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Pete Carroll: Sanchez made "bad choice"
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Pete Carroll and Mark Sanchez walk past each
other after Sanchez announced he was going
pro. Carroll made clear he didn't agree with the
decision. (AP Photo/Damien Dovarganes)
Lots of players leave school early for the NFL. Most of the time, when they announce their decision, their college head coach puts on a happy face and says he wishes the player the best.
Not Pete Carroll.
At least not today, when Mark Sanchez announced he was leaving USC for the NFL despite advice from Carroll and Sanchez's own family to stay in school.
Many who saw the press conference, including fellow Examiner Paula Duffy, were shocked at Carroll's behavior.
"Pete Carroll did something that has astounded me and others who are fans of him as well as USC," wrote Duffy. "He said that he counseled Sanchez not to get caught up in the 'euphoria surrounding the Rose Bowl' in which Sanchez joined the others in the Rose Bowl records books when he threw for more than 400 yards, ran for one touchdown and threw four others."
Was Carroll out of line? That's hard to say. His behavior certainly wasn't typical of head coaches in these situations, but that doesn't automatically make it wrong. (You can see video of his comments here.)
What is clear is that Carroll was frustrated with Sanchez's decision, so much so that he gave an "exclusive" interview to his own website, PeteCarroll.com, an hour after the press conference to expound on his thoughts.
“The facts are so strong against this decision,” Carroll told former USC walk-on Ben Malcolmson, who writes articles for PeteCarroll.com. “After analyzing all the information, the truth is there — he should’ve stayed for another year.”
From the article:
Carroll cited a study that shows 62 percent of underclassmen quarterbacks who declare early for the Draft eventually don’t pan out in the NFL. He also pointed to Sanchez’s NFL Draft evaluation, which projected Sanchez as a second-round selection.
“Mark’s chance to increase his value and become the top player in college football next year would have been worth $10-$20 million or more — likely more,” Carroll said. “One more year of running a team is almost priceless, so he lost the chance to fully prepare himself and become the very best he could be before going to the NFL.
“That’s why there’s a 62 percent failure rate for underclassmen quarterbacks.”
During the press conference, Sanchez repeatedly referred to achieving a lifelong dream as to one of the reasons he made this decision.
“We have always been in full support of Mark pursuing his dream,” Carroll said, “he just should have postponed realizing his dream another 12 months.”
Carroll went on to say that he wasn't the only one telling Sanchez to stay in school.
“I’m trying to help him be the best he can be, and that would’ve been to stay in school another year and increase his value,” Carroll said. “The facts are there. And he knew all of it, but that’s what he wanted to do it, so we wish him the best.”
Carroll wasn’t alone in his disagreement.
“His family didn’t want it and everybody else told him he should’ve stayed,” Carroll said. “Also, he let go of the opportunity to affect the people around the university and the community, something that would’ve been unforgettable.”
Although he remained strong in his disagreement, Carroll emphasized that he still supports Sanchez and knows he “will always be a special member of the Trojan family.”
“Even though we disagree, I still support him and we’re going to try to help him in any way we can,” Carroll said. “It’s like a family member — you’re not going to stop loving him just because he makes a bad choice.
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