Win Forever Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Introduction

  PART ONE - BEFORE THE PHILOSOPHY

  Chapter 1 - BEGINNING TO COMPETE

  Chapter 2 - LEARNING TO COACH

  Chapter 3 - THE INNER GAME OF FOOTBALL

  Chapter 4 - HARD LESSONS IN NEW YORK

  Chapter 5 - THE 49ERS WAY

  Chapter 6 - GETTING CLOSER IN NEW ENGLAND

  PART TWO - TH E POWER TO WIN FOREVER

  Chapter 7 - PHILOSOPHY AS THE FOUNDATION

  Chapter 8 - ALWAYS COMPETE

  Chapter 9 - PRACTICE IS EVERYTHING

  PART THREE - WIN FOREVER AT USC

  Chapter 10 - GETTING THE JOB AT USC

  Chapter 11 - LAYING GROUND RULES

  Chapter 12 - COACH YOUR COACHES

  Chapter 13 - COACHES ARE TEACHERS

  Chapter 14 - OUR APPROACH TO PRACTICE

  Chapter 15 - FOURTH AND NINE

  Chapter 16 - OUR RECRUITING PROMISE

  Chapter 17 - MAKING IT FUN

  Chapter 18 - PLAYING IN THE ABSENCE OF FEAR

  Chapter 19 - SETTING A VISION AND SEEING IT

  Chapter 20 - WINNING FOREVER ON AND OFF THE FIELD

  PART FOUR - WIN FOREVER BEYOND THE FIELD

  Chapter 21 - NOT JUST FOOTBALL

  Chapter 22 - YOU CAN WIN FOREVER

  ALWAYS COMPETE

  CONCLUSION

  Acknowledgements

  Index

  Additional Praise for Pete Carroll and Win Forever

  “Coach Carroll has taught me that to be a true competitor, a true warrior, a person must master one’s own doubts, passions, and fears to obtain self-knowledge—self-knowledge being one of the greatest virtues an athlete can attain.”

  —Troy Polamalu, safety, Pittsburgh Steelers

  “Coach Carroll will forever be remembered as one of the best coaches in the history of college football. Even though we may find ourselves on opposite sides of the field now that he’s back in the NFL, I can’t thank Pete enough for everything he taught me during my last two years at USC and helping me become the player I am today.”

  —Carson Palmer, quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals

  “Pete Carroll taught me what it takes to compete at a high level. He believed in me, and in those three years I started for him at USC, we accomplished things that no other team will ever accomplish. Because of Coach Carroll, his Win Forever philosophy, and how he prepared us, we never once felt the pressure of being on top.”

  —Matt Leinart, quarterback, Arizona Cardinals

  “Coach Carroll is the fiercest competitor I know. Not only as a coach, but also as a mentor and, more important, a friend. That mentality allowed me to enter the NFL with the tools necessary for the highest level of competition. Those traits transcended the field and will offer a competitive edge for anyone who reads his book.”

  —Mark Sanchez, quarterback, New York Jets

  “Sitting in the film room one day at Arkansas, coach Lou Holtz asked me what I thought of our twenty-five-year-old graduate assistant, who happened to be sitting in the back of the room taking notes. My response was short and simple, ‘Coach, get to know this young man because he won’t be here very long—he’s born to be a head coach.’ The Seattle Seahawks are fortunate to get Pete Carroll, not just the excellent coach that you will read about in Win Forever, but the great person.”

  —Monte Kiffin, legendary defensive coordinator

  “The thing that impresses me the most about Coach Carroll is that he practices what he preaches, as he is both the student and the teacher. He lives his life, both on and off the field, with passion, enthusiasm, integrity, a can-do attitude, a tireless work ethic, and a heart of gold. Coach Carroll lives his Win Forever philosophy, and the results of choosing such a life are beautiful, inspiring, and wonderfully successful.”

  —Kerri Walsh, two-time Olympic Gold medalist and the world’s top-ranked women’s volleyball player

  “The teachings of Coach Carroll are universal and stretch beyond athletics into all aspects of life. Win Forever is a must read for anyone looking to maximize his or her potential and live a richer and more fulfilled life.”

  —Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and New York Times bestselling author of 50/50

  “Pete’s infectious passion for the game of football, his competitive edge, and his zest for life are a reminder to us all that it’s the journey and not the destination that counts. I have been inspired by his enthusiasm, impressed by his professionalism, and challenged to become an even better coach and person myself thanks to his example.”

