SEATTLE (AP) -Seahawks chief executive officer Tod Leiweke was in Los Angeles on Sunday to speak with Pete Carroll about becoming Seattle’s next coach, and it looks as if the talks have intensified.
The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday night that Carroll had decided to resign from Southern California to take the job with the Seahawks. The school’s players and coaches were informed of the change through a text message from an assistant, according a story posted on the newspaper’s Web site.
A Seahawks spokesman declined comment when asked about a Los Angeles Daily News report that Carroll had resigned.
A league official with direct knowledge of Seattle’s coaching search told The Associated Press on Saturday that the team was closing in on a deal for Carroll’s return to the NFL. The official requested anonymity because the team isn’t detailing the search.
n Tim Tessalone said Sunday night he had nothing to report on Carroll, who has spent nine years with the Trojans and would become the eighth coach in Seattle’s 34-year history.
The Seahawks fired coach Jim Mora on Friday following just one season, even though he had three years and about $12 million remaining on his contract. General manager and president Tim Ruskell was forced to resign last month. That left Seattle without a coach, general manager or president less than four years after the team reached the Super Bowl.
Until now.
Carroll went 6-10 with the Jets in 1994 and 27-21 while twice reaching the playoffs from ’97-99 with the Patriots – before he restored a dynasty at USC beginning in 2001.
Seattle is 9-23 since its run of four consecutive NFC West titles ended in the 2007 season.
The opportunity is unique for Carroll. The Seahawks do not have a GM in place, so he could have authority over football matters like he had at USC, and far more than he would have had filling any of the NFL coaching openings to which he’s been connected in recent winters.
And this was perhaps the best time to leave USC since he arrived in 2001.
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When receiver Damian Williams announced he’s entering the NFL a year early, the news release of his departure Friday night didn’t include a quote from Carroll, who often lavishes praise on his early entry candidates. His silence on Williams was good news for the Seahawks, who could use some.
University of Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who left his friend Carroll and the Trojans 12 months ago for his first head coaching job, chuckled when asked if he’d like to be a head man in the same city as his mentor.
“That would be kind of fun,” Sarkisian said. “He’s a great coach.”
Carroll’s departure comes at a bad time for USC’s recruits, who are now caught between whether to honor their commitments to the Trojans or re-enter the college recruiting derby late in process.
Carroll had already planned a team meeting for Monday afternoon, on the day the Trojans return to class following Christmas break. Tessalone said that meeting is still on.
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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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