Nick Saban v. Pete Carroll

Clay Helton complimented Alabama coach Nick Saban by saying he was  “maybe the best in our generation”

That’s a no-brainer. Except, of course, in USC circles. So what do you think? Who would you take? Would Carroll have been more successful if he remained at USC? I think if Lane Kiffin were asked, he would compliment Saban more. But that’s because he and Carroll had a falling out a few years ago.

40 thoughts on “Nick Saban v. Pete Carroll

  1. The numbers are irrefutable and speak for themselves. Saban’s a better college coach and the best of an entire generation. That said, Pete was great and a far superior personality. But he grew a little bored with the college game, got slack and lost his edge. That’s never happened to Saban who’s very smart and obviously more of a drill sergeant and singularly focused. It’s paid off.

    • True, true but not so good in fact bad NFL coach w. Miami which is why he leaped at the AL opening.

      • Helton was referring to college coaching only. Pete’s probably a better all-around coach with the Super Bowl win and close call. But as far as college goes, Saban wins hands down. He’s not only won many more national championships (it’s not even close) but he also didn’t fall down against some huge underdogs like Pete did.

        And actually Saban didn’t leap at the ‘Bama opening. He wasn’t going to take the job and wanted to prove he could succeed in the NFL. When Pete started in the NFL, he wasn’t any good either. If Russell Wilson hadn’t shown up, Pete was barely a playoff NFL coach. The drafting of Wilson made PC. Give him credit. He did it. But Wilson made Carroll in the NFL.

        Saban eventually took the ALA job because his wife didn’t like Florida and felt her husband would be better off at Bama. She steered him away from the Dolphin job. Happy wife, happy life – as they say.

        • Ok – Sabin was never going to have the success he needed to enjoy his job in the NFL and wisely returned to the college game.

          Yes PC is a lot of things but I’ll give him this – he is one quick study – he knows what’s wrong and what will make it right. His move to SEA was based on his having far more control than any coach in the NFL had – wonder how Helton shall do – love it if he makes us forget PC because he wins.

          • Pete also left USC in the lurch big-time. I don’t blame him for the penalties, but he told his agent to get him into the NFL because he had an idea of what was coming down.

            This is a fact and well-known in coaching circles. Seattle came along with an impossible to turn down deal, but before they did, for the first time in Pete’s tenure at USC, he told his agent he wanted out.

            He saw the lay of the land at USC and bolted. I still give him a lot of credit for all he did for USC, which was tremendous, and don’t blame him. But USC had to deal with his mess and he walked away 2 and 1/2 weeks before LOI Day. Not many honorable, good coaches will take a job during that time frame and desert their programs under Carroll’s shadow. Kiffin would be one of the few who would and we saw how he turned out.

          • Yup and that is the one major stain on Pete’s remarkable run – when the time came to ‘play the man’ he booked and left the school to deal with the mess.

        • Don’t know if I agree with you on the Russell Wilson thing. Ya, he was a piece, but Pete made a lot of other good calls to build his team. Once he got his pieces in place, he did well.

          • It seems that in the NFL, the other pieces don’t matter w/o the QB. Just look at Pete’s NFL record before and after Wilson, and look at his other QBs.

            I give PC a lot of credit for drafting Wilson. And Pete never gets to the SB without him. And if Pete hadn’t overthought the Wilson pick against New England (Belichick completely smelled him out), he’d have two SB wins instead of one.

    • Perhaps he “lost his edge” or focus because he was staring down the barrel of near death penalty sanctions for lack of compliance. Just a thought.

  2. Blogger, really? You said all of that just so that you could make one negative comment about Pete Carroll and Kiffen. Let it go and free yourself.

  3. It’s just gamesmanship getting in the head of an opponent. I should think Clay is more impressed with individual Alabama players such as Forrest Gump and Bubba.

  4. Wow, That’s hard a hard one to pick.
    They have so much in common.
    Both world class rule breakers, both had out-of-control egos, both coached at football teams with schools incidentally attached, both operated with nearly total lack of oversight by their Athletic Departments.
    It’s really a tie but I guess the tie breaker goes to Saban because at least his A.D. wasn’t diverting scholarship money to his family and his employer so he had more to overcome to attain tainted achievement.

    • Poor little gutty. Don’t be so hurt. When are you moving to the Big 12 to get out of USC’s giant L.A. shadow like Slick Rick (a huge rule-breaker himself) says.

      Will you still Troll USC boards? I hope so. It’s always fun seeing you whine about ucla’s crappy football program.

      Do you have 1954 monogramed on your pillow? Or is it Punting is Winning? Hah, hah, hah.

  5. I personally think Lane Kiffin detests Pete Carroll! It seemed like everyday he would bring up the sanctions as an excuse for his failures at USC. Pete Carroll is very easy to hate, though. He also never really talked about what he learned from Carroll, when he was at USC. Kiffin, and saban are a much better match!

    • In other news, ESPN has hit a new low by having their people claim they have a serious form of cancer, and trying to gain sympathy. It started with Shelley Smith, and now it has snowballed to holly Rowe. Like smith, Rowe shaved her head today, to tell the world she has cancer. What is so unique about these two women, is the happiness, and energy they have as they talk about cancer. I have seen my share of loved ones go through cancer. It completely takes the wind out of you, and it is very hard to crack a smile. What I am trying to say is I think these 2 ESPN ladies, are seriously exaggerating their forms of cancer, in order to gain sympathy. A NEW LOW FOR ESPN!

