Carroll 'not desiring' to coach again, plans to teach at USC

Longtime head coach Pete Carroll isn't focused on returning to the sidelines.

"I get asked a lot, so I'm pretty familiar with answering that I could coach tomorrow," Carroll said Tuesday on 93.3 KJR. "I'm physically in the best shape I've been in a long time. I'm ready to do all the activities that I'm doing and feeling really good about it. I could, but I'm not desiring it at this point."

The 72-year-old coached the Seahawks from 2010-23 and helped Seattle win its first-ever Super Bowl title. However, the team replaced Carroll this past offseason in a surprise move, eventually hiring first-year sideline boss Mike Macdonald.

The Seahawks initially announced that Carroll would transition into an advisory role with the club. However, Carroll said Tuesday that he's kept his distance from the team and hasn't had much contact with Macdonald and his new coaching staff.

"I haven't talked to those guys at all," Carroll said. "I ran into Mike in the parking lot one day, and it was a great chance, just the two of us alone, to say hey and kind of get greeted - and on we go.

"It just feels like it's the right thing to do to let them go."

Instead of focusing on coaching football again, Carroll said he's planning to return to USC to start teaching a class next spring. Prior to his successful Seahawks stint, Carroll coached the Trojans from 2001-09, winning two national titles with the school.

"I'm kind of keeping it under cover here for a bit, but I will wind up working down at USC," Carroll said. "I'm gonna wind up teaching down there. And I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be a really exciting endeavor when it all is finalized and all that."

Carroll posted a 137-89-1 record and made two Super Bowl appearances with the Seahawks.