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American football coach (born 1951)

Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football executive and former coach who is an advisor for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at the University of Southern California (USC) from 2001 to 2009 and the head coach of the Seahawks from 2010 to 2023. Carroll is the third and most recent head coach to win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl along with Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Beginning his head coaching career on the professional level, Carroll saw minimal success with the New York Jets in 1994 and the New England Patriots from 1997 to 1999. Shifting to college football with USC, he revitalized the struggling program into a top ranked contender, winning seven consecutive conference championships and two consecutive AP National Championships. He also won a BCS national championship in 2004, although the title was later vacated. Carroll's collegiate success prompted an NFL return in 2010 when he was hired as the head coach of Seattle. In 14 seasons under Carroll, the Seahawks qualified for the playoffs 10 times, clinched their division five times, made two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and won the franchise's first championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. The team's Legion of Boom defense also led the league in scoring defense for four consecutive seasons during his tenure. Following the 2023 season, Carroll stepped down as head coach to take an executive position with the Seahawks.

Carroll was born on September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California, the son of Rita (née Ban) and James Edward "Jim" Carroll. Two of his paternal great grandparents were Irish immigrants, and his Croatian maternal grandparents emigrated from around the region of Šibenik. He was raised in Greenbrae, California, and attended Greenbrae School.

After high school, Carroll attended junior college at the nearby College of Marin, where he played football for two years (lettering in his second year) before transferring to the University of the Pacific, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. At Pacific, Carroll played free safety for two years for the Tigers, earning All Pacific Coast Athletic Association honors both years (1971–72) and earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1973.

Carroll's energetic and positive personality made a good impression on his head coach, Chester Caddas. When Caddas found out Carroll was interested in coaching, he offered him a job as a graduate assistant on his staff at Pacific. After graduating from Pacific, Carroll's colleague Bob Cope was hired by the University of Arkansas and he convinced Lou Holtz, then the head coach of the Razorbacks, to also hire Carroll. During his season with Arkansas, he met his future offensive line coach Pat Ruel, also a graduate assistant, as well as the future head coach of the Razorbacks Houston Nutt, who was a backup quarterback. Arkansas' Defensive Coordinator at the time, Monte Kiffin, would be a mentor to Carroll. The following season, Carroll moved to Iowa State University, where he was again an assistant working on the secondary under Earle Bruce. When Monte Kiffin was named head coach of North Carolina State University in 1980, he brought Carroll in as his defensive coordinator and secondary coach. In 1983, Bob Cope became head coach of Pacific and brought Carroll on as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. His success with the Vikings led to his hiring by the New York Jets, where he served as defensive coordinator under Bruce Coslet for four seasons (1990–93). Carroll and Coslet had known each other for many years by that time, as Carroll's older brother was Coslet's college roommate. When there was an opening for the Vikings' head coach position in 1992, he was a serious candidate but lost the position, again to Green. The Jets got off to a 6–5 start under Carroll, but in Week 12, he was the victim of Dan Marino's "clock play"—a fake spike that became a Miami Dolphins game winning touchdown. The Jets lost all of their remaining games to finish 6–10. He was fired after one season. Carroll was hired for the next season by the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as defensive coordinator for the following two seasons (1995–96). His return to success as the defensive coordinator led to his hiring as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 1997, replacing coach Bill Parcells, who had resigned after disputes with the team's ownership. His 1997 Patriots team won the AFC East division title, but his subsequent two teams did not fare as well—losing in the wild card playoff round in 1998, and missing the playoffs after a late season slide in 1999—and he was fired after the 1999 season. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said firing Carroll was one of the toughest decisions he has had to make since buying the team, stating, "A lot of things were going on that made it difficult for him to stay, some of which were out of his control. And it began with following a legend." Even though several NFL teams approached him with defensive coordinator positions, Carroll instead spent the 2000 season as a consultant for pro and college teams, doing charitable work for the NFL, and writing a column about pro football for CNNSI. com.

