Pete Carroll is a ...

Today is day five of my week of football posts, leading up to the return of football. Today’s post is from fellow blogger, sports radio host and Retro Music aficionado JR Reed of Reed My Writing. 

Pete Carroll is a @#%&!. So is Jim Tressel.

Carroll leads his team through the "Trojan Walk",
a tradition he created at USC in 2001.

Carroll leads his team through the "Trojan Walk", a tradition he created at USC in 2001.
I can hear the hardcore maroon and gold fans crawling off their collective high horse to argue but I suggest they stay where they are because I don’t need to hear what they have to say. Same with you Luckeye Nation.

“USC has a history of greatness,” Trojan fans will argue.
“Yeah,” I reply. “The Juice, Marijuanavitch and Baby Daddy Leinart are among your greatest success stories. You should be damn proud of all three.”

In case the Ohio State hardcore are snickering I would remind them that Maurice Clarrett used his OSU education to commit armed robbery in the alley behind a bar that he regularly hung out at.

I guess he figured it was easier to rob someone near where he was but he didn’t take into account the fact that everyone in the area recognized him. Mo was probably sick the day Tressel taught the “How to commit a felony” class so we should cut him a little slack.

And don’t forget about Terrell Pryor. Trading your NCAA memorabilia for ink is something that he probably learned in a business class at OSU. My only concern is that he didn’t get equal value in his black market deal. Looking at his tattoos I’m guessing he didn’t.

Oh the irony ...

Why am I cracking on these two coaches? The easy answer is because I can but the truth is that I think these two are a special kind of dirtbag coach. You see, you expect guys like Nick Saban at LSU or Lane Kiffin (USC’s current coach) to be skeezy but Carroll and Tressel excel at playing the Good Guy card. I don’t like people who play the Good Guy card as a ruse.

I grew up in Southern California and remember the great days of Trojan football with John Robinson roaming the sideline and guys like Marcus Allen, Lynn Swann, Ronnie Lott, Junior Seau and Jack Del Rio tearing up their opponents.

I’m very familiar with the tradition and mystique of USC football plus I’ve got a pretty good bullshit meter. What that means is that I can tell when I’m being played and about two years in to the Pete Carroll era I knew I was being played but I wasn’t quite sure how.

My familiarity with Ohio State is because I’m a big Wisconsin fan. Why do I have such a problem with the Buckeyes? I can’t really explain it other than to say that I just know there’s something rotten in Denmark. Or in this case, Columbus.

Things were too clean at USC and that was a big, red challenge flag, not unlike the obnoxious red vest Tressel is known for. Rather, the vest he used to be known for. I’m not sure what he wears to work as the Vice President of Strategic Engagement at University of Akron. I guess I could look to see what Akron’s school colors are but the reality is that I really don’t care, so I’m not going to look.

I’m not even sure if “Vice President of Strategic Engagement” is a real position. It sounds like one of those jobs they create for someone, like when Charles Barkley picked up the gig as an IT guy during March Madness just so he could play on the company basketball team.
I think my favorite move was when Pete knew he was going to get spanked hard by the NCAA so he jumped ship and left someone else to clean up his mess. Very classy, Pete.

You should be proud of what you accomplished during your Trojan years. By cheating you stole a Heisman trophy from Vince Young, had a National Championship ripped from your hands and you lied to hundreds of thousands of people who for some ridiculous reason looked up to you and the team you put together.

Does this post have a point or is it just to make fun of Carroll and Tressel? I see how you could think this has no point but you’d be wrong. It does have a point and it’s this.

There is a right way to win and a wrong way to win. If you want to know the wrong way to win you can follow the progress of programs like USC, Ohio State, the University of Miami, Florida State and Oregon.

OK, Oregon isn’t necessarily dirty but I don’t like the mirrored helmets and the wings on the shoulders are lame.

Winning in and of itself isn’t automatically good. There are right ways to win and wrong ways. Winning at all costs shouldn’t be the name of the game but for some guys at some schools it certainly is.

I'd like to give Mr. Reed a big thank you for stopping by and sharing his thoughts on football week! If you want to see more of JR's writing, please swing by his blog, Reed My Writing. Stay tuned ... more football week to come!

Cheers!