A Minnesota Icon Mentored Pete Carroll
Carroll’s career trajectory might’ve been much different had a Vikings legend not saved it early on.
It was 1985. Pete Carroll was unemployed, having just been fired as the Bills defensive backs coach after one season, his first in the NFL. In Vikings country, head coach Les Steckel was run out of Minnesota following a disastrous 3-13 season the year previous.
A familiar face was coming out of retirement to resurrect a franchise that had sunk the lowest it had in its then 24 years of existence.
Bud Grant was back in charge of the Vikings, a position he held for 17 years before stepping down two years prior in favor of spending more time on the lake and in the woods.
Grant took a chance on Carroll, hiring him for the same position the then 32 year old had been ousted from in Buffalo.
Grant walked away from coaching for a second time following the 1985 season, but Carroll stayed on the Vikings staff under Jerry Burns before departing for New York in 1990 to become the Jets defensive coordinator.
Burns retired in 1992 and Carroll was on the short list to succeed him. The job instead went to Denny Green.
Fast forward nearly 40 years since the beginning of Carroll’s tenure in Minnesota, when on Wednesday it was announced he would not return in 2024 after 14 years as head coach of the Seahawks.
After compiling a record of 137-89-1, including one Super Bowl victory in two appearances, Carroll and Seattle general manager John Schneider have mutually agreed to part ways following consecutive 9-8 seasons. Carroll will, however, remain with the organization as a special advisor. Coincidentally, Grant sat in a similar role with the Vikings beginning after his second retirement in 1986, keeping it until his death at 95 last March.
Grant and Carroll remained close through the years, with Carroll often referring to Grant as his biggest mentor.
When Carroll tied Grant for what was then the 18th most wins as a head coach in league history two season ago, he called his old friend and spoke highly to the media about the man who gave him his second wind as an NFL coach.
“I can’t tell you how much I love that guy and how much I’ve respected him throughout my career and the opportunity he gave me to get back in the league,” said Carroll. “I’d been in the league one year, got fired, got thrown out of it, and he gave me a chance to come back. I don’t know why he saw it, but he did. From that point forward, the relationship that we’ve had has just been meaningful to me in everything that I’ve done.”
On the day of Grant’s passing, Carroll shared a photo of the legend visiting him during his time as head coach at USC with a message reading:
“Sending so much love to the Grant family. I honestly felt if anybody could live forever it would have been Bud. I will forever hold him as an everlasting incomparable spirit.”
I have always thought of Carroll as being one of the best in business. A coach who has always done it the right way, much like Bud Grant.
And it’s not hard to see a lot of Grant in Carroll’s style.
The aggressive offense, scrambling quarterbacks, the always tough ‘Legion of Boom’ defenses he fielded over the years, and the laid back persona, can all be traced back to the hall of famers influence.
Pete, even though you went 8-0 against our beloved team during your time in Seattle, us Vikings fans will miss doing battle with you.
And when you get to Canton someday, to take your rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, say hello to Bud for us. Our friend and yours.
Quick Hitters
Minnesota hockey immortal Lou Nanne, who has announced the state high school tournament since 1964, will hang up the mic at the conclusion of this years edition in March. Nanne was on the call for Edina’s state championship victory in 1984, one that came thanks to a game winning goal by his son Marty Nanne, and also for his grandsons (Tyler Nanne and Vinni Lettieri) state titles with the Hornets in the 2010s. Farewell Louie, we’ll miss you!
The Minnesota team (still without a nickname) of the new PWHL are an exciting bunch to watch. Former Gophers Grace Zumwinkle and Taylor Heise are leading the team in points with four a piece, as they sit at 3-0 atop the standings of the six team league. They play New York at three o’clock Sunday on Bally Sports North. Flip away from the NFL Wild Card Playoffs for a bit and take a look. Who really wants to watch the Packers and Cowboys anyways?
I sure hope Derek Falvey, Thad Levine, and the rest of the Twins front office staff are okay, because they have been awfully quiet this offseason. While the Yankees, Braves, and Dodgers have all made acquisitions to boost their pitching rotation, the Twins seem content to bank on guys like Chris Paddack and Louie Varland. That’s not gonna cut it. Bold prediction time: the Twins will trade either Max Kepler or Jorge Polanco by the beginning of Spring Training for starting pitching assistance. Where that might be to, or who that might be for? I have no idea. I’ll leave that up to Falvey and Levine. They’re smarter than me, apparently.
A clip was circulating last week featuring former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman in an October appearance on the CBS Sports affiliated podcast, “With The First Pick.” In it, Spielman suggested that he would draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams over the likes of legends Peyton Manning and John Elway. Lest we not forget, this is the man who drafted Christian Ponder. I ponder that slick Rick should’ve sat that one out.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk fired head coach Mike Vrabel last Tuesday, sending shockwaves through the team’s locker room and fan base. Vrabel was well liked in Tennessee and around the league. Perhaps Amy Adams Strunk should now be called Amy Adams Skunk, because this move reeks to high heaven.
One Final Thought
Wouldn’t it be great to see Bill Belichick join the Panthers? I would love to see he and former Viking Adam Thielen bury the hatchet, after the two exchanged F You’s back in 2018. As that old quote I heard once goes: “It’s when we start working together that the real healing takes place.”
