The USC football coaching search took an interesting turn Monday with a name somewhat familiar with Trojans football.
Just eight months removed from his team's second Super Bowl appearance, Pete Carroll may be willing to listen to a pitch from his former West Coast employer, Business Insider reported, based on information from "The Dan Patrick Show."
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"According to Dan Patrick of 'The Dan Patrick Show,' two sources 'behind the scenes' at USC told him Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was on the program's 'short list' of coaching candidates and they thought he could be talked into returning to USC, where he coached for nine seasons and won two national championships," Business Insider reported.
"Pete Carroll is on that short list right now," Patrick said. "Not that Pete would leave Seattle. But the alumni are all in on trying to get Pete back ... The people who help make decisions there, they think Pete Carroll is in play. This what I was told, before the loss [on Sunday], if it goes south in Seattle, they think there is a chance that Pete would listen to go back to USC."
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Patrick said the sources were people "behind the scenes" but not the decision-makers in the hiring process.
Fortunately for the Trojans -- and unfortunately for the Seahawks -- it is starting to go south in Seattle. The Seahawks have surrendered 24-7 and 23-14 fourth-quarter leads in their last two games, respectively, and the losses have pushed them down to 2-4 to start the season.
Carroll originally left USC after the 2009 season, when the program was getting hit for sanctions related to former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush receiving improper benefits. A reunion would categorize that incident as "water under the bridge," SI.com reported.
The name-dropping of NFL coaches as candidates is impressive. NFL.com reported that Eagles coach Chip Kelly, Ravens coach John Harbaugh and Saints coach Sean Payton all could expect a call from USC.
Kelly and Carroll obviously have experience recruiting college-bound athletes; it is unclear whether Harbaugh or Payton would have an interest in that aspect of the job.
Patrick added that Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, who the school pursued in 2013 before hiring Steve Sarkisian, also is on the short list of candidates, but the sources still don't think they can lure him away from the Aggies.
Gambling site Bovada listed Utah coach Kyle Whittingham as the odds-on favorite to land the job.
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