College Football: 10 toughest coaching careers to follow

10. Pete Carroll (USC)

When Pete Carroll came to Los Angeles in 2001 to take over the Trojans, both his coaching career and USC’s status in the Pac-10 were in need of rehabilitation. Carroll came to USC from the New England Patriots, at a time when the Trojans were more than two decades removed from their last national title in 1978.

In his first season at the helm, Carroll’s Trojans managed to finish just 6-6 in the standings after falling to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. The following season, USC finished tied for first in the Pac-10 and won 11 games. By year three, the turnaround was complete as the Trojans claimed a share of their first national championship in a quarter-century. Forced to split the title with Nick Saban’s LSU squad, USC left nothing to question the following year as they swept the schedule en route to the BCS crown.

Favored to win the national championship for the a third season in a row, Carroll’s team in 2005 ultimately fell in an instant classic at the Rose Bowl against Vince Young-led Texas. The loss, eventually vacated by the NCAA in addition to the team’s 12 victories that year, proved the last time that Carroll got a shot at the title.

Still, it takes a deft coaching performance to win at least 11 games in seven straight seasons. Once he left to return to the NFL as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, USC has been unable to replicate his success. Former assistants Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian never managed to get USC on track for a national title bid, and Clay Helton ended 2018 with the school’s first losing season in more than two decades.