Stay Home, Pete! Carroll Mentioned for Atlanta Falcons Post

Sure, Pete, you can be the boss of all personnel. Of course we have faith you're the man for the job, Mr. Carroll.

Arthur Blank, I pity thee.

Reports are that University of Southern California head coach Pete Carroll is considering an offer for the head coaching job of the Atlanta Falcons. As a fan of this organization, I hope for his sake he declines.

College coaches have generally taken to the NFL with little success. Just ask the 'ol ball coach Steve Spurrier: In two season with the Washington Redskins, he went 12-20, after winning six SEC titles and one national championship while sporting a 122-27-1 record. Or how about Butch Davis: After having the Miami Hurricanes at #2 in the nation thanks to an 11-1 season, he left for the Cleveland Browns. 24 wins and 35 losses later, he now is at the University of North Carolina. Since 1994, eight college coaches have jumped to the NFL, and only one has a winning record: Tom Coughlin. And we've all heard about the troubles he has with his players.

There are several good reasons for Carroll to stay put in the college ranks. Although he has previous NFL experience, coaching the New York Jets to a 6-10 record and the New England Patriots to a division title and consecutive playoff berths, that was before this millennium. He has been ensconced in college, recruiting players and fielding dominant teams since 2000.

In addition, the Falcons are not exactly a prime position. Although complete personnel control would be given, eliminating a common roadblock for college coaches, Carroll would still have to start planning for the NFL draft and then get key players such as DeAngelo Hall re-signed. It's not exactly just getting a recruit to sign for a full ride-instead, the agent, the player, and the team must all be happy with an agreement.

All of this pales in comparison to the reality of the state of what would be his inherited football team. The players are fed up, first by Michael Vick and then by Bobby Petrino. The future is bleak: Although this year's draft could be the first signs of improvement, the reality is it will take at least two years for the Falcons to be competitive again. It's been a while for Carroll to be on the losing side of the .500 mark.

Pete Carroll is a fantastic coach. I'm not knocking all that he has accomplished at USC. But the numbers and the situation don't lie, and the Atlanta Falcons would be better off if Carroll declined to lead his Trojan squad next year.

Sources:

Wiesman, Larry. "For College Coaches, Going Pro is full of Cons." USA Today. Published November 30, 2004.

"Butch Davis." Wikipedia. Last updated January 3, 2008.

"Steve Spurrier." Wikipedia. Last updated January 7, 2008.

"Sources: Pete Carroll interested in Falcons' opening." ESPN News Services. Last updated January 9, 2008.