37. To those of us from USC, he's simply known as St. Pete.

Tonight, as the BS-riddled debacle that is the BCS produced yet another somewhat-dubious national champion in NCAA college football* (oh, right: congrats, Gators), I'm going to say a few words about a man I am tremendously grateful to be associated with through my standing as an alumnus** of the University of Southern California:

Pete Carroll.

See, when I first enrolled at USC, Trojan Football had fallen on hard times. We were a traditional college football powerhouse whose glory days had long since become a thing of the past. In fact, my freshman and sophomore years were downright embarrassing for us Trojans--two of the worst seasons the school has ever had. The only redeeming factor was that in both years we beat our cross-town rival--ucla--salvaging otherwise-pathetic football seasons.

But then Pete Carroll was hired to take the reins of the program. And after that (well, and a shaky first year), everything turned around. My senior year, we finished the season 11-2, and were ranked 4th in the nation upon demolishing Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

And since then, we've never ended a season ranked lower than that.

In the span of six years, we've won a pair of national championships and have come this close to winning or playing for the national title in several other years. Under Coach Carroll, USC has indisputably been the most dominant football team of the 00's, creating a hegemony that has made our school's "glory days" a thing of the present...and foreseeable future.

But that might not be what I love most about Pete Carroll. I love that he's such a joy to behold; his every step on and off the field is filled with an infectiously-enthusiastic, fun-loving, and kinetic energy that is very likely unparalleled by that of any other football coach, ever.

After watching our ridiculously lopsided victory in the Rose Bowl last week, Austin and I spent hours singing the praises of St. Pete. Talk of him possibly being the "best college football coach ever" is now moot--a foregone conclusion, we decided; the real debate now should be whether or not Pete Carroll is the "greatest American ever."

Consider the following pieces of evidence from a recent "60 Minutes" broadcast, which showcase not only Pete's success as USC's coach, but also some of his extraordinary work off the football field:





I am incredibly proud to be associated with this guy. The Trojan Family is so very fortunate to claim such a talented, upbeat, and, yes, boyishly good-looking individual as one of our one.


*No, I'm really not bitter. Under the current system, Florida is the rightful National Champion. I'm just pretty sure that--outside of Gainesville--you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't truly believe that there's still some unfinished business from this season of college football. Florida, USC, Utah, and maybe even Texas could all make a case for being the #1 team in the country at this point. That certainly wouldn't be the case if a playoff system was created...

**Not to mention, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing him on my college talk show back in the day.