Carroll May Have Some Work to Finish

MIAMI —  During the Orange Bowl’s opening news conference Sunday afternoon, Pete Carroll was watching film.

“I found a TV and checked out that Miami-New England game,” he said.

After the news conference, he watched more film.

“Did you see what the Jets did to the Packers?” he said.

Later that night, even more film.

“That Bucs game, did you see what they were doing with that defense?” he added.

When the Trojan coach emerged on the practice field Monday morning, his head cloudy with memories, one thing became clear.

USC’s biggest opponent this week is not Iowa, or overconfidence, or even O.J. Simpson.

Its biggest opponent is the NFL.

With three coaches fired Monday, and at least a couple of others seemingly doomed, there will be a handful of vacancies this winter.

If the Trojans finish as the second-ranked team in the country, Carroll will emerge as one of a handful of legitimate candidates.

He has been there, with four seasons as an NFL coach and six seasons as an NFL coordinator.

He has won there, with .500 or better records in three of four seasons as coach.

And he wants to go back there ... maybe.

He says no, but his body language says yes.

He says forget it, but his eyes say he will never forget.

He was fired after only one season with the New York Jets simply because the owner had fallen in love with a colossal bust named Rich Kotite.

He was fired after three seasons and two playoff berths in New England simply because the owner was still heartsick about losing Bill Parcells.

He finished with an NFL coaching record of 33-31, and dozens of lingering what-ifs.

“Part of me will always know what occurred,” he said. “There is a dark side of all this that motivates the heck out of me. Being able to prove I can do something for a long period of time is very important to me.”

Translated, that means he wants to stay at USC and finish the rebuilding he has started, right?

Or does it mean he wants to go back to the NFL and finish that job?

History shows that once an NFL guy, always an NFL guy.

“Heck, it’s like the NFL around here now,” receiver Mike Williams said. “From what I understand, we practice like an NFL team. Coach takes care of us. That’s why we like it so much.”

While USC privately claims it will pay whatever it takes to keep Carroll from leaving, the Trojans apparently also are hedging their bet.

Norm Chow, the offensive coordinator, became one of the first career assistants in history to turn down a head-coaching job when he recently rebuffed Kentucky.

It was a stunning decision. Or was it?

Some say Chow was told he would be a leading candidate for the USC job if Carroll left.

“Things just didn’t feel right, that’s all it was,” Chow said of the Kentucky job.

As for Carroll going to the NFL, he smiled.

“I think teams would be crazy not to go after him,” Chow said. “The guy’s a heck of football coach.”

The rumors of Carroll’s return to the NFL actually began earlier this season. Quarterback Carson Palmer heard one, and immediately confronted his coach.

“He said he wasn’t going anywhere,” Palmer said. “He’s told me that a number of times since then.

“He’s got an opportunity to do something really special here, to be the guy who brings us back on the national scene, and he’s so close right now ... he would never leave.”

Carroll’s son, Brennan, a graduate assistant coach, has been telling players the same thing.

“He says he can’t imagine his father leaving this for the salary caps, the holdouts, all that NFL stuff,” Williams said. “He says his father is really happy here.”

There is no doubt that Carroll has been sincere in all those comments.

But that was before he reappeared on the NFL radar screen with his quick renovation of a messy Trojan situation.

That was before he behaved like another former NFL assistant-turned-college coach.

Remember Butch Davis, University of Miami, two seasons ago?

Davis turned around the program, coached them to a No. 2 national ranking, and was promptly hired by the Cleveland Browns for around $3.5 million a year.

Carroll has done virtually the same thing here this season.

And you think if somebody shows up offering to triple his around-$1 million salary, he won’t take it? Or that he shouldn’t take it?

The NFL could double Carroll’s salary, which is not among college football’s elite, and he probably would take it. Wouldn’t you?

His players, who can leave school early, should understand. Their parents, who don’t think twice about changing jobs for big raises, should understand.

The new reality in college sports has been a reality for years in the workplace. Nothing personal. It’s just business.

“SC has given me the opportunity of a lifetime, I’m having a blast, and I don’t want it to end,” Carroll said. “I want to stay. I want to keep growing. I want to finish the job.”

It’s an admirable desire.

But let’s see how muffled it sounds beneath $10 million.

Carroll has three years left on his contract, but there is little doubt that a lucrative NFL job could allow him to escape.

So Mike Garrett, be warned.

The sound of O.J. Simpson walking on to your field is nothing compared to the fury if Pete Carroll walks off.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.

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*--* ORANGE BOWL USC (10-2) vs. Iowa (11-1) Thursday at Miami 5 p.m., Ch. 7

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