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Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for USC (2001–2009), the New York Jets (1994), New England Patriots (1997–1999), and Seattle Seahawks (2010–2023). Carroll is the third head coach to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, after Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.
Beginning his coaching career on the NFL level, Carroll saw minimal success as head coach of the Jets and Patriots in the 1990s. Shifting to college football with USC, he revitalized the struggling program into a top-ranked contender, winning seven consecutive conference championships and an AP Trophy. He also won a BCS national championship at the 2005 Orange Bowl, although the title was later vacated.
Carroll's collegiate success prompted a return to the NFL in 2010 when he was hired as the head coach of the Seahawks. In 14 seasons under Carroll as their coach, the Seahawks qualified for the playoffs 10 times, won their division five times, made two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and won the franchise's first championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. In the latter game, Super Bowl XLIX, Carroll has been criticized for his decision to attempt a pass on the one-yard line, which led to a game-losing interception. The team's Legion of Boom defense led the league in scoring defense for four consecutive seasons during his tenure, and in 2018 he became the Seahawks' winningest coach. Following the 2023 season, Carroll stepped down as head coach to take an advisory position with the Seahawks for one year. He left the organization in 2025 to become head coach of the Raiders.
He was a multi-sport star in football (playing quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back), basketball, and baseball, earning the school's Athlete of the Year honors as a senior in 1969. He was inducted into the charter class of the Redwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2009.
After high school, Carroll attended junior college at the nearby College of Marin, where he played football for two years, intercepting 12 passes, before transferring to the University of the Pacific, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. At Pacific Tigers, Carroll played free safety for two years for the Tigers, earning All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association honors both years (1971–72) and earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973. Following his senior season, Carroll was selected as Pacific's recipient of the Charles Erb Jr. Award for Most Inspirational Player, the Tully Knoles Award for Ironman, and the Sid Robinson Award for the team's Most Loyal Player.
Combined between Marin and UOP, Carroll finished his college career with 22 interceptions while also returning punts. After graduation, Carroll tried out for the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League at their training camp in Riverside but did not make the team due to shoulder problems combined with his small size.
| +NCAA Statistics !Season !Team !INT !Ret. Yds. !TD !PR !Ret. Yds. !PR Avg. !LG !TD | |||||||||
| 1971 | UOP | 8 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
| 1972 | UOP | 2 | 34 | 0 | 24 | 281 | 11.7 | 42 | 0 |
| Totals | 10 | 165 | 0 | 24 | 281 | 11.7 | 42 | 0 |
After graduating from Pacific, Carroll's colleague Bob Cope was hired by the University of Arkansas and he convinced Lou Holtz, then the head coach of the Razorbacks, to also hire Carroll. Carroll spent the 1977 season as a graduate assistant working with the secondary under Cope. During his season with Arkansas, he met his future offensive line coach Pat Ruel, also a graduate assistant, as well as the future head coach of the Razorbacks Houston Nutt, who was a backup quarterback. Arkansas' Defensive Coordinator at the time, Monte Kiffin, became a mentor to Carroll. The Razorbacks won the 1978 Orange Bowl that season.
The following season, Carroll moved to Iowa State University, where he was again an assistant working on the secondary under Earle Bruce. When Bruce moved on to Ohio State University, he again hired Carroll to coach the secondary. The Ohio State squad made it to the 1980 Rose Bowl where they lost to USC.
When Monte Kiffin was named head coach of North Carolina State University in 1980, he brought Carroll in as his defensive coordinator and secondary coach. In 1983, Bob Cope became head coach of Pacific and brought Carroll on as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.
In 1994, Carroll was elevated to head coach of the Jets. Known for his energy and youthful enthusiasm, Carroll painted a basketball court in the parking lot of the team's practice facility where he and his assistant coaches regularly played three-on-three games during their spare time. The Jets got off to a 6–5 start under Carroll, but in Week 12, he was the victim of Dan Marino's "clock play"—a fake spike that became a Miami Dolphins game-winning touchdown. The Jets lost all of their remaining games to finish 6–10. He was fired after one season.
