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 At the age of 62, after being hired and fired by a handful of
teams, he got his hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy when the
Seahawks trounced the Denver Broncos 43-8 at MetLife Stadium in New
Jersey.
Typically, he played down his role, giving praise instead to his
young and energetic team for perfectly executing their game plan.
"It's a big deal. It was a big game for us and we played great. We
played the way we wanted to play," he said.
"The team was totally focused on getting this done and it played out
the way we wanted it to play.
"All phases contributed. It was not really even a question in their
mind that we wouldn't perform like this. We didn't ask them to do
things that we don't always do and they trusted in that."
With his unbridled enthusiasm, high-octane energy and unusual
motivational techniques, Carroll has always been a new-age coach
ahead of his time.
The league's second oldest head coach, he blares music during
practice, encourages competitive basketball and bowling between the
players, and gallops down sidelines during games to
follow the action.
After losing the head coaching job at the New England Patriots and
New York Jets, Carroll left the NFL for a decade and coached
successfully in college football until he was lured back by the
Seahawks.
MANNING SHUT DOWN
In his four seasons in Seattle he has rebuilt the team, recruiting a
bunch of younger players and turning them into the best defensive
unit in the NFL.
It was a strategy that proved decisive on Sunday as the Seahawks
shut down Denver's star quarterback Peyton Manning.
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"We didn't get to him as much as we'd like to, but we got to him in
key situations and made the ball come our way," Carroll said.
"We had four turnovers, they got none. That's about how the defense
is getting after it and also the offense taking care of it."
The omens were good for Seattle from the outset when Denver gave up
a safety with a botched snap after just 12 seconds, the fastest
score ever in Super Bowl.
Then they went on the rampage, racing to a 22-0 lead at halftime and
never giving Denver a chance.
"I don't know if that had anything to do with anything. That was
just a bad snap. I thought we played real well from start to
finish," Carroll said.
"It was unfortunate for them that they had screwy snap but that's
two points. That doesn't decide the football game."
For Seattle it was an historic moment, marking the first time the
franchise had won the biggest prize in American sports.
The Seahawks owner, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who was the
first person to get his hands on the trophy at the presentation,
said most of the credit belonged to Carroll.
"I don't think you can overstate it. He just has such a positive
outlook. He's the most forward-hinking coach for the players of
today that I've seen," Allen said.
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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