It all began in the year 2000.

 

Out of coaching, for the first time in 26 years. It was an unusual time for Pete Carroll.

 

No more reading offenses. Now it was reading books.

 

Scanning a hardback, not opponents’ strategies, became a favorite hobby for the man who had held two NFL head coaching positions.

 

One of those books was by legendary basketball coach John Wooden. Carroll soon became enamored by the thoughts written on those pages. He sat there soaking in the values and beliefs of one of sports’ most admired figures.

 

And that’s when it all began.

 

“It was a pretty profound moment — one thing in that book just hit me,” said Carroll, now entering his seventh season with the Trojans. “Coach Wooden talked about how it took him 17 years to win his first national championship, but when he figured it out he won 10 national championships in the next 11 years.

 

“It hit me because once he ‘got it,’ he had it down. That’s what I set out to accomplish.”

 

Coach Wooden did it, and now Coach Carroll is well on his way to it. In his six seasons at USC, he has compiled a 65-12 record, won five straight Pac-10 titles, captured two national championships, and, most importantly, restored the glory to the historically dominant Trojan football program.

 

“It was the spark I needed to begin formulating my ideas into a philosophy that would be the basis for what we have here,” Carroll said.

 

Carroll’s personal convictions and beliefs, combined with what he learned from Wooden’s book, became his roadmap for the next time he got an opportunity to coach.

 

“I knew I had one more shot, so I had to make the most of it,” Carroll said. “I needed to get it right.”

 

Through his thought process, a main focus rose to the top — competition — and it’s been the foundation of the program ever since.

 

“When I really soul-searched, I realized that when it all came down to it, I was a competitor,” Carroll said. “That’s me, it’s what I’ve been my whole life. I had to be true to who I was, I couldn’t pretend to be someone or something I’m not. So the central theme had to be what I believed in and lived out in my life.”

 

He soon had a chance to present his newly organized philosophy to a potential employer. Paul Hackett was fired as USC’s coach after the 2000 season, and a number of prominent names were mentioned as candidates to take the position. Carroll’s name was not originally in that group, but in his interview with USC athletic administrators, he precisely laid out his competition-centered framework for leading the Trojans back to the top. He shined so brightly that the choice was essentially a no-brainer for athletic director Mike Garrett.

 

“He combines great knowledge with tremendous enthusiasm,” said Garrett, who has been in charge of USC athletics since 1993. “His enthusiasm is great, but it’s his knowledge that turned me on more about him than anything else.”

 

Right from his hiring, Carroll’s philosophies began trickling into every aspect of the program, starting with the first team meeting.

 

“The energy was apparent from the beginning,” said cornerback Kris Richard, who played for the Trojans from 1998 to 2001, Carroll’s first year at USC. “I remember the first team meeting we had: He stood in front of us and conveyed his philosophy on football. When he got that philosophy across, it was like a breath of fresh air.”

 

Though competition is the cornerstone, several other maxims and beliefs constitute Carroll’s philosophy.

 

At the first meeting of every spring and fall, Carroll lays out three rules for his team, which form the foundation for all actions and attitudes he expects his players to follow.

 

One, protect the team. Two, no whining, no complaining, no excuses. Three, be early.

 

Three rules, making up the basis for the program. From there, everything flows. Talking with the media? Protect your teammates and coaches. Struggling at practice? Don’t whine, complain or make excuses. Going to a team meeting? Be five minutes early.

 

“I really like the ‘three rules,’ because it makes everything very, very clear to our players and coaches,” Carroll said. “It’s another idea I got from Coach Wooden, and I’ve seen it work exceptionally well.”

 

Carroll also emphasizes his motto, “It’s all about the ball.” Causing turnovers on defense and preventing them on offense are almost always the reason for a win or loss. The importance Carroll puts on the ball has developed the Trojans into what could arguably be called the best turnover team in the history of football, as the Trojans have a plus-94 turnover ratio in the last six years.

 

“When you force a lot of turnovers and don’t give the ball up, you’re putting yourself in position to win every game,” Carroll said. “If you make the game all about what you can control, then the outcome is essentially in your hands every time.”

 

Another key aspect to Carroll’s ideology is his emphasis on maintaining a positive attitude and approaching all challenges and triumphs as an opportunity to grow and get better. “Eliminate all negatives,” Carroll says.

 

“I learned from [former North Carolina State basketball coach] Jim Valvano that you should never allow for negatives,” Carroll said. “It doesn’t matter what the issue is or what the obstacle is, there are no negatives. And through that, you can look at everything as a special opportunity to improve, reflect on, or just sit back and enjoy.”

 

USC’s practices are the lifeblood of the program, as Carroll tells his players that “practice is everything.” The on-field sessions are a place where all the philosophies can play out in a fast-paced, game-like environment. The quick, two-hour afternoon practices are carefully designed to sharpen players and coaches to become better and more dominant.

 

“We practice fast and compete every minute so that our players will be more than ready for the game,” Carroll said. “What they see at practice is hopefully going to challenge us more than anyone else we’re going to play against.

 

“It’s simple: Compete and put in the effort at practice, and gameday will just fall into line.”

 

The enthusiasm apparent at daily practices is brilliantly inspiring and especially unique to USC. That energy translates into more crisp and high quality efforts from the players everyday. And, most importantly, it translates into wins on Saturdays.

 

Focusing on taking games one play at a time, one series at a time, one quarter at a time — another important element to Carroll’s philosophy — is emphasized at practice, along with finishing every one of those plays, series, quarters to the very end. “Finish” has become a motto of the strength and conditioning program, as well as the team.

 

“It’s the heartbeat of our whole program,” strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle said of this slogan. “At the end, when other people are pulling up, we’re still going full speed. You compete from the snap of the ball to the echo of the whistle.”

 

Carroll is a prime model of leading by example, as these principles play out in all parts of his life, whether it’s watching film, mentoring his assistant coaches, chatting with his players, or talking with the media. His leadership, specifically his ability to model his life after his beliefs, carries over to his assistants and players, which makes his philosophy so effusive and successful in the program.

 

“Overall, Coach Carroll has taught us to compete as a unit,” junior linebacker Brian Cushing said. “And that’s not just a football kind of thing, that’s everything we do, whether it’s school, football, taking care of our family, whatever.

 

“That’s something that rubs off from him, it’s something he’s a big advocate of and he’s strongly believed in it for years. It just comes down to us.”

 

And for Carroll, it’s just as easy to say as it is to do.

 

“I just live out what I truly believe,” Carroll said, “and everything takes care of itself from there.”