Pete Carroll Pulls Back the Curtain With Troy Polamalu Story From USC

The USC Trojans had a lot of success under coach Pete Carroll from 2001-2009. In Carrol’s time at the helm in Los Angeles, he coached some of the best players in USC program history. This includes safety Troy Polamalu.

Pete Carroll on Troy Polamalu: "He's So Competitive"

USC Trojans Troy Polamalu Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame Pete Carroll Coach Pac-10 Championship NFL Pro Football Polynesian — Sep 26, 2009; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Pete Carroll watches from the sidelines during the third quarter of the game against the Washington State Cougars at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC defeated Washington State 27-6. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Caroll was recently speaking with 247Sports recruiting analyst Blair Angel. Caroll will be coaching in the 2027 Polynesian Bowl and was asked things around the game from his USC coaching days. Carroll brought up a memory he had of former USC safety and member of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, Troy Polamalu.

“There was a day on the practice field at SC when a receiver came down and crack backed on Troy, and knocked him down. And I’d never seen a switch flipped like Troy did in that moment,” Carroll said. “He didn’t want anybody to get the upper hand on him. He tore up a practice to the point where I had to call it off…He was just going crazy.”

Carroll continued on say that moment showed the competitive spirit and the confidence of Polamalu.

"I thought that was the moment that expressed the most competitiveness you could ever see in an individual," Carroll said.

Pete Carroll tells an all-time Troy Polamalu story from their days at USC 🤣

“He tore up a practice to the point where I had to call it off.” pic.twitter.com/W2wrdbO1dZ
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 7, 2026

Troy Polamalu was a safety for the Trojans from 1999-2002. Polamalu played 35 games with USC. He had six interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns. Polamalu was named First-team All-Pac-10 in 2001 and 2002, First-team All-American in 2001, and a Consensus All-American in 2002. The last two years of his USC career were under Carroll.

As Polamalu took the next step in his football career, Carroll stayed at USC for seven more seasons through 2009. In his nine years at USC, Carroll led USC to seven Pac-10 titles and two national titles while accumulating an overall record of 97-19. After USC, Carroll was