Pete Carroll's first team meeting as a head coach could have gone a little better. Then 42 years old and still finding himself as a coach, Carroll opened that meeting, which included New York Jets owner Leon Hess, by telling his players there were no rules on his team, only consequences if things aren't done the right way.
"(Hess) was about 75 at the time, sludge oil magnate and all that, built his whole history of being a billionaire by working hard, pressing people, and I said, 'There's no rules, but if you don't do the right thing, there's consequences,'" Carroll said. "He was looking at me like 'What is this guy talking about?' That was the first meeting we had, I hadn't even met the guy hardly, so it didn't go very well there. Needless to say, I didn't get off on the right foot with the owner. Part of the learning process."
Carroll has become one of the best coaches in football in part because he does things in an unconventional way. Carroll embraces individualism in a sport where many coaches frown upon player’s showing their character; he empowers everyone who works with the team to do whatever they can to help players and coaches be their best, again, even if it is unconventional; and he does all of that while still leading a disciplined, winning program. Yet two decades ago, Carroll was still figuring all of that out. He was unconventional, as that first meeting showed, but he hadn't fully found himself as a coach, and even if he had, he didn't have the power back then to do things his way like he does now.
Asked what kind of pushback he got for being unconventional in his first head coaching job, Carroll quipped, "They fired me 10 months later. I was gone. That's the ultimate pushback… That was a long time ago, I don't know what I was thinking."
Indeed Carroll's tenure with the Jets was brief—he was fired after one season in which New York started 6-5, then lost its final five games of the season. But short or not, Carroll's time with the Jets came up again this week because the Seahawks are heading east to face his former team on Sunday. It's just part of an odd reunion tour Carroll faces this year because of the Seahawks' schedule. Already the Seahawks have gone to Los Angeles to face the Rams in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the same building USC called home during Carroll's nine seasons there, and later this season the Seahawks travel to New England, where Carroll was the head coach from 1997-1999.
Carroll is willing to take these trips down memory lane—even the ones that end with him being fired after one season—because they all helped shape him into the National Championship and Super Bowl-winning coach he eventually became. Carroll has often pointed to his year off between being fired by New England and hired by USC as one of the most crucial times in his career because it was when he solidified his philosophy. And if not for his experiences as a head coach with the Jets and Patriots, he wouldn't have had as clear of an understanding of what he was looking for—and looking to avoid—in an NFL job when he decided to leave USC and take the Seahawks job.
"Coaching in New York was extraordinary," Carroll said the morning after his team won Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium, where on Sunday they'll play for the first time since that 43-8 victory over the Broncos. "I had the greatest opportunity in the world to be a head coach in the New York area. We all understand why that's so powerful, and it was really disappointing I didn't have a chance to see it through, but that moment in time to me is just a moment in time. It didn't dampen my spirits, it didn't slow me down, if anything, it just kicked me in the butt in a better way. I had to get kicked a little harder in New England. I hate to learn the hard way, but sometimes that's what has to happen. I didn't have any ill feelings about it at all. I would have loved to have killed it here, but it didn't work out that way. That's the way it goes."
With Pete Carroll's future in Seattle secure following the 2016 season, take a look back at the head coach's best photos from his time with the Seahawks.
Head coach Pete Carroll is all smiles after a Lockett's touchdown.
Head coach Pete Carroll is all smiles after Kearse's touchdown padded Seattle's lead to 36-0.
Head coach Pete Carroll gets the first drops of the traditional Gatorade bath courtesy of Zach Miller and Russell Wilson at the end of Super Bowl XLVIII.
Head coach Pete Carroll holds the Lombardi Trophy along with team president Peter McLoughlin, owner Paul Allen and Bert Kolde on the victory platform.
Never mind that it was after 3am, two guys with energy to spare -- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and Seattle-based rapper Macklemore bounce on stage to the Seahawks unofficial anthem "Can't Hold Us" during the team's postgame party.
Glena and Pete Carroll hold hands as they exit the White House library. Seahawks players and coaches were able to visit many of the rooms in lower floors of the White House.
Head coach Pete Carroll brings the team up for the final time at CenturyLink Field this season as the next game will be on the road at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, flanked by running backs coach Sherman Smith, is all smiles in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Pete Carroll talks to his team about the victory, which helps the Seahawks position themselves for a playoff run in the final weeks of the regular season.
Head coach Pete Carroll celebrates as in the bottom left corner of the frame, tight end Luke Willson crosses into the end zone for the two-point conversion. The two points meant that Green Bay could not win the game with a last second field goal, only tie to send the game to a possible overtime.
Head coach Pete Carroll waves to family members after taking the field with his team during pregame ceremonies.
At the end of a brief pregame talk, head coach Pete Carroll and the Seahawks let out a yell.
Head coach Pete Carroll congratulates receiver Doug Baldwin after the first of Baldwin's three touchdowns on the day.
Seattle head coach Pete Carroll celebrates after he watched his team score 21 unanswered points to cut the lead to 31-21 in the fourth quarter.
After watching his Seahawks dominate the Baltimore Ravens on the road in a 35-6 victory, head coach Pete Carroll jumped on top of the lockers to make his postgame comments to the team.
Head coach Pete Carroll celebrates with his quarterback Russell Wilson after the game-winning drive in overtime.
Head coach Pete Carroll talks to the team at the end of walk thru with the Charlotte skyline provides the backdrop.
Head coach Pete Carroll lets out a laugh as Earl Thomas suggests strategy in the final minutes of the 17-7 victory for the Seahawks.
Head coach Pete Carroll congratulates Russell Wilson after Wilson's 80-yard touchdown pass to Luke Willson in the second quarter.
Head coach Pete Carroll hugs Doug Baldwin as the entire team gathers on the Seahawks sideline before kickoff.
Head coach Pete Carroll greets defensive players DeShawn Shead and Cary Williams on the sideline.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll reacts after Russell Wilson connected with Tyler Lockett for a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Pete Carroll cheers on the sidelines after the Seahawks scored for the first time in the game to cut the lead to 9-7.
Head coach Pete Carroll is fired up in the locker room after the victory.
Head coach Pete Carroll address the team at the end of walk-thru on Saturday, which took place near downtown Charlotte, seen in the background.
Head coach Pete Carroll smiles after accepting a game ball from Richard Sherman. The ball marked Carroll's 101st victory in the NFL.
Head coach Pete Carroll is greeted by Seahawks fans as he makes his way to the field.
Head coach Pete Carroll is all smiles as the clock runs out on his team's 27-9 victory. At right is running backs coach Sherman Smith.
