Just a brief thought on this...
While Pete Carroll is being vilified all over the press over Thursday's presser people need to take a step back, take a deep breath and reflect.
It wasn't too long ago that Mark Sanchez was arrested on campus and that Pete Carroll stood by Mark though ALL of it. We don't know and will never know all of the details of that incident but I seem to remember that PC was again vilified because he didn't kick Sanchez off the team or punish him in a more severe and public way.
Pete Carroll has been nothing but supportive of Mark Sanchez during his time at USC Pete always knew what he had with Sanchez and even in his darkest times (on or off the field) PC was always looking to support and get Sanchez ready for the future. Go Back to spring practice when he named Sanchez the starter BEFORE practice was over...I was disappointed that it wasn't a more open competition but Pete would not be deterred in putting Sanchez #1.
Sanchez goes down with a knee injury and he continues to prepare as if Sanchez is the starter even though he has to get the back-ups ready just in case.
It was nice to read this morning that PC pretty much summed up that this is no different than getting upset at one of your kids for making a bone headed move that goes against conventional wisdom.
Carroll also explained that since arriving at USC before the 2001 season, he has approached his coaching responsibility "from the perspective of how a parent would look after their kid going through here."
"If your child decides to do something that you know isn't what you agree with, I think you bag out on him to not show him your true self, for what you believe," he said. "That's the bottom line here. And I don't mind standing for that."
Carroll said he would have said the same things he said at the news conference if his own son was the player in question.
"I'm the football coach," he said, chuckling. "If he's playing for me I would have done exactly that."
Sanchez will probably be a high draft pick and make a lot of money....I said he should go as a business decision but if we are just looking at football this could be tricky. He'll make his money but will he have a solid NFL career?
I thought this was an interesting aside from Wolf...
With all the drama from yesterday, I never got around to offering a little insight into Mark Sanchez's decision. What stunned people is that he always played the role of the rah-rah guy who loved USC and would never criticize a teammate or coach or say anything bad about USC.
That made people assume he would stay in college as long as possible. But it overshadowed an extremely serious side to Sanchez that wanted to be an NFL quarterback more than anything else. He didn't want to be the poster boy for USC and King of L.A. He wanted to play pro football. That made his decision easy.
Take it with a big grain of salt, I am going to let that hang out there without offering an opinion either way, you be the judge...
I have been consistent in views that once a player leaves USC that I wish them all the best but my heart is with USC and current players on the team. I wish Sanchez no ill will and I do hope he succeeds but USC has continued to thrive through all the players that have gone before Sanchez and I see no reason as to why 2009 would be any different. Will it be a little more difficult? Yes, but Pete Carroll has built up a pretty solid body of work that shows he always finds a way.
Pete Carroll cares deeply for Sanchez and he does want the best for him and the record shows that PC has been more than supportive of Sanchez so I can see why he is so vehement in his opinion as to why Sanchez shouldn't come out.
Like I said food for thought...