Carroll was hired for the next season by the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as defensive coordinator for the following two seasons (1995–96). His return to success as the defensive coordinator led to his hiring as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 1997, replacing coach Bill Parcells, who had resigned after disputes with the team's ownership. His 1997 Patriots team won the AFC East division title, but his subsequent two teams did not fare as well—losing in the wild card playoff round in 1998, and missing the playoffs after a late-season slide in 1999—and he was fired after the 1999 season. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said firing Carroll was one of the toughest decisions he has had to make since buying the team, stating, "A lot of things were going on that made it difficult for him to stay, some of which were out of his control. And it began with following a legend." His combined NFL record as a head coach was 33–31, and he was later considered a much better fit for college football than the NFL after his success at USC.
Even though several NFL teams approached him with defensive coordinator positions, Carroll instead spent the 2000 season as a consultant for pro and college teams, doing charitable work for the NFL, and writing a column about pro football for CNNSI.com.
USC first pursued then-Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson, who instead signed a contract extension with the Beavers; then Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, who similarly signed an extension. The search then moved to the San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley, who had been an assistant coach at USC before later becoming the head coach of Oregon State. Stuck in contractual obligations to the Chargers (who were still in the midst of an NFL season) and hesitant about moving his family, Riley was unable to give a firm answer, opening an opportunity for Carroll, the school's fourth choice.
Carroll actively pursued the position, as his daughter, Jaime, was then a player on the school's successful volleyball team. After the first three primary candidates turned down the position, USC hired Carroll. Under Garrett, USC had tried to recruit Carroll to be their head coach in 1997, while he was coaching the Patriots, but Carroll was unable to take the position. The second time the opening came up, Daryl Gross, then senior associate athletic director for USC, recommended Carroll to Garrett based on his experience as a former scout for the New York Jets while Carroll coached there. Garrett cited Carroll's intelligence, energy and reputation as a defensive specialist as reasons for his hire.
The choice of Carroll for USC's head coaching position was openly criticized by the media and many USC fans, primarily because of USC's stagnation under the outgoing Hackett and Carroll's record as a head coach in the NFL and being nearly two decades removed from the college level. Garrett took particular criticism for the hire, with the press tying his future with Carroll's after he had to fire two head coaches in four years for USC's premiere athletic coaching position. Former NFL players (including USC alumni) such as Ronnie Lott, Gary Plummer, Tim McDonald and Willie McGinest offered their support for Carroll, who they noted had a player-friendly, easygoing style that might suit the college game and particularly recruiting. The USC Athletic Department received 2,500 e-mails, faxes and phone calls from alumni—mostly critical—and a number of donors asking for Carroll's removal before they would donate again.
Within a year of his hiring, many prominent critics reversed course. In 2008, ESPN.com named Carroll's hiring number 1 in a list of the Pac-10's top ten moments of the BCS era.
Carroll was considered one of the most effective recruiters in college football, having brought in multiple top-ranked recruiting classes; he was also known for getting commitments from nationally prominent players early in high school. His son, Brennan Carroll, was USC's recruiting coordinator as well as the tight ends coach during the elder Carroll's tenure as head coach. He had consistently been on the forefront of recruiting due to his ability to connect with potential players on their level, including becoming the first college coach with a Facebook page, as well as an early adopter of Twitter.
Carroll's team won a then-school record 34 straight games from 2003 to 2005, a streak that started after a triple-overtime loss to California and ended with the national championship game against the Texas Longhorns in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Fourteen of those games were later vacated for breaking NCAA rules. During his tenure, USC broke its average home attendance record four times in a row (they play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum); the USC home attendance average in 2001, his first season, was 57,744; by 2006, it was over 91,000. During this period, USC had a 35-game winning streak at the Coliseum, spanning 6 years (2001–2007). The streak began on October 13, 2001, with a 48–17 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils and the final victory was a 47–14 win over the Washington State Cougars on September 22, 2007. The streak ended on October 6, 2007, with a 24–23 loss to the Stanford Cardinal who was a 41-point underdog. Prior to this the last loss was on September 29, 2001, (during Carroll's first year) to Stanford Cardinal 21–16. The success of USC football under Carroll led to a sharp rise in overall athletic department revenue, growing from $38.6 million in Carroll's first season at USC to more than $76 million in 2007–08.
Controversy arose when USC was excluded from the National Championship Game for the 2003 season, even though ranked #1 in both the Associated Press (AP) Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Years later, (2008) he was asked if winning the Rose Bowl was ever not enough. "No. You've got to understand that our mindset is to focus only on what we can control. We can only control getting to the Rose Bowl. Winning our conference and going to the Rose Bowl is what our goal is every year. Our goal isn't about national championships, because we don't have control of that – that's in somebody else's hands. We found that out years ago 2003, when we were No. 1 but then we were No. 3. We already knew that but that just proved it. If we win our games and we're out there and they want us to go somewhere else, then we'll go. We love the Rose Bowl."