  —Jürgen Klinsmann, international soccer icon and former Germany World Cup and Bayern Munich manager/coach

  “Pete Carroll’s fiery effervescence burns through this book with marvelous clarity and wisdom. Win Forever will inspire men and women young and old for a long, long time to come. Its integration of sport and high, hard-won philosophy opens new ways for us into our own undiscovered country.”

  —Michael Murphy, founder of the Esalen Institute, author of Golf in the Kingdom and The Future of the Body

  “Win Forever is not about sports, it is about life. Pete has found a way to create a vision that instills character and integrity through the competition that we call life. It is about how we choose to see the world, our life, and the problems within both, and find a way to have faith and confidence that we have it within ourselves to solve these problems.”

  —Tim Leiweke, president and CEO, AEG

  PORTFOLIO

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  First published in 2010 by Portfolio,

  a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Copyright © Win Forever, LLC, 2010

  All rights reserved

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Carroll, Pete, 1951-

  Win forever : live, work, and play like a champion / Pete Carroll with

  Yogi Roth and Kristoffer A. Garin.

  p. cm.

  Includes index.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-43719-3

  1. Success. 2. Excellence. 3. Sports. I. Roth, Yogi. II. Title.

  GV965.C414 2010

  796—dc22 2010011848

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic edit
ions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

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  To Glena, Brennan, Jaime, and Nate,

  who have allowed me to chase

  the dream all these years

  INTRODUCTION

  I slammed the book shut, stunned.

  It had been six months since I’d been fired as the head coach of the New England Patriots and in the summer of 2000 I was trying to figure out what to do next with my life. I was reading a book by the legendary basketball coach John Wooden.

  It took him sixteen years to figure it out, I told myself, but once he did, he absolutely knew it. After that, he rarely lost, and he went on to win ten of the next twelve national championships. It seemed he won forever.

  Looking back, I had been feeling all but down and out. Suddenly everything had changed.

  I reached for a pad of paper and started writing. What Coach Wooden had done that so impressed me was to pull together his own vision, philosophy, and belief system into a detailed plan for winning. Once he had it, he went on, year after year, to build teams that were almost unstoppable. I needed to come up with a plan of my own. I needed to develop my own winning philosophy and design a plan for implementing it. I started that afternoon.

  For the next few hours, days, and weeks I wrote down phrases, bullet points, and definitions about who I was, where I had been, where I wanted to go, and what I wanted the next program I ran to look like. In no particular order, I wrote what came to mind. It was completely unorganized, but I knew just getting it all down on paper was a critical first step.

  I embarked on a process of discovering who I was, not only as a football coach but, more important, as a person. At one point I leaned back in my chair, football in hand, and smiled. I couldn’t believe that I had been coaching for the past twenty-six years and had never stated my philosophy, let alone written it down.

  The process was long and difficult, but the more I wrote, the more powerful the experience became. Finally, I made a breakthrough. I realized that at the core of my being, I was a competitor. I had been competing my entire life at everything. With this understanding, I set about structuring a football program strictly based upon my core belief. Competition would become the central theme of the program, and our day-to-day thinking would be driven by this single thought: to do things better than they had ever been done before. I was making real progress solidifying my philosophy and was truly excited about how things were coming together.

  My entire life and coaching career were about to change. After coaching sixteen years in the National Football League, I had decided to return to the collegiate level and pursue a head-coaching position. When the University of Southern California called and asked me to interview for their opening, I realized that this was a chance to unveil my philosophy. The job was offered and I accepted. A once proud and traditionally powerful football program had fallen on hard times, and now it was my turn to take over.

  Throughout the hiring process I sensed a newfound confidence and belief in myself. I had never felt so prepared and well equipped to deal with the challenges of taking over a program. Coach Wooden’s example inspired me to create a vision and a philosophy that would become the foundation of the USC football program.

  After two seasons we had become Pacific 10 Conference Champions, won the Orange Bowl following the 2002 season, and watched quarterback Carson Palmer receive the coveted Heisman Trophy in New York City. We were on our way to becoming one of the most dominant football programs in the country. During my nine years at USC we went on to win seven straight Pac-10 titles, appear in seven straight Bowl Championship Series games, win two national championships, have three Heisman Trophy winners, and set an all-time record for being ranked as the number one team in the Associated Press poll for thirty-three straight weeks.

