Very overrated as a coach in my opinion. Lets look at what he has had to work with and what he's produced. What coach wouldn't want these recruits? 2008 2 *****, 13 **** 2007 6 *****, 10 **** 2006 4 *****, 14 **** 2005 3 *****, 9 **** 2004 8 *****, 6 **** Thats 23 five star and and 52 star four star recruits over the last five years. This is the nucleus of his team. A team with that kind of talent doesn't: (1) 2008 (thus far) lose to an unranked 25 point dog; (2) 2007 lose to Stanford at home and Oregon; and (3) 2006 lose to Oregon State and UCLA. The media gives this guy waaay too much credit and praise. With the recruits USC has they should march through the Pac 10 every year without even breaking a sweat. Trouble is the coach buys into all of the hype and fails to keep his team grounded and focused to play teams that don't have nearly the talent that they have. However, many in the medial ignore the obvious shortcomings of this coach ( does a defensivie genius' team give up 27 points to Oregon State? )and continue to prop him and his team up at the beginning of every season. CONCLUSION: Pete Carroll is a great recruiter but only a mediocre coach.
When you have that many highly sought after recruits on your team, you're going to have serious ego problems with the players. Every one of these kids have been told how great they are their entire lives. They have great players, but they do not have a unified team. A team with no role-players cannot win all of the time. There is, as the old adage goes, no I in team. Jacob Hester is the perfect example of a guy that knows his role and plays it well. He's not the most gifted in terms of strength or speed, but he knows what his limits are and maximizes his potential, instead of trying to be someone he's not. You need these types of guys on a team to be successful.
And maybe he's not a great recruiter. Living in LA can be quite intoxicating in its own right for those high school kids.
part of this is encouraged by the coaching staff. last night it clearly looked like cj gable had the hot hand yet they kept giving it to mcknight who was clearly in a funk. 7 rushes 10 yards, a fumble, a few bobbles and dropped passes.
Very true. But, hey, I'm not going to argue: McKnight proved that he's still Mr. Butterfingers. :lol:
No, he is very much that great of a recruiter from all accounts. It seems as though his problem may be in the discipline of his team. To me, discipline doesn't just mean your guys going to class and not committing crimes but being able to show up, not overlook opponents and play up to your potential. They have only once done this and it was in 2004. With his ability and the school's ability to recruit, and the weak conference they play in, they should have more hardware than anyone. The fact that they don't can only point to coaching over the long term.
i think it validates your point. you better keep the egos fed for happiness in LaLa land. even at risk of losing. I wonder what would happen if petey benched McKnight after his 2nd bobble as les did trindon. you know, that track star/Olympic dude on our team.
Id say he is a pretty good coach. 7 titles in a row and 1 national title. in like 7 years? im not sure he should be punished for havign that talent on his team -- he was the one that went out and got it. recruiting is part of coaching, and hes pretty good at it.
Seriously? Put LSU in the PAC 10 with no other serious competition, and we'd have 7 PAC 10 titles, too. But I think we'd have managed more than one cystal football. Oh, wait, we DO have more than one in that same span. I think it means more, being that we're from the SEC, where the league titles are harder to win than the NCG.
You are right but what is the alternative? UCLA??? Maybe this is a sign of the times and good players will start spreading the wealth around the rest of the PAC ? SC going much further without some crystal come February and that may very well be the path. Careful what you wish for PAC ? because if mediocrity takes over your near future then that playoff system you have been dying for may just come to fruition with the alliance of a PAC 12!!! Time to smell the coffee…