Carroll was named the Trojans' head coach on December 15, 2000, signing a five year contract after USC had gone through a tumultuous 18 day search to replace fired coach Paul Hackett. He was not the Trojans' first choice, and was considered a long shot as the USC Athletic Department under Director Mike Garrett initially planned to hire a high profile coach with recent college experience. Meanwhile, Carroll, who had not coached in over a year and not coached in the college ranks since 1983, drew unfavorable comparisons to the outgoing Hackett. USC first pursued then Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson, who instead signed a contract extension with the Beavers; then Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, who similarly signed an extension. Garrett cited Carroll's intelligence, energy and reputation as a defensive specialist as reasons for his hire. Garrett took particular criticism for the hire, with the press tying his future with Carroll's after he had to fire two head coaches in four years for USC's premiere athletic coaching position. Former NFL players (including USC alumni) such as Ronnie Lott, Gary Plummer, Tim McDonald and Willie McGinest offered their support for Carroll, who they noted had a player friendly, easygoing style that might suit the college game and particularly recruiting. In 2008, ESPN. com named Carroll's hiring number 1 in a list of the Pac 10's top ten moments of the BCS era.

The criticism of Carroll became louder when Carroll's first USC team opened the 2001 season going 2–5, with some sportswriters writing off the once dominant Trojans, who were the only Pac 10 football team to never finish in the national top 10 during the previous decade, as a dying program. However, after the slow start, Carroll's teams proceeded to go 67–7 over the next 74 games, winning two national championships and playing for another. Carroll was considered one of the most effective recruiters in college football, having brought in multiple top ranked recruiting classes; he was also known for getting commitments from nationally prominent players early in high school. His son, Brennan Carroll, was USC's recruiting coordinator as well as the tight ends coach during the elder Carroll's tenure as head coach. Carroll's team won a then school record 34 straight games from 2003 to 2005, a streak that started after a triple overtime loss to California and ended with the national championship game against the Texas Longhorns in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Fourteen of those games were later vacated for breaking NCAA rules. During his tenure, USC broke its average home attendance record four times in a row (they play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum); the USC home attendance average in 2001, his first season, was 57,744; by 2006, it was over 91,000. During this period, USC had a 35 game winning streak at the Coliseum, spanning 6 years (2001–2007). The streak began on October 13, 2001, with a 48–17 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils and the final victory was a 47–14 win over the Washington State Cougars on September 22, 2007. The streak ended on October 6, 2007, with a 24–23 loss to the Stanford Cardinal who was a 41 point underdog. Prior to this the last loss was on September 29, 2001, (during Carroll's first year) to Stanford Cardinal 21–16. The success of USC football under Carroll led to a sharp rise in overall athletic department revenue, growing from $38.6 million in Carroll's first season at USC to more than $76 million in 2007–08. Controversy arose when USC was excluded from the National Championship Game for the 2003 season, even though ranked #1 in both the Associated Press (AP) Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Years later, (2008) he was asked if winning the Rose Bowl was ever not enough. "No. You've got to understand that our mindset is to focus only on what we can control. We can only control getting to the Rose Bowl. Winning our conference and going to the Rose Bowl is what our goal is every year. Our goal isn't about national championships, because we don't have control of that – that's in somebody else's hands. We found that out years ago [2003], when we were No. 1 but then we were No. 3. We already knew that but that just proved it. If we win our games and we're out there and they want us to go somewhere else, then we'll go. We love the Rose Bowl." Carroll was repeatedly approached regarding vacant head coach positions in the NFL beginning in 2002. Carroll hesitated to return to the NFL after his previous experiences, and said that his return would likely rest on control over personnel matters at a level unprecedented in the league. He had insisted over the years that he was happy at USC and that money was not an issue; he also was said to enjoy the Southern California lifestyle. When asked if he would retire at USC, Carroll responded:

I am prepared to do that. That's the way I look at it, like this is the last job I'm ever going to have. I approach it that way. Now, whether it is or not, I don't know. Someone asked me the other day, 'Does that mean you're never going to leave?' Why do people want to make you say that? I have no idea, but I can't imagine doing anything else. It's a great place to be. I've been so lucky and fortunate. I owe so much to the school and the people who follow it. And the guys who played for us. I love being here. When originally hired, Carroll signed a five year contract worth approximately $1 million annually. He received a significant raise after the 2002 season and earned close to $3 million in the 2004 season, which ended with USC winning the BCS title in January 2005. He agreed to a contract extension in December 2005. On January 11, 2010, it was reported that Carroll would be leaving USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll had told his players the previous evening that he would be resigning his position with the Trojans to become the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. According to the Los Angeles Times, Carroll came to agreement with the Seahawks on a 5 year $33 million contract to become head coach.

See University of Southern California athletics scandal.

