Oh for Pete's Sake! Mama Needs to Have a Sit-down and Listen to Me Conversation with Mr. Carroll

Mama can't believe that Pete Carroll would even consider leaving USC to go to Atlanta. He's a demigod there, after all. If he were my son, I'd be sitting him down for a nice long conversation.First of all, lets all take a deep breath. It's a RUMOR. But, it has me pulling out my behavior/motivation forms from my day job to try to figure it out. But there's always two sides to every story, so let's look a little deeper.

First, Mama doesn't think it's money. USC could certainly figure out a way to keep him.

And I don't believe all those under-the-breath allegations of shakey NCAA rules and regs or racey starlets has anything to do with it. He's enthusiastic, up-beat, energetic and charismatic; he just doesn't strike me as a cut 'n run type of guy.

So let's look at facts. (Keep remembering that this is a rumor) You can hate him or love him, admire him or loathe him, but anyway you slice it, he has a record that's amazing. And in spite of what some people think, the Pac 10 is no cake-walk. Ask Michigan. Or LSU a few years ago when they were a kick away from getting beat by Oregon State. but that's another story. Pete Carroll is undeniably one of the best COLLEGE coaches in the country, and has the ability to do even more. So why would he even think about leaving?

Mama has an idea, and it's probably not a novel one. A man with that much energy just needs a new challenge. Mama is old, and I can tell you that it doesn't matter if you've done well, and have been successful. New challenges keep you young. And I think Pete is young at heart and wants to stay that way. But there's more. He's an excellent college coach, but everyone knows he didn't fare so well in the NFL. It was two steps forward, one step back, stumble and fall, get back up, one step foward and two steps back. He just kept trying to ride that bucking horse, until finally he decided to save that rodeo for another time. Well, it's that time now. Underneath all those effervescent smiles, there's a bad taste in Pete's mouth. He just has to try to ride that horse to a stand-still. And Mama wouldn't care quite so much, if it wasn't Atlanta. I think a better match would be the Redskins. Much easier transition into Joe Gibbs' shoes than to drop into the disarray of the Falcons.

I've always thought he might go. If not this year, then next year. He has to, to face himself. And I thought I'd be relieved not to have to worry about Oregon's Bellotti matching wits with him. But Mama's not dancin' in the street, cause I think he's making a mistake. I don't think he realizes right now how rewarding it is to reach out, to teach and help young men the way he has. But that bad taste is over-riding it all right now. I just think he may wake up one morning and do the head-slap thing and ask himself, (say it with me)"What was I Thinkin'?"

So Mama likes to look on the bright side. If he does go to Atlanta, maybe he can work some of that magic on our ex-Duck Joey Harrington. I'm sure he's still coachable; Pete knows him a little, and surely if anyone can figure out what's happening there, Coach Carroll can. That is, if Joey is still there. And the move, if there is one, should make things interesting here on the left coast.

Sometimes, a mother's just gotta let 'em go.