I just returned from the local Gold's Gym in Oakland where I work out and ran into a friend who's a big USC fan, alumn, and donor, on top of being a big exec at a national retailer. Since I'm a Cal fan, we've had a few nice ribbing sessions. The point being, she's got know reason to make up what I'm about to report, asked the questions herself, and when I asked her if she would mind that I blog this, her response was "go ahead."
So that's what I'm doing.
On May 22nd, my friend attended a USC Alumni event in Southern California where USC Football Coach Pete Carroll was the featured guest. After an evening of drinks and food, there was a question and answer session with Coach Carroll. I proded her to tell me about it while we were streching, and so after some consistent coaxing, she did.
She said that she and Coach Carroll got along famously well "I think he seemed to like me," she said. "Oh, did I tell you what he said about Charlie Weis?" No, was my response, and she held back for a few seconds or so while streching and said "I thought I told you this?" I swore up and down we'd not taked about the event after her return. "What did he say about Weis?," I asked.
"Well, she said, "I asked him what he thought of Charlie Weis.
"He (Coach Carroll) said Weis was a jerk," she reported. My friend also remarked that Carroll said "people down there (in South Bend) don't really like him."
Geez.
I could not believe it. But it gets better. "He (Caroll) also said that 'That thing with his son? It was all for publicity.'" I pretty much almost fell from my stretch with that news. I could not believe what I was hearing. It's one thing for Pete to call Weis a jerk, but to introduce the matter of Coach Weis' son on the sidelines (Coach Weis also has a 12-year-old special-needs daughter, Hannah) being some kind of publicty stunt is another story.
I personally think that's off base.
But that didn't seem to matter to Pete Carroll, who also didn't have great things to say about former USC Offensive Coordinator, now Tennesee Titans Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow, and again in response to my friend's question. Caroll said "Well you know, we're not the best of friends."
Caroll told my friend that they talk maybe once a year and that Norm's not happy in Tennessee. I remarked that he's got a great job, so what's the problem? According to my friend, Carol claims that Chow's family's not happy in Tennesee, and wants to get back to the West Coast. Caroll also remarked that Chow "would never be a head coach."
Being a Chow fan myself, I asked why Caroll would say this "He (Caroll) thinks' he (Chow) doens't want to be a head coach.
I think Coach Carroll should take time to measure his words in an Internet society. I mean here I am reporting something he didn't think was going to wind up being thrown out there for the public to know about. Pete should know better.
He didn't need to make that comment about Coach Weis' daughter and publicity. It's one thing for USC to have beaten Notre Dame 44-24 last year, but that doesn't give Coach Caroll the right to say what he did regarding Coach Weis and his family. That's sacred ground in my view. And I'm 100 percent certain this is true, without a doubt. My friend has no reason to lie and was the person who asked the questions.
One thing Coach Carroll should do now, is pick up the damn phone and appologize to Coach Weis. Charlie may be less than nice in what he has to say in return, but look, talking about another parent's children being on the sidelines as being "out there for just publicity" is too much and classless to boot.
Does that mean Indy Coach Tony Dungy bringing his off spring on the sidelines is "just publicity?" Come on, now.
6 comments:
Interesting. But not surprising. All this means is that Carroll will be added to the list of the "Anti-Weis Association." The reason Weis has no friends in South Bend is because he does not cater to the alumni, or anyone for that matter. He has a unique personality that is the opposite of Carroll's. Carroll likes to suck up to all the big names at SC and rub elbows with the heavy hitters and so forth. I would not expect them to get along. Two different coaches, two different teams. Carroll may be sitting pretty versus ND at the moment with his shady recruiting techniques and all, but Weis has been successful at both levels. He brought both Brady's (Tom and Quinn) to a new level. If you want to piss of a Patriot's fan, ask them about Carroll's stint as head coach. Then promptly run the other direction.
As a note, I generally do not post Anonymous comments, but the abive one was a counter to the norm of such actions. It was calm, well considered and informative. A comment like that will get posted. As to the story, I reported what I was told. For Pete Carroll fans or for those who may just not believe it, I can understand. I didn't believe it either, but I hey, she was there and asked the questions. Sorry.
Pete Caroll nearly destroyed the Patriots franchise because he was too "pumped and jacked". He, like Rick Pitino for comparison sake, is an awful professional coach. Some people are just meant to be college coaches. Charlie on the other hand took a lot of players that Pete coached in New England and turned them into 3 time Super Bowl champs. I'm not even an ND fan, but you have to give Charlie credit for taking a mediocre program and making them contenders in such a short amount of time. Jerk or not the guy gets the job done.
My Take On Coach Weis,
I did meet Coach Weis at the 2006 Leigh Steinberg / ESPN Super Bowl Party. He was walking toward the second floor exit, just as I'd entered the room in Detroit. I took time to praise him for an excellent coaching job at ND, and then asked him why in his view a certain play they used at the goal line that year where they faked a zone-off tackle run, then throw to the backside receiver is always open. He shrugged and said "The defense is always looking for the run." But before I could engage in a more technical conversation, he walked off.
It may very well be that kind of style that Pete was thinking of when he made his comment. He may not be that warm with people at first, but I do think he's a brilliant coach and I like him for that. This year will be a challenge, as even Weis has a kind of "box" approach he uses. The NCAA may catch up with it this year.
"I think Coach Carroll should take time to measure his words in an Internet society"
Good advice, especially for this blog.
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