligibility to turn pro. Jarrett, a two-time All-American, will announce his future plans at a news conference Wednesday.

Carroll has coached the Trojans to an unprecedented five straight Bowl Championship Series appearances. USC is 59-6 in the past five seasons, and 65-12 in his six years as head coach.

The Trojans beat Oklahoma 55-19 in the BCS title game following the 2004 season and lost to Texas 41-38 in the championship game the following year. USC was bypassed for the title game following the 2003 season before beating Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl to win the Associated Press national championship.

Carroll coached the Jets to a 6-10 record in 1994, and New England to a 27-21 mark and two playoff appearances from 1997-99 before being fired and replaced by Bill Belichick, who has coached the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships. However, they were 5-11 in 2000 before Belichick turned them around.

Carroll took the 2000 season off before being hired to replace the fired Paul Hackett.

Carroll is one of the highest-paid coaches in college, but Huizenga last week said: "I don't care what it takes, what it costs, what's involved. We're going to make this a winning franchise."

The Dolphins have failed to make the playoffs the past five seasons, a team record.

Carroll said he left a message for USC athletic director Mike Garrett after agreeing to speak with Huizenga.

[saniflush 0]

Carroll says no right now, but he sounds intrigued at the idea:

Maybe he has been to the Nick Saban School of answering questions.

[autiger518 1]

Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that Pete Caroll is the man for the job. I am just saying that so far, coaches with NFL head coaching experience have not fared any better then a college coach when it comes to the Phins. Though I would say that Saban has been the biggest bust since Coach Shula retired. So, that was why I asked, who does he go after? Can he limit himself to the NFL only at this point? I don't know what the correct answer is.

Like you said, there needs to be a complete overhaul and younger talent. Our defense is probably close to being the oldest in the league. But, we also need to get a QB that is a threat because RB is never going to amount to anything in Miami as being the only offense we have, especially with our crappy OL.

I think Shula would come back if asked. He has already accepted Wayne's offer to help lead the search. Shula's departure was more cordial between he and Wayne then it was led to be believed in the media. Wayne never fired Shula, but he "retired", even though that retirement was a little forced. But that was because the natives were restless with some pretty mediocre seasons in Shula's last couple of years and Shula knew it was time to step aside so that he did not put his good friend in a tough spot of having to fire him. But, he did not do it until he knew Wayne had a good replacement lined up, which is why JJ was announced soon after Shula's retirement.

Our problem ever since the prime Marino days, and I am actually old enough to remember when Dan Marino was a rookie back in 1983, was that we never had a consistent RB behind him. We had some decent ones for a season here or there, but nothing consistent, which is why the guy is #1 all time in pass attempts, among the other records he holds. Now the Phins finally have a RB that could be a consistent threat, but as luck would have it, we can't find a decent QB now.

Sorry ranger I didnt mean to imply you wanted Carroll, I just really dont want him. I do agree with you that there seems to be slim pickins out there for an NFL head guy but I think it would be much better to go after an NFL Assistant who has the experience and dealings and has been successful at the professional level. I would love to say Norm Chow, but I dont think he has been in it long enough. It would be one thing if the Dolphins were a decent team to bring in a coach like Carroll or Chow, but since we have so many problems and need a complete overhaul my thoughts are that you dont want someone who is learning ($aban) you want someone who knows what he is doing (Maybe a Belichick Assistant, Cohwer Assitant)

You hit the nail on the head with the problems of the team, Our defense isnt close to being the oldest in the league it is the oldest, Saban got rid of our great corners Madison and Surtain and we had 5 total picks on the year, our best players Zach and Jason arent getting younger and they are either gonna retire soon or look for a team that they can win something with. Offense needs to be totally overhauled, O-Line has got to be the worst in the league, We havent had a first string QB worth a damn since Marino retired, RB position is good (would be better if Ronnie had a line) we need other go to WR's other than Chambers (although I do like Welker, but imo hes to short to be an everydown receiver), but again I think it all starts with a QB!

[jdub5793 0]

ESPN reports that Carroll has "vowed" to remain USC's head coach. I guess that means he's packing his bags and writing those e-mails.

[Ranger12 46]

ESPN reports that Carroll has "vowed" to remain USC's head coach. I guess that means he's packing his bags and writing those e-mails.

Yeah, I just read that too. But, unlike Saban, he did not say he was not going to the Dolphins, just said he was staying the coach at USC, which is the typical coach speak you hear.

autiger518, the one guy on the offense, besides Ronnie, that I think has the potential to have a solid NFL career is Welker. That dude hustles and plays hard. He has great hands and knows how to get positive yards after a catch. But, if we don't find a QB to exploit that guys talents, we will lose him to somebody else when it comes contract time.

I was glad to hear Jason Taylor was coming back. Like you said, he and ZT are not getting any younger, but they sure can still play ball like a youngster. But, I give them three more years at the most before they either retire or, like you said, they move on to somebody that has a chance of getting them to a Super Bowl.

I know one thing, not matter who we hire, I am going to try not to get my hopes up until I see something on the field. The Phins have turned into what the Red Sox use to be for me until they finally won a World Series.

The Redskins are my other favorite NFL team. I have always liked the Dolphins ever since I can remember and I don't know why I ever started liking them as a kid (probably something silly as liking the uniforms or colors), but I can specifically remember why I started liking the Skins...John Riggins. I remember watching them on TV one day and thought Riggens was the coolest and most badass football player I had ever seen. So, they became my other favorite team.

Good thing that worked out with them both being in different conferences.But if they play each other, I always pull more for the Dolphins. However, with JC being the starter now and wanting to see him succeed really bad after all the crap he went through in college, it is going to be a toss up for me when it comes time for them to play each other again. If by some miracle they play each other in the Super Bowl, I don't know what I will do.

[autiger518 1]

Well something I heard on Miami Sprts Radio yesterday that I actually agree with ....although I dont see it happening, it would be awesome. Was the talk about maybe promoting Capers (giving him a bump in salary for 2007) and then making a hard push for Cohwer for 08. Again I dont think it would happen I think Wayne wants a coach now....but man I would take Cohwer in a heartbeat even itf that meant having to endure another crappy season.

At least they have quit talking about Pinickhio although they have offered him some choice nick names.

[SouthLink02 8]

ESPN's John Clayton had a report that USC's assistant coach/DC (or maybe OC...forgot which one) was not inter-viewing with another team for a HC position because he wasn't "sure" what Carroll was actually doing in terms of the Dolphins.