On June 9, 2010, The Los Angeles Times reported that Carroll, along with other active and former USC officials, had appeared in front of a ten member NCAA Committee on Infractions the previous February. The next day, June 10, the NCAA announced sanctions against the USC football program including a two year bowl ban, the elimination of thirty football scholarships, and forfeiture of some football victories from 2004 to 2005 (a season which had included winning the Bowl Championship Series title), and all team victories from the undefeated 2005–06 regular season, when USC lost to Texas in the BCS title game. With the vacated games removed, Carroll drops to fourth on USC's all time wins list, behind John McKay, Howard Jones and John Robinson. His 97 on field wins would put him ahead of Robinson for third in Trojan history. The allegations centered on former Trojan star Reggie Bush. Bush was found to have accepted several improper gifts, including the use of a San Diego area home for members of his family. It was reported that USC might appeal the sanctions. including ESPN's Ted Miller, who wrote, "It's become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice, and the NCAA's refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization." After Carroll announced that he was leaving for the Seahawks, he denied the possibility that the NCAA sanctions were a factor in his leaving USC to return to pro football in Seattle. "Not in any way," Carroll stated, "because I know where we stand. It's just a process we have to go through. We know we've fought hard to do right." Carroll was hired before the sanctions were announced. Reacting to the USC sanctions in a video produced by his new employers, Carroll said on June 10, 2010, "I'm absolutely shocked and disappointed in the findings of the NCAA." He said in 2014 during a visit to USC, "I thought [the NCAA's investigation into USC] was dealt with poorly and very irrationally and done with way too much emotion instead of facts. I sat in the meetings. I listened to the people talk. I listened to the venom that they had for our program They tried to make it out like it was something else. They made a terrible error." In 2015, he said, "We had so much success and we had so much fun doing it, it was uncommon for people to understand. I think it rubbed people the wrong way. There was such a bitterness."

After the Seattle Seahawks fired head coach Jim L. Mora after the 2009 season, Carroll was rumored to be in the running for the job. On January 8, 2010, it was reported that Carroll was about to be hired as head coach of the Seahawks; the two parties were hammering out "minor details" in the pending contract. According to the Los Angeles Times, Carroll was "close to reaching an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks on Friday evening." On the morning of January 9, 2010, Carroll reportedly came to agreement with the Seahawks on a five year contract that would appoint him as head coach. Although Seattle faltered through the latter half of the season, the team beat their NFC West division rival St. Louis Rams in the final week of the regular season for the division championship, becoming the first 7–9 team in NFL history to win a division title. Carroll made even more history as the Seahawks later upset the then Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints by a score of 41–36 during the wild card round of the playoffs, behind running back Marshawn Lynch and the famed Beast Quake run. However, the following week at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, they then fell to the Chicago Bears, whom they had defeated earlier in the season, in the Divisional Round by a score of 35–24.

In 2011, Carroll again coached the Seahawks to a 7–9 record, but it was not enough to secure a playoff spot due to the ascendance of Carroll's old college rival coach Jim Harbaugh and division rival San Francisco 49ers, who finished with a 13–3 record. It was the first season the Seahawks had a starting quarterback other than Matt Hasselbeck in over a decade.

In his third season with the Seahawks in 2012, Carroll, along with rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, led the team to an 11–5 record, including going undefeated at home. The 2012 season was Carroll's first winning season for the team. The Seahawks were also involved in controversy during Week 3's Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers in Seattle, when the replacement officials called two different results for Russell Wilson's Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Golden Tate. The officials called the play in the Seahawks' favor, igniting a national outrage about the officiating. When the NFL referee lockout ended several days later, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that public furor over the call accelerated the eventual resolution of the labor dispute. Carroll's record was enough to post the team's second playoff berth, and the Seahawks won their Wild Card Round game on the road against the Washington Redskins and fellow rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, 24–14. Seattle lost the following week in the Divisional Round to the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome by a score of 30–28.

