Back in January, USC coach Pete Carroll had one of his worst moments as the coach of the Trojans, one that preceded several more of Carroll’s lowlights at USC. Carroll staunchly disagreed with quarterback Mark Sanchez’s decision to go the NFL and later backtracked after getting skewered for his lack of support. Now it’s almost a full year later and Mark Sanchez is the quarterback of a playoff team in the NFL, one that won it’s Wild Card game. Don’t think his chest wasn’t puffed out after getting the win over the Bengals — he used his place at the podium as an opportunity to get payback with Carroll:
Sanchez may think he got the last word because he won a playoff game but I’m adamant he’s still the weak link on that team. The Jets have the best defense and the best line in the league but they’re a good quarterback away from being a legit Super Bowl contender. Sanchez’s propensity for turning the ball over kills the Jets and that limits their offensive gameplan.
As far as the question regarding college coaches going pro (even if Sanchez was just joking), there will be a lot of talk about the failure most college coaches suffer when they go to the NFL. My answer to that is simple: where was Carroll before he went to USC? He was in the NFL as a head coach making him more of an NFL guy who went to college than the other way around. Seattle certainly is a project, but at least he picked the right division. If Kurt Warner retires, that puppy will be wide open and then Carroll may be laughing right there with Sanchez.
video via Black Sports Online