Carroll was repeatedly approached regarding vacant head coach positions in the NFL beginning in 2002. Carroll hesitated to return to the NFL after his previous experiences, and said that his return would likely rest on control over personnel matters at a level unprecedented in the league. He had insisted over the years that he was happy at USC and that money was not an issue; he also was said to enjoy the Southern California lifestyle. When asked if he would retire at USC, Carroll responded:
When originally hired, Carroll signed a five-year contract worth approximately $1 million annually. He received a significant raise after the 2002 season and earned close to $3 million in the 2004 season, which ended with USC winning the BCS title in January 2005. He agreed to a contract extension in December 2005. His total compensation, including pay and benefits, for the 2007 fiscal year was $4,415,714.
On January 11, 2010, it was reported that Carroll would be leaving USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll had told his players the previous evening that he would be resigning his position with the Trojans to become the new head coach of the Seahawks. According to the Los Angeles Times, Carroll came to agreement with the Seahawks on a 5-year, $33 million contract to become head coach.
In July 2007, ESPN.com named USC its #1 team of the decade for the period between 1996 and 2006, primarily citing the Trojans' renaissance and dominance under Carroll. In 2007, his effect on the college football landscape was named one of the biggest developments over the past decade in ESPN the Magazine. In May 2008, Carroll was named the coach who did the most to define the first 10 years of the BCS Era.
In July 2014, Carroll was announced as a member of the 2015 USC Athletic Hall of Fame class.
The allegations centered on former Trojan star Reggie Bush. Bush was found to have accepted several improper gifts, including the use of a San Diego area home for members of his family. It was reported that USC might appeal the sanctions. These sanctions have been criticized by some NCAA football writers, including ESPN's Ted Miller, who wrote, "It's become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice, and the NCAA's refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization."
After Carroll announced that he was leaving for the Seahawks, he denied the possibility that the NCAA sanctions were a factor in his leaving USC to return to pro football in Seattle. "Not in any way," Carroll stated, "because I know where we stand. It's just a process we have to go through. We know we've fought hard to do right." Carroll was hired before the sanctions were announced.
Reacting to the USC sanctions in a video produced by his new employers, Carroll said on June 10, 2010, "I'm absolutely shocked and disappointed in the findings of the NCAA." He said in 2014 during a visit to USC, "I thought the was dealt with poorly and very irrationally and done with way too much emotion instead of facts. I sat in the meetings. I listened to the people talk. I listened to the venom that they had for our program... They tried to make it out like it was something else. They made a terrible error." In 2015, he said, "We had so much success and we had so much fun doing it, it was uncommon for people to understand. ... I think it rubbed people the wrong way. There was such a bitterness."
Among Carroll's critics in the media was longtime Los Angeles Times sportswriter Bill Plaschke, who said that in one stroke, Carroll went
Sporting News writer Mike Florio called for the Seahawks to fire Carroll, saying that "justice won't truly be served until the only coaching Carroll ever does entails holding an Xbox controller."
On August 26, 2010, the Football Writers Association of America announced it would take back USC's 2004 Grantland Rice Trophy and leave that year's award vacant, the only vacancy in the over half century of the history of the award. The FWAA also said it would not consider USC as a candidate for the award for the 2010 season. New USC athletic director Pat Haden said USC would return the trophy, stating, "While we know that some fans and former student-athletes may be disappointed, our central priority at this time is our overall commitment to compliance and this action is in line with the standards we have set for our entire athletic program."
In 2011, Carroll again coached the Seahawks to a 7–9 record, but it was not enough to secure a playoff spot due to the ascendance of Carroll's old college rival coach Jim Harbaugh and division rival San Francisco 49ers, who finished with a 13–3 record. It was the first season the Seahawks had a starting quarterback other than Matt Hasselbeck in over a decade.
