Carroll has come long way since fake-spike play

For long-suffering Jets fans used to heartache and disappointment, the play known as the "Fake Spike" doesn't seem all that long ago.

That's not the way Pete Carroll sees it.

"To me,'' he said, "that seems like lifetimes ago."

But what happened on that play against the Dolphins on Nov. 27, 1994, had a profound effect on Carroll's early coaching career, and an even bigger impact on a franchise that has mostly known frustration since its only Super Bowl appearance and victory more than four decades ago.

We take you back: At 6-5 and playing for a share of first place in Carroll's first year as the Jets' coach, his team held a seemingly comfortable 24-6 lead late in the third quarter. But quarterback Dan Marino engineered a remarkable comeback, getting the Dolphins to within three 24-21.

With time running out, Marino drove the Dolphins to the Jets' 8-yard line in the final seconds. As he hurried the offense to the line of scrimmage, Marino started screaming to his teammates that he would spike the ball to stop the clock. Instead, he took the snap and lofted a pass over Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn and into the arms of wide receiver Mark Ingram for the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left. The Dolphins won, 28-24.

The Jets lost their next four games, and Carroll lost his job after one season.

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"Of course that one's got to come up," Carroll said in an interview with Newsday this past week. He now coaches the Seattle Seahawks, whom the Giants visit Sundayat Qwest Field. "It's not like we got fooled by it, like, 'Oh, it's the big fake.' Their offensive line didn't even know it was coming. He threw it to the receiver, Aaron played the play, he just didn't get the ball knocked down. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Nearly 16 years later, Carroll, 59, can joke about the nightmarish play. But at the time, it cast a pall over his fledgling career and raised questions about whether he would have staying power as an NFL head coach.

Fired by then-owner Leon Hess, Carroll was replaced by Rich Kotite, who went 4-28 in the next two seasons before being replaced by former Giants and Patriots coach Bill Parcells.

"I never felt anger in getting let go, but I didn't sanction the decision as being the right one to make or accepting it as having failed," he said. "It happened so fast.

"I learned from the experience because I remember not being aware of having everything in order," he said. "It was a good early example of what's a nightmare to me now to think of what I didn't know then. That club really needed restructuring, but I wouldn't have known how to do it."

Since then, the journey has been a long, interesting and controversial one.

After being fired by the Jets, Carroll wound up as the 49ers' defensive coordinator the next two seasons, learning under coach George Seifert and former coach Bill Walsh, then a consultant with the club. Carroll then was hired as Parcells' successor in New England in 1997, where he lasted three seasons before being fired a second time.

What he learned from that experience, as well as his run with the Jets: To be a successful head coach at any level, you need to have control over your roster. He thought he'd have it with the Patriots, but he suggested that what he was told by team owner Robert Kraft did not materialize.

"It was kind of clear that I would , but things didn't fit, the philosophy and approach of ownership, the general manager and the personnel guy," Carroll said.

Once he did get the final say on his personnel at USC, the effervescent Carroll quickly established himself as one of college football's premier coaches. During his tenure from 2001-09, the Trojans made it to two BCS title games, winning the national championship in 2004 and splitting the title in 2003.

But the success didn't come without a price. Because of rules violations, the NCAA vacated USC's 2004 BCS championship earlier this year, although the school retained its 2003-04 Associated Press national championships. Reggie Bush was stripped of his 2005 Heisman Trophy this year after a years-long investigation found him guilty of accepting improper benefits and cash payments.

"I never realized it would ever get like that, when it came out that way," Carroll said.

Had it not been for the Seahawks contacting him about the head-coaching job in January, Carroll said he would have remained at USC "to steward that through. That would have been something I'd have worked through and done. Just manage your way through it and put the thing in order."

In retrospect, Carroll has some regrets about not staying at USC.

"I wish for the program I would have been able to stay and keep the continuity," he said. "Change is difficult on institutions, particularly under those circumstances."

Carroll insists his return to the NFL was not predicated on a sense that the walls were closing in on his USC program because of impending sanctions. And if the Seahawks hadn't offered him control over personnel, he would not have taken that job, or any other NFL job that restricted his say over the roster.

"I never contacted one person - ever - about taking an NFL job," said Carroll, who was contacted by a handful of teams in recent years, including the Redskins and 49ers. "I did have conversations with a few teams, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I thought it was over. I thought there was no chance that I'd get a head- coaching job [in the NFL], and I had no problem with that. I was resigned to it."

Once he did get that chance with Seattle, Carroll has been much more at ease.

"I'm more comfortable because of being in the NFL before, because of the 10 years at SC, putting my whole approach into play," he said. "I've been through the trials of it, so that preparation has really, really helped."

Carroll still has critics who suggest that his upbeat approach is more suited to the college game than the pros, but he believes his style will fit. So far, so good; the Seahawks are 4-3 and atop the NFC West.

Former USC star receiver Mike Williams, who has made a comeback with the Seahawks after being let go by the Lions, Raiders and Titans, believes Carroll will succeed in the NFL.

"He's still got the same spirit, but at the same time, everyone's busting it," Williams said. "He's good at making the guys understand when it's time to go and when it's not. He understands himself a little better, and I think the response from the team is great. Guys embrace him."

Carroll believes he's now at the perfect place - both from a team standpoint and a personal one - in his coaching life.

"Am I different than a lot of other guys? Yeah," he said. "Whether it works or not, we'll find out. I like the fact that we're in first place right now. It's only seven games, but we'll see. I feel good about it."