  6. thanks wolfman, for the alley-oop lob pass right at the rim!!!

    there is NO COMPARISON, obviously. but frankly, while Pete MIGHT be Top 20 coach, he is not even worthy of COMPARISON to the Night King aka Saban. Petey does not even OWN a SINGLE BCS/Playoff Natty, while Saban’s closet is FULL of them!

    and no other coach in HISTORY has the distinction of BLOWING in-the-bag sure win Champeenships on College AND Pro levels!!!

    viewed from the perspective that Petey has no legit nattys DESPITE having the best talent, COMBINED with the fact he blew a Nnatty and a Superbowl, one could make the case Petey is the all time choka-chola champeen!!

    #OhNo!

    • Thank God Pete always had baby ucla (headed to Big 12!) on his schedule!

      Pete – 8

      little gutties – 1

      ucla was so bad when PC was ripping you apart for nine years that USC players would just come out before the game and proclaim victory in the press. Going to USC/ucla games for us fans was just a laugher. There was absolutely no tension. We’d all be joking pre-game about the slaughter to come and whether USC would score 50 or if the Trojans would pitch a shut-out.

      Pete loves ucla and always has. It’s called easy money. And it turned into Pete’s $.

        • Ya, winning national championships and a Super Bowl is so tough to swallow. As I said, thank God Pete always had ucla to pick on. You little gutties always know how to play the insignificant part so well. Hah, hah, hah.

          • and thank God Petey is such a big choker!!!
            Top Three Epic Fails:

            3) Stanford: 41 pt “the Dogs are HUNGRY”
            2) Texas: “4th &1… where’s Reggie?”
            1) SB XLIX: “Oh NO!!”

            #UltimateChoker

          • If you were successful Crotch Boy, er…Shirley, you’d know that successful people fail a lot. Obviously, you’ve never failed big, like most scared little Trolls. Like ucla football, you’re never in the game. Hanky? I’m misting up.

          • big philosopher!!! sure, Trranny-Jacque, everyone fails now and then, but nobody, and i mean NOBODY, CHOKES like your Petey!!!!

            #UltimateChoker

          • UCLA 13 – bozo u 9 at the crumbling mausoleum. Little Petey BLOWS a “lock” BCS Championship bid. Choka, choka, choka, choka.

          • it’s SO SUGAR SWEEEET that trOXans, blinded by their rage at being violated by the NCAA, have essentially DEMANDED a trial, not caring to understand the revelations will be crippling to an already disgraced U!!

            reminds me of the angry GOP, still scalded by the Dark fellow in the White House for 8 yrs, raged for an anger candidate and now that they found one, will lose in EPIC fashion!!

            #GoldenAgeOfTheCadre

        • Chuck, Chuck, Chuck….Dude c’mon.
          -2 National Titles
          -Played for 3 National Titles
          -1 Super Bowl
          -Played for 2 Super Bowls

          Made UCLA his women (bit**)

          I have to get back to work!

          • “2 natl titles”

            well, you better ask LSU about one of those, cause they got the CRYSTAL. and since Soutern Cal was a MEMBER of the BCS, they are BEHOLDING to honor the champ of the BCS!!!

            and the OTHER “natty” is hard to fathom, considering the records books show NO VICTORIES that season!! a title from the obscure AP is pure toilet paper material!!

            so the CADRE and EVERYONE else says B.S.!!

          • I thought you were poking fun of Carroll, not throwing Sanction talk around. Chuck, PC ran through the Pac 10, walked through UCLA, and choked the life out of Oklahoma in the first half. The Cadre can say whatever, but the world of college football (not the NCAA) will always say USC were the 2004 NC’s.

          • ucla all-time, as in forever:

            National titles – in 1954 (UPI only, poll discontinued in 1996)

            1 Heisman winner – Gary Beban, in 1967, before Woodstock

            Rose Bowl wins – 5, one more than Pete Carroll’s 4 in just in 9 years.

            Conference titles – ucla last won in 1998; Pete Carroll won 7 since 2002

            I’m laughing too hard to go on. Please little gutties, join the Big 12 now so you can finally get out of USC’s enormous shadow. It’s just a USC town and always has been. Deal with it.

  7. In a spirit of goodwill, just posting a freebie I saw on the internet today…

    la[dot]curbed[dot]com/2016/7/21/12215982/los-angeles-olympics-coliseum-history

  8. Pete Carroll was great at turning USC around, and winning a few championship’s , but Nick Saban is much better at maintaining, greatness. Carroll admitted to letting the program slip, and it was because of lack of leadership among his assistant coaches, and the drop off in talent evaluation with the interior linemen.

    • After the blowout against Oklahoma Pete Carroll went into fun mode, and didn’t put in the hours that he did in his first 4 years. That would never happen with nick saban, because he is married to his job.

  9. well, you were RIGHT as always, wolfman!! this WAS a no-brainer, except for the rah rah jamokes who wrap themselves in the very blanket of wisdom you provide, and then QUESTION the manner in which you provide it! i’d rather they just said “Thank You” and be on their way!!

    #JessupStyle

Comments are closed.