In his third season with the Seahawks in 2012, Carroll, along with rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, led the team to an 11–5 record, including going undefeated at home. The 2012 season was Carroll's first winning season for the team. The Seahawks were also involved in controversy during Week 3's Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers in Seattle, when the replacement officials called two different results for Russell Wilson's Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Golden Tate. The officials called the play in the Seahawks' favor, igniting a national outrage about the officiating. When the NFL referee lockout ended several days later, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that public furor over the call accelerated the eventual resolution of the labor dispute. Carroll's record was enough to post the team's second playoff berth, and the Seahawks won their game on the road against the Washington Redskins and fellow rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, 24–14. Seattle lost the following week in the to the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome by a score of 30–28.
On July 25, 2016, Carroll signed a three-year contract extension with the Seahawks that would keep him in Seattle through the 2019 season. Carroll's Seahawks once again had high expectations leading into the 2016 season, but injuries to key players on both sides of the ball eventually became too much to overcome. The Seahawks were able to start the season with a 4–1 record, despite Russell Wilson playing with a hurt ankle sustained in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins. In Week 10, the Seahawks travelled to New England to play the Patriots for the first time since the Super Bowl XLIX loss, and came away with a 31–24 victory to push the Seahawks to 6–2–1. Carroll notched his 100th regular-season win the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Seahawks clinched the NFC West in Week 15, following a 24–3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. It was Carroll's fourth NFC West division title in his seven seasons with the team, and sixth playoff appearance. In the , the Seahawks dominated the Detroit Lions in a 26–6 victory. The victory extended Seattle's playoff home game win streak to 10 consecutive wins, 6 of which have come under Carroll. The Seahawks were eliminated in the for the second straight year in 2016, losing 36–20 to the Atlanta Falcons. In his season-ending press conference, Carroll revealed that cornerback Richard Sherman had been playing with a "significant" MCL injury, which attracted attention because Sherman had not been listed on the injury report throughout the season.
In 2017, his eighth season with the Seahawks, Carroll led the team to a 9–7 record. The team finished second in the NFC West but missed out on the playoffs for only the second time in Carroll's time with the Seahawks.
On September 15, 2019, which was his 68th birthday, Carroll won his 100th game as the Seahawks head coach, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28–26. Carroll's Seahawks finished the season at 11–5, finishing second in the NFC West behind the 13–3 San Francisco 49ers. As a fifth seed in the playoffs, the Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17–9 in the , before being eliminated in the by the Green Bay Packers 28–23. Carroll coached the NFC team in the 2020 Pro Bowl.
During the 2020 offseason, Carroll, along with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick were named as coaches for the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Carroll was fined by the NFL for not properly wearing a face mask, as required for coaches during the COVID-19 pandemic, during a Week 2 game in the 2020 NFL season on September 21, 2020. On November 8, 2020, Carroll and the Seahawks agreed to a four-year contract extension. They ended the season with a 12–4 record and won their first division title since 2016, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the 30–20.
Wilson was placed on injured reserve later that same day, missing a start for the first time in his NFL career. Carroll and the Seahawks went 1–2 in Wilson's absence before hitting the bye week. Wilson was activated off injured reserve on November 12 ahead of their game against the Green Bay Packers. Wilson and the Seahawks were blanked in the 17–0 loss for the first time since he became their starting quarterback, completing just 20 of 40 passes for 161 yards and two interceptions.
Carroll's Seahawks rallied to finish the season by winning four of their final six games, with one loss coming by just one point. During the season, the Seahawks' first such losing season since 2011, Carroll candidly admitted to the media that he "probably wouldn't have been here a long time" without his longtime starting quarterback. Despite the disappointing season, it was reported on January 16, 2022, that Carroll and general manager John Schneider would retain their jobs for the 2022 season.
In 2023, Carroll again led the Seahawks to a 9–8 record, but Seattle was eliminated from the playoffs on the last day of the season; the Green Bay Packers, who had an identical record but held the playoff tiebreaker over the Seahawks, won over the Chicago Bears in the final game.
On January 10, 2024, Carroll and the Seahawks mutually agreed that he would step down from his head coaching role. Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was named as his successor later that month; he stated that he wanted to maintain the team culture first built by Carroll. Macdonald was half of Carroll's age upon his hiring, resulting in the Seahawks going from having the oldest head coach in the league to the youngest.
Upon coaching his first game for the Raiders in a 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots, he became the oldest head coach in NFL history, having coached his second game with the team a week later on his 74th birthday.
Seventeen of Carroll's assistant coaches became NFL or NCAA head coaches:
Seven of Carroll's executives became general managers in the NFL:
One of Carroll's former players became NFL or NCAA head coaches:
On defense, Carroll favors a bend-but-don't-break scheme of preventing the big plays: allowing opposing teams to get small yardage but trying to keep the plays in front of his defenders.