The Seattle Seahawks 2013 season began with four consecutive preseason wins, and commentators had them as one of the key favorites in the NFC. The regular season began with a 12–7 victory against the Carolina Panthers. The prior year's NFC Champions and divisional rival, the San Francisco 49ers, were blown out by the Seahawks, 29–3. Winning out September, they visited the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis and suffered their first loss, on October 6. That was the only loss that the team would suffer until December. Heading to San Francisco for their second match up against their divisional foe, the Seahawks had the best record in the NFC at 11–1. However, the game was in stark contrast to their first in September, as the 49ers (9–4 at that point) edged out a 19–17 win, which dropped Seattle to 11–2. The penultimate game, against the Arizona Cardinals, was Seattle's attempt to continue their at home winning streak to 15 games (record started in Week 2 of the 2012 season). Although the Seahawks had won their three prior meetings, including one earlier in the year, the Cardinals had steadily improved during the season. The at home win streak did not reach 15. The Cardinals won, and Seattle suffered its third loss of the year. They bounced back against the St. Louis Rams in their finale to finish at 13–3 and finish a game above both San Francisco and Carolina, who each had twelve wins. The number one team (and playoff seed) in the NFC, Carroll matched Mike Holmgren's 2005 season of the same record, tying for the best in Seattle history. The Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round of the playoffs by a score of 23–15. In the NFC Championship Game, cornerback Richard Sherman tipped a Colin Kaepernick pass into the waiting arms of Malcolm Smith to secure a 23–17 win over the San Francisco 49ers. The moment has been referred to as both "The Tip" and the "Immaculate Deflection". On February 2, 2014, Carroll led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history after defeating the Denver Broncos, 43–8, in Super Bowl XLVIII. Carroll joined Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson as the only coaches to win both an NCAA championship and a Super Bowl. At age 62, Carroll was the third oldest coach to win a Super Bowl. Tom Coughlin was 65 when the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI and Dick Vermeil was 63 when the St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV.

The following season in 2014, the Seahawks started off their quest to repeat as champions with a 36–16 defeat of the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football in the first game of the NFL season. A Super Bowl XLVIII rematch came in Week 3, with Seattle again defeating Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, 26–20 in overtime. However, losses to the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs caused the defending champions to start the season with a 6–4 record, three games behind the division leading Arizona Cardinals. After a team meeting following a Week 11 loss, the Seahawks finished the regular season 6–0 to finish with a 12–4 record. As the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional Round, 31–17, to get to their second straight NFC Championship. After trailing 19–7 to the Green Bay Packers with just over two minutes remaining in the NFC Championship, the Seahawks launched a furious comeback to force overtime. On the first possession of overtime, Russell Wilson hit wide receiver Jermaine Kearse for a game winning touchdown that sent the Seahawks to their second straight Super Bowl. On February 1, 2015, Carroll's Seahawks lost Super Bowl XLIX to Carroll's former team, the New England Patriots, 28–24. With 25 seconds to go on second down and goal at the Patriots' 1 yard line, and the Seahawks trailing by four points, Carroll called for a pass play. Wilson's pass was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler on the goal line, and the Patriots ran out the clock. Some have called Carroll's play call on the play "the worst play call in NFL history."

The 2015 offseason was one full of criticism for Carroll, Wilson, and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell after the ending of Super Bowl XLIX. However, Carroll was praised by much of the national media for how he handled the adversity following the game. The Seahawks began the 2015 season by blowing fourth quarter leads to the St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, and Arizona Cardinals. After losing at home on NBC Sunday Night Football to the division leading Cardinals, Seattle sat at 4–5. However, Carroll rejuvenated his team enough to win their next five games, putting the Seahawks at 9–5 and clinching a playoff berth. Russell Wilson became the first quarterback to throw 19 or more touchdown passes without any interceptions over five or more wins. The Seahawks ended the regular season with a revengeful win against the Arizona Cardinals, beating the NFC West champions 36–6 on the road. Seattle entered the postseason as the #6 seed, winning its Wild Card Round against the Minnesota Vikings after Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27 yard field goal for a final score of 10–9. The Seahawks would later fall to the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional Round 31–24, after being down 31–0 at the half, and as a result, the Seahawks would not reach a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

