Harbaugh Says Carroll Done at USC After 2007

[Hostile]

Harbaugh says Carroll is gone after 2007

Comments by Stanford's new coach draw a sharp response from his Trojans counterpart.
By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer
March 30, 2007






USC does not play Stanford until October, but new Cardinal Coach Jim Harbaugh has already stoked flames with Pete Carroll, albeit inadvertently.

Earlier this week, Dennis Dodd of CBS SportsLine.com quoted Harbaugh as saying Carroll would be gone after next season.

"Perhaps the reason it's been up and down here [at Stanford] is that no one has stayed here 20 years," Harbaugh told Dodd. "… Charlie Weis is going to do that at Notre Dame. [Jim] Tressel at Ohio State. Pete's doing it. He's only got one more year, though. He'll be there one more year. That's what I've heard. I heard it inside the staff."

Reached by phone Thursday, Harbaugh said he was quoted accurately. Asked if his source was new USC receivers coach John Morton, who worked with Harbaugh at the University of San Diego, Harbaugh said no.

"I've heard it from multiple people secondhand, from people that have talked to people on the SC staff," Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh added that he was "simply stating what I heard from a lot of other people," and also said, "I don't claim to be the definitive source on what Pete Carroll is going to do."

Carroll, who interviewed with the Miami Dolphins in January but has said he would remain at USC, was miffed by Harbaugh's comments.

"If he's going to make statements like that, he ought to get his information right," Carroll said. "And if he has any questions about it he should call me."

[AbeBeta]

That doesn't surprise me. I've read in a few places that SD could have had Carroll if they'd met his price -- the rub is that Carroll argued that with the massive increases in player salaries that NFL HC salaries were lagging behind - he wanted something in the neighborhood of 7 mill a year

[Doomsday101]

I think Carroll is a better college coach than he was a pro coach. He did a good job as a defensive coordinator in the NFL but was not very successful as a HC.

[ZeroClub]

[BigWillie]

I don't think it is gossip, as much as it is a bit of negative recruiting.

What better way to plant a seed in a few recruits minds that your possible future coach won't be around next season.

For the most part, I doubt it works. But if it helps Harbaugh land even one recruit over USC, he may see it as well worth it.

[THUMPER]

Originally Posted by BigWillie

I don't think it is gossip, as much as it is a bit of negative recruiting.

What better way to plant a seed in a few recruits minds that your possible future coach won't be around next season.

For the most part, I doubt it works. But if it helps Harbaugh land even one recruit over USC, he may see it as well worth it.

Exactly!

[lkelly]

How often do Stanford and USC compete for recruits? A guy needs to get past Standford admissions to have a chance at a scholarship. A guy needs to have an NFL future or greasy palms to have a chance at a USC scholarship.

I think there's a reason the OC turned down the Raiders job.