Carroll draws coaching inspiration from the 1974 book The Inner Game of Tennis by tennis coach W. Timothy Gallwey, which he picked up as graduate student at the University of the Pacific; he summarizes the philosophy he took from the book as "all about clearing the clutter in the interactions between your conscious and subconscious mind", enabled "through superior practice and a clear approach. Focus, clarity and belief in yourself are what allows He wrote a foreword for a later edition, noting that athletes "must clear their minds of all confusion and earn the ability to let themselves play freely." He also cites influences from Abraham Maslow and Carl Jung, Buddhism meditation master Chögyam Trungpa, and Zen master D. T. Suzuki.
After he was fired by the New England Patriots, Carroll read a book by former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden which heavily influenced how he later ran his program at USC: emulating Wooden, Carroll decided to engineer his program in the way that best exemplified his personal philosophy. He decided his philosophy was best summarized as "I'm a competitor". As a fan of the Grateful Dead, Carroll then tied Wooden's thoughts into those by Jerry Garcia, and decided that he wanted his football program to not be the best, but the only program following his competitive philosophy.
Carroll is known for his high-energy and often pleasant demeanor when coaching. In explaining his enthusiasm, Carroll has stated, "I always think something good's just about to happen." In a 2005 interview, Carroll explained his motivation:
Carroll has been known to plan elaborate surprises and pranks during practice to lighten the mood and reward the players; notable examples include using a Halloween practice to stage a fake argument and subsequent falling death of running back LenDale White, having defensive end Everson Griffen arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department during a team meeting for "physically abusing" freshman offensive linemen, and several pranks involving USC alumnus and comedic actor Will Ferrell. During practices, Carroll frequently gets involved doing drills: running sprints and routes as well as throwing the ball. Under Carroll, nearly all USC practices were open to the public, a move that was uncommon among programs; he believed that having fans at practice helped his team prepare, making mundane drills seem more interesting, causing players to perform at a high level when they know they have an audience and preparing them for larger crowds on game days.
Despite his penchant for humor, Carroll's USC program had strictly prescribed routines that covered what players were allowed to eat, the vocabulary they used, and the theme of daily practices. Under his tenure, days had descriptive nicknames like Tell the Truth Monday, Competition Tuesday, Turnover Wednesday.
Carroll favorably compared college recruiting to any other competition, and enjoys the ability to recruit talent, which he was unable to do in the NFL. He likens being a college head coach to being both the "coach and general manager."
"Reading Wooden, I realized: If I'm gonna be a competitor, if I'm ever going to do great things, I'm going to have to carry a message that's strong and clear and nobody's going to miss the point ever about what I'm all about. . . . Jerry Garcia said that he didn't want his band to be the best ones doing something. He wanted them to be the only ones doing it. To be all by yourself out there doing something that nobody else can touch — that's the thought that guides me, that guides this program: We're going to do things better than it's ever been done before in everything we do, and we're going to compete our ass off. And we're gonna see how far that takes us." — Carroll on how John Wooden and Jerry Garcia influenced his coaching philosophy.
Philanthropy
After moving to Los Angeles, Carroll was affected by the number of gang-related murders taking place in poorer areas. In April 2003, Carroll helped organize a meeting with political leaders, high-ranking law enforcement officials and representatives from social service, education and faith-based communities at USC's Heritage Hall for a brainstorming session. The result was the founding of A Better LA, a charity devoted to reducing violence in targeted urban areas of Los Angeles.
Work with children
In April 2009, Carroll launched CampPete.com, a multi-player online game "billed as a ground-breaking Web site aimed at bringing Coach Carroll's unique Win Forever philosophy to kids all over the country by taking advantage of one of the hottest technology trends online, the virtual world." The site, which can be accessed by creating a virtual avatar, includes arcade-style games, motivational messages from Coach Carroll and a sports trivia section as well as a collection of virtual football skills workshops for kids. A portion of the proceeds from CampPete.com go to support A Better LA.
Personal life
Carroll and his wife, Glena, have three children, Brennan Carroll, Jaime, and Nate Carroll. Brennan and Nate have been part of the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff and currently work as assistants under Carroll with the Las Vegas Raiders.
See also
Notes
External links
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