On July 25, 2016, Carroll signed a three year contract extension with the Seahawks that would keep him in Seattle through the 2019 season. Carroll's Seahawks once again had high expectations leading into the 2016 season, but injuries to key players on both sides of the ball eventually became too much to overcome. The Seahawks were able to start the season with a 4–1 record, despite Russell Wilson playing with a hurt ankle sustained in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins. In Week 10, the Seahawks travelled to New England to play the Patriots for the first time since the Super Bowl XLIX loss, and came away with a 31–24 victory to push the Seahawks to 6–2–1. Carroll notched his 100th regular season win the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Seahawks clinched the NFC West in Week 15, following a 24–3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. It was Carroll's fourth NFC West division title in his seven seasons with the team, and sixth playoff appearance. In the Wild Card Round, the Seahawks dominated the Detroit Lions in a 26–6 victory. The victory extended Seattle's playoff home game win streak to 10 consecutive wins, 6 of which have come under Carroll. The Seahawks were eliminated in the Divisional Round for the second straight year in 2016, losing 36–20 to the Atlanta Falcons. In his season ending press conference, Carroll revealed that cornerback Richard Sherman had been playing with a "significant" MCL injury, which attracted attention because Sherman had not been listed on the injury report throughout the season.

In his eighth season with the Seahawks, Carroll led the team to a 9–7 record. The team finished second in the NFC West but missed out on the playoffs for only the second time in Carroll's time with the Seahawks.

In the 2018 season, Carroll helped lead the Seahawks to a 10–6 record and a second place finish in the NFC West. The team returned to the playoffs, where they lost 24–22 to the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round. On October 14, 2018, Carroll reached win number 91 over the Oakland Raiders, becoming the Seahawks' all time wins leader (including postseason), passing Mike Holmgren with a record of 91–56–1 at that point.

On September 15, 2019, which was his 68th birthday, Carroll won his 100th game as the Seahawks head coach, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28–26. Carroll's Seahawks finished the season at 11–5, finishing second in the NFC West behind the 13–3 San Francisco 49ers. As a fifth seed in the playoffs, the Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17–9 in the Wild Card Round, before being eliminated in the Divisional Round by the Green Bay Packers 28–23. Carroll coached the NFC team in the 2020 Pro Bowl.

Carroll was fined $100000 by the NFL for not properly wearing a face mask, as required for coaches during the COVID 19 pandemic, during a Week 2 game in the 2020 NFL season on September 21, 2020. On November 8, 2020, Carroll and the Seahawks agreed to a four year contract extension. They ended the season with a 12–4 record and won their first division title since 2016, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round.

Carroll and the Seahawks named Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron to the offensive coordinator position. Under Waldron, Seattle's offense got off to a hot start, with quarterback Russell Wilson completing 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns as the Seahawks won 28–16 to the Indianapolis Colts, finishing with a passer rating of 152.3. The following week against the Tennessee Titans, the Seahawks lost 33–30 in overtime, after blowing a 30–16 lead in the fourth quarter. In Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, the Seahawks raced to a 17–7 lead early in the second quarter before their offense was shut out by the Vikings for the rest of the game; Seattle lost 30–17. In Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football, quarterback Russell Wilson broke his finger on a sack by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and he was ruled out as backup Geno Smith relieved him in the 26–17 loss. Wilson was placed on injured reserve later that same day, missing a start for the first time in his NFL career. Carroll and the Seahawks went 1–2 in Wilson's absence before hitting the bye week. Wilson was activated off injured reserve on November 12 ahead of their game against the Green Bay Packers. Wilson and the Seahawks were blanked in the 17–0 loss for the first time since he became their starting quarterback, completing just 20 of 40 passes for 161 yards and two interceptions. Carroll's Seahawks rallied to finish the season by winning four of their final six games, with one loss coming by just one point. During the season, the Seahawks' first such losing season since 2011, Carroll candidly admitted to the media that he "probably wouldn't have been here a long time" without his longtime starting quarterback. Despite the disappointing season, it was reported on January 16, 2022, that Carroll and general manager John Schneider would retain their jobs for the 2022 season.

In the offseason, Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. Carroll later named Geno Smith the starter for the regular season opener, which would be against Wilson and the Broncos. In Week 1, the Seahawks defeated the Broncos 17–16 on Monday Night Football. Carroll led the Seahawks to a 9–8 finish and an appearance in the playoffs. The Seahawks' season ended in the Wild Card Round with a 41–23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

In 2023, Carroll again led the Seahawks to a 9–8 record. However, on the last day of the season, Seattle was eliminated from the playoffs after the Green Bay Packers, who had an identical record but held the playoff tiebreaker over the Seahawks, won over the Chicago Bears in the final game. On January 10, 2024, Carroll and the Seahawks mutually agreed that he would step down from his head coaching role. He will remain with the team as an advisor. Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was later named as his successor. Macdonald has stated he wants to maintain the team culture first built by Carroll. Macdonald is notably half the age of Carroll as the Seahawks go from having the oldest head coach in the league to the youngest.

