Pete Carroll became the eighth head coach in Seahawks history on January 11, 2010. He brings 16 years of NFL experience and 19 years of collegiate experience to Seattle.

Carroll returns to the NFL after spending the previous nine years (2001-09) as head coach at USC, where he won seven consecutive Pac-10 titles (2002-08), two national championships (2003-04) and led the Trojans to a 97-19 record.

Carroll was named USC’s head football coach on December 15, 2000, and in his first season, led the Trojans to the Las Vegas Bowl and a 6-6 record.

He began his NFL career as defensive backs coach for Buffalo (1984) and Minnesota (1985-89) before becoming the New York Jets defensive coordinator (1990-93) and head coach (1994). He spent two years as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator (1995-96), leading the league in total defense in 1995, before leading New England to a 27-21 record and two playoff appearances as head coach (1997-99). Carroll’s overall head coaching record is 33-31 in the regular season and 1-2 in the postseason.

Carroll spent the 2000 season as a consultant for pro and college teams, doing charitable work for the NFL and writing a column on pro football for CNNSI.com.

Carroll began his coaching career at the college level, serving as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Pacific, for three years (1974-76), working with the wide receivers and secondary. He then spent a season as a graduate assistant working with the secondary at Arkansas (1977) under Lou Holtz as the Razorbacks won the 1978 Orange Bowl, and then a season each as an assistant in charge of the secondary at Iowa State (1978) and at Ohio State (1979). He next spent three seasons (1980-82) as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at North Carolina State, before returning to Pacific in 1983 as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.

Carroll was a two-time (1971-72) All-Pacific Coast Conference free safety at Pacific and earned his bachelor's degree in 1973 in business administration. He received his secondary teaching credential and a master's degree in physical education from Pacific in 1976. He was inducted into the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.

Carroll was born on September 15, 1951, in San Francisco. He and his wife, Glena, who played volleyball at Pacific, have three children: Brennan, who played tight end at Delaware and Pittsburgh, Nate, and daughter Jaime, who played on the USC volleyball team that competed in the 2000 NCAA Final Four. He also has one grandson, Dillon.