Answer Wednesday!

Q: osezno said:
In a post you mentioned that someone in Heritage Hall believed Pete Carroll was "burned out" and that there were a number of other theories. What are some of those other theories and what is you opinion on them as well as the burned out idea? Also, what is your personal theory on why Carroll left?
Thanks in advance.

A: One of the other theories I heard recently was that Carroll felt there were too many distractions surrounding his job (most were initiated by him) that made it tough to focus solely on coaching and he had too many social burdens. Under this theory, going to Seattle would allow him to get away and just coach.
Although I've heard this from people who are in Heritage Hall and worked with Carroll, I'm not sure I agree. Carroll seemed to love doing everything outside football and he did not seem tired of recruiting.
I believe he left because he always wanted to go back to the NFL deep down and he felt this was his last chance. I also think he felt that USC showed a decline from his glory period and it would require a lot of work to get back to that level.

Q: TROJANS32 said:
Scott, if you were head coach at SC, and if you were forced to move two of our current players, or incoming recruits, to linebacker, who would you choose and why?
Lets exclude Bradford and Tyler, as they would fiercely resist, and lets assume Kennard is already a linebacker. Offhand, I can think of Perry, but he is our best pass rusher, and maybe one of our incoming tight ends to relieve the logjam there, but I'm wondering who your choices would be, as you better know their strenghts and weaknesses, who would give us quality and depth at linebacker, which was sadly missing last year. I know this is highly subjective at this point, and we'll find out more in spring and fall practice, but I'm wondering who you would choose at this moment. Thank you, and thanks for the forums too.

A: I actually think this is a problem because of the lack of traditional players to move between the tight end and linebacker spots, which is where you sometimes move players from offense to defense. I'd say safety Drew McAllister would be one choice because he plays bigger than his size. Another option would be tight end James Boyd. But I'd probably lean toward moving Blake Ayles instead, but he is a better defensive end.