Annual Pete Carroll-to-NFL Rumors Begin

It seems like every year, like Brett Favre and retirement, the questions come up about Pete Carroll and the NFL.

He's one of the most successful college coaches, if not the most successful, and has built a program that a lot of professional organizations envy nearly as much as the Los Angeles market the Trojans play in.

If you have kept up with the NFL this year, you know of the top-heaviness of the league, with some good teams, a few decent teams and then a handful of horrendous teams that are likely to fire their coach at the end of the season.

LA Times columnist Sam Farmer brought up a good point today. With Carroll's annoyance with the continued BCS buck-off the Trojans are getting, and the head coach's constant pitch for a college football playoff, will this ever get old for Pete? Would he make another jump for the NFL?

"I'm still having a blast doing this. I don't feel any different than I did six, seven years ago. The bad part is it's like "Groundhog Day." It all seems the same. But the same's always been good, so I feel like I'm very lucky," Carroll said.

Question is, at what point does "Groundhog Day" get old?

From what we can all see, Carroll looks like the ideal college football coach. His record in the NFL, with both the Jets and Patriots, was a unsatisfactory 33-31, but his record at Southern California is 86-15, with two national championships under his belt.

He seems like the guy that can relate to his young collegiate players. He's enthusiastic, he's knowledgeable, he isn't scared to "youth-down" to his players, but he doesn't let them get away with everything. Think about it -- when does bringing Snoop Dogg into the clubhouse for a pep rally stop getting players excited? Probably only when they sign that first NFL contract.

Farmer talks about the options for Carroll. Of all the teams out there, the only way Carroll would jump is to a situation with potential. That eliminates Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Detroit, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

With Wade Phillips all but out in Dallas, the Cowboys seem to fit Carroll's mold. A lot of top-notch athletes, a ton of history behind the program, and a squad that could win the Super Bowl any year if they congealed. The thing is, as Farmer points out, Jason Garrett is next in line for the Cowboys and I'm sure he knows better than to give up that opportunity to an ex-NFL coach.

I'm sure talks will fire up more over the next few months. After Southern California plays Penn State in the Rose Bowl, the decision will again rise up: Is the glamor of the NFL better than the security of USC?

For one head coach who tends to smile more than he frowns, the question has already been asked. I think we all can agree -- too much of the same thing can drive you crazy.

Annual Pete Carroll-to-NFL Rumors Begin originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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