Every new head coach for every team comes in wanting to change the culture. And any head coach worth a damn will have a distinctive idea of what kind of culture he wants to implement as well as how to accomplish it.
Pete Carroll joins the Raiders with a breadth of experience in many different stops in the NFL and college football and over his some 50 years of coaching experience, he has come to the conclusion that there is one characteristic above all others that best establishes the culture he wants…
“It all starts with competition,” said Carroll at his introductory press conference. “You’re either competing or you’re not. I’m going to make sure that that’s really clear to these guys from the moment they get here.
“We’re going to go out and draft a class and there will be a few free agents maybe we’ll be able to attract, and we’ll need to see those guys and we’ll need to see what they’re all about. But the competition part of it is theirs to command.”
Don’t believe him? Just ask his former players at USC.
Pete Carroll made his players watch the highlights of the five star recruits who were coming in to try and take their jobs@BussinWTB presented by @ChevyTrucks #ad #chevy #Silverado pic.twitter.com/o2lAHxJW3n
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 21, 2025
Carroll used this philosophy not only at USC, where he won two National Championships, but again in Seattle where he took the Seahawks to two Super Bowls and hoisted the Lombardi once.
His players respected it too. Probably why Marshawn Lynch was on hand at the Raiders facility when Carroll was introduced.
“If there’s one thing that I want them to understand – and I’ll start the message right now – if you want to be on a great team, you need to be a great teammate,” Carroll continued. “Teaching what that’s all about and instilling that in the makeup of our program is going to be crucial. The central theme in the program is always going to be competition, and that’s where it starts.”
