"You're either Competing or you're not"

Pete Carroll changed my life.

I can vividly recall calling a few of my teammates at Pitt during my first week on the job as a member of the USC Football staff in the winter of 2005. 

“Guys, I wish you could have been coached by Pete Carroll and this staff. It’s incredible!”

My former teammates would often ask why and while I couldn't nail the answer, I could compete to explain the energy, optimism and education he shared every day.

From the moment I met him at 19-years-old to now, there has not been a greater influence in all aspects of my life. Of course in football, as Coach Carroll offered me a lens into the game that very few have. But he also impacted me as a friend, father and husband. I’ve often said that my parents created the clay that is my life and Pete molded it in my 20s. 

A month before I got married, I flew to Seattle as I just had to get some time with Coach. He had been in the NFL for a while and I’d been building my life in Los Angeles. We would speak a few times a year and each time, I felt impacted. 

We sat down in his corner office on a random Wednesday at the Seahawks facility and for 60 minutes he just coached me on marriage. “Yogi, you have to compete at this thing. Compete to listen, compete to show up, compete to see her.” I thought we might talk about his team, my career, and maybe my pending wedding but it was all about life off the field.

As I reflected back on my flight home, I came to the conclusion that our conversation was a master class on all things human interaction. And I missed it.

For four years at USC, I would experience those conversations almost daily. I was the young coach sleeping in the office and he was the head coach, at times also sleeping in the office. That was where we would connect and eventually formulate ideas and concepts that at their core, were about impacting people to maximize their potential. Or as he would say, Win Forever.

One of my core memories at USC, that extended beyond the field, was when Coach Carroll invited me on one of his annual Tuesday night visits to South Central Los Angeles. We walked the city, met with locals and even played some hoops in a nearby gym. That night under a light post I was able to get him one-on-one, away from others. I asked him a simple question, “Pete, it’s the middle of September, and tonight is your birthday…why are you pouring so much into others and why are you barely speaking?”

He looked toward the skyline and softly responded, “Because I have to. And they don’t need to hear from me. I don’t need to talk, I need to listen.”

Those words are stitched on my soul as Pete Carroll has always made anyone in his path feel seen, and always heard. 

It’s game week in college football and on the bottom of my broadcasting board reads, “listen like your life depends on it.” That’s attributed to the man who took the time to listen to a 19 year old in college, a 22 year old on his staff and in today’s podcast, a man in his early 40s who is still seeking knowledge from a man who has so much to give.

I hope you enjoy our conversation, presented by our founding partner in 76, as it was my most enjoyable in quite some time.

Much love,

Yogi

This episode is executive produced by Jim Thornby with cinematography and editing by Blue Ox Films.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Get full access to Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth at www.y-option.com/subscribe