If anyone understands that there’s life after being jettisoned by the Jets, it is Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
Carroll went 6-10 in one season as the Jets head coach 20 years ago before being fired in the wake of a season-ending five-game losing streak that began when Dan Marino faked a spike and beat the Jets late in the fourth quarter of a game at the Meadowlands. Carroll went on to coach New England for a few years before finally landing at USC and starting on the way to one of the most successful third acts in NFL coaching.
One of his former players at USC is trying to make a similar post-Jets transition. Mark Sanchez is 3-1 since taking over as the starting quarterback in Philadelphia and leads the first-place Eagles into a game with Carroll and the Seahawks this weekend. The relationship between the two hasn’t always been smooth -- Carroll slammed Sanchez for entering the draft in 2009 -- but Sanchez says he’s looking forward to seeing Carroll this weekend.
“He’s great,” Sanchez said, via the Philadelphia Daily News. “He texted me during preseason -- you’re doing awesome, so happy to see you back, having fun -- that means the world to me, because that’s somebody I really respect. I had so much fun playing for him. It’ll be good to see him again ... He’s a really good coach and a good friend.”
Sanchez and Carroll have met once before in the NFL with the Seahawks pasting the Jets 28-7 in 2012. Sanchez had an awful day, completing 40 percent of his passes and turning the ball over twice, and he’ll be trying to avoid a repeat while keeping the Eagles on course for a division title.