Team Year Regular season Postseason Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result NYJ 1994 6 10 0 5th of AFC East — — — —NYJ total 6 10 0 0 0 .000 NE 1997 10 6 0 1st in AFC East 1 1 Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Divisional Game NE 1998 9 7 0 4th in AFC East 0 1 Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild Card Game NE 1999 8 8 0 4th in AFC East — — — —NE total 27 21 0 1 2 SEA 2010 7 9 0 1st in NFC West 1 1 Lost to Chicago Bears in NFC Divisional Game SEA 2011 7 9 0 3rd in NFC West — — — — SEA 2012 11 5 0 2nd in NFC West 1 1 Lost to Atlanta Falcons in NFC Divisional Game SEA 2013 13 3 0 1st in NFC West 3 0 Super Bowl XLVIII champions SEA 2014 12 4 0 1st in NFC West 2 1 Lost to New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX SEA 2015 10 6 0 2nd in NFC West 1 1 Lost to Carolina Panthers in NFC Divisional Game SEA 2016 10 5 1 62.5 1st in NFC West 1 1 Lost to Atlanta Falcons in NFC Divisional Game SEA 2017 9 7 0 2nd in NFC West — — — — SEA 2018 10 6 0 2nd in NFC West 0 1 Lost to Dallas Cowboys in NFC Wild Card Game SEA 2019 11 5 0 2nd in NFC West 1 1 Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFC Divisional Game SEA 2020 12 4 0 1st in NFC West 0 1 Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Wild Card Game SEA 2021 7 10 0 4th in NFC West — — — — SEA 2022 9 8 0 2nd in NFC West 0 1 Lost to San Francisco 49ers in NFC Wild Card Game SEA 2023 9 8 0 3rd in NFC West — — — —SEA total 137 89 1 60.4 10 9 Total 170 120 1 58.4 11 11

On offense, Carroll is known for using aggressive play calling that is open to trick plays as well as "going for it" on 4th down instead of punting the ball away. Because of his aggressive style, the USC band gave him the nickname "Big Balls Pete". At USC home games, when Carroll decided to go for it on 4th down, the USC band would start a chant of "Big Balls Pete" that carried over to the students section and the alumni. On defense, Carroll favors a bend but don't break scheme of preventing the big plays: allowing opposing teams to get small yardage but trying to keep the plays in front of his defenders. Carroll draws coaching inspiration from the 1974 book The Inner Game of Tennis by tennis coach W. Timothy Gallwey, which he picked up as graduate student at the University of the Pacific; he summarizes the philosophy he took from the book as "all about clearing the clutter in the interactions between your conscious and subconscious mind", enabled "through superior practice and a clear approach. Focus, clarity and belief in yourself are what allows [sic] you to express your ability without discursive thoughts and concerns." He wrote a foreword for a later edition, noting that athletes "must clear their minds of all confusion and earn the ability to let themselves play freely." In explaining his enthusiasm, Carroll has stated, "I always think something good's just about to happen." During practices, Carroll frequently gets involved doing drills: running sprints and routes as well as throwing the ball. Under Carroll, nearly all USC practices were open to the public, a move that was uncommon among programs; he believed that having fans at practice helped his team prepare, making mundane drills seem more interesting, causing players to perform at a high level when they know they have an audience and preparing them for larger crowds on game days. Despite his penchant for humor, Carroll's USC program had strictly prescribed routines that covered what players were allowed to eat, the vocabulary they used, and the theme of daily practices. Under his tenure, days had descriptive nicknames like Tell the Truth Monday, Competition Tuesday, Turnover Wednesday.

In April 2009, Carroll launched CampPete. com, a multi player online game "billed as a ground breaking Web site aimed at bringing Coach Carroll's unique Win Forever philosophy to kids all over the country by taking advantage of one of the hottest technology trends online, the virtual world." The site, which can be accessed by creating a virtual avatar, includes arcade style games, motivational messages from Coach Carroll and a sports trivia section as well as a collection of virtual football skills workshops for kids. A portion of the proceeds from CampPete. com go to support A Better LA.

Carroll and his wife, Glena, have three children, Brennan, Jaime, and Nate. Brennan and Nate have been part of the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff.