Marshawn Lynch “Couldn’t Stand” Pete Carroll

Before Pete Carroll joined the Seahawks, I couldn’t stand him. As a die-hard Husky fan and University of Washington alumnus, I cringed when Southern California’s former head coach came to town.

Of course, some of it could have been obvious hatred towards the best; it is easy to hate the Yankees, Lakers, or other dynasties because of their success.

Watching Pete Carroll parade up and down the field commending his players for big plays made against your favorite football team definitely added salt to the wound. I learned to hate Pete Carroll, and I’m sure several other Seahawks fans would agree with me.

Apparently, some professional players feel the same way.

John Boyle of the Everett Herald published a nice interview with running back Marshawn Lynch, who the Seahawks traded for last Tuesday. Lynch played football at the University of California, another Pac-10 school and Southern California rival.

Lynch wasn’t the biggest fan of Pete Carroll in college:

"“I couldn’t stand him. I couldn’t stand him, man. Straight up, I couldn’t stand him. He was one of the only coaches you’d see running up and down the field like he was playing in the game. Running up, jumping, high-fiving his players. They’re over there dogging us, and you’re just sitting there watching them have all this fun, like, ‘Man, what is he doing? Run me to that sideline so I can hit one time.’ But man, I just always thought he was a fun guy, somebody that likes to have fun and win, which is something he’s had a career of doing—winning. . . I could probably get used to it a little better now that I’m on the same side.”"

It is definitely a different story when your guy is doing the high-fiving. It took awhile to get used to, but it isn’t so bad being on the same side.

Shaun Dolence: dolencesm@gmail.com
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