  Our success at USC began with the philosophy I refer to now as Win Forever. It is an approach that allowed us to sustain high-level championship performance over a record-breaking period. What might appear to be a philosophy targeted primarily on wins and losses was in fact a vehicle for maximizing team and individual performance. We were in the midst of a great run, with hopefully no end in sight.

  After the 2009 season, I was in the midst of solidifying our upcoming recruiting class, when I received a call to interview for the head coaching position from Tod Leiweke, the CEO of the Seattle Seahawks. Initially, the interview was similar to meetings that I had had in the past with various NFL teams, but I soon realized that this opportunity might be different. It did not sound like a typical sales pitch. His words and his tone had a depth to them, a sincerity and a sense of legitimacy. Tod and owner Paul Allen assured me that I would have all the control and support I would need from the organization, similar to the situation I already had at USC.

  It was difficult to think about leaving USC, but the opportunity to take the Win Forever philosophy to the NFL was compelling. In Seattle I would have the chance to compete at the highest level in football and I was fired up about the prospects of that happening. It was becoming clear that this opportunity in the NFL could be a perfect fit, a situation that, up until now, I didn’t think existed for me. I spoke to my family and close friends and considered the impact this would have on everyone around me. This was one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make, and it helped knowing my wife, Glena, and our family supported me either way.

  The Seahawks called back and offered the job. They told me they wanted me to bring the philosophy and the approach that had been so instrumental at USC. After careful thought and consideration, I called Tod Leiweke and said I was ready to go. It is amazing how your life can change so suddenly.

  Taking the step to return to the NFL may have seemed daunting to some people and certainly has been challenged by others, possibly due to the fact that during a lengthy career in the league, I had been fired twice from head coaching positions. Since then questions had been raised repeatedly about whether my style and approach fit more appropriately in college than in the pros. However, upon returning to the high-risk world of the NFL, I could not be more excited or more confident about coming back.

  The last time I was hired as a head coach in the league was 1997. That was a different time and place and so much has happened since then. This time around, I see things differently. The wealth of experience and all that has taken place since that time has changed me. The process of self-discovery that was necessary to formulate my vision, and the power of having a philosophy has given me a confidence I didn’t have before. One of the keys to success lies in knowing and believing in yourself. When you are confident and you trust in who you are, you can perform to the best of your ability, and that is exactly what I plan to do. Whether you are coaching the USC Trojans or the Seattle Seahawks, working at your job or running a household, all you should ever strive for is to be the best you can be . . . and that is the essence of what it means to Win Forever.

  PART ONE

  BEFORE THE PHILOSOPHY

  1

  BEGINNING TO COMPETE

  As a kid growing up in Marin County, California, I was more or less like all the other kids interested in sports: I just wanted to play. I never dreamed of becoming a coach.

  It did not matter what season it was, or what sport—it could even be a game that we made up on the spot—the competition was always on. In our close-knit neighborhood, we played in the shadow of Mount Tamalpais and on nearby school playgrounds. As far back as I can remember, I was always battling with my friends to be the best at all the things I enjoyed. I took great pride in excelling in all sports as I moved through Kentfield-Greenbrae Little League, Pop Warner football, and whatever else I could find to test my abilities. I knew that when I finally got to high school I was going to do well. There was no doubt in my mind.

  Unfortunately, my body at the time had other ideas. In spite of my youthful confidence, my physical development w
as slow and was not cooperating with my ambitions. While other kids experienced growth spurts and puberty, I still had a ways to go. I entered Redwood High School as a five-foot-four-inch, 110-pound freshman needing a doctor’s note in order to be cleared to play football. I had passion and a fiercely competitive spirit, but that could take me only so far. Guys I would never have considered my competition were suddenly the ones to beat.

  This period was one of my first real encounters with disappointment. I hated being told that no matter what I did I would not be good enough to compete to be the best at something I loved. But there was no denying the limitations I was facing as an athlete. As I moved from the ranks of Little League and Pop Warner to the more competitive arena of high school sports, my lack of size made it difficult to excel like I wanted. It seemed that the only thing about me that was growing at the time was the chip on my shoulder.

  My frustrations were probably shared by the members of my family, but they were nonetheless loving and supportive. The lessons I learned from them and the other people who remained closest to me at the time continue to play a large role in my personal and professional development today.

  My mom and dad were always there for me. They went to every game that I ever played, and they were the best kind of Little League parents. They expected me to play hard and to do my best, but they never made me feel pressured or afraid of failing. Their support was something I always felt. I knew that I could count on them.