I am an old USC fan going back to the half senior season in 1956. I hated to see Pete Carroll go. SC has been hated as only persistant winners can be hated. See the New York Yankees for confirmation. Reggie Bush was never my favorite player. I thought Carroll put him in situations he should not have been in because he was grooming him for the Heisman. I think it may have alienated Lendale White who would have won the Heisman had he stayed for his senior year. Bush was not an inside runner and White was passed over too many times for my taste.
Then, of course, Bush stabbed Carroll and the university in the back. I was not a great fan of Garrett as Athletic Director, either.
Now, better times may be coming. Two of my favorite players were Haden and McKay. They were overachievers who both had short pro careers then settled into successful civilian careers as lawyers. Haden even became the radio voice of Notre Dame football in addition to his law practice. Now, they are back together again, responding as usual when the university needs them.
That guy looks exactly like a successful lawyer who responded when his alma mater needed him.
On the serious side, it is a relationship of two 57-year-old men with unwavering respect for each other.
McKay says, “I don’t think, in all these years, that we’ve ever had a disagreement.”
Haden says, “I trust him completely.”
On the less serious side, they are also unwavering in their pursuit of ways to rip each other. McKay calls his boss the “short quarterback.” Haden calls McKay the “employee.”
McKay says the touchdown catch in the Rose Bowl was due to his superior athletic skills. Haden says the ball hit him in the hands.
But the respect never stops filtering through the rips and jabs.
I wish Pete Carroll had had a guy he could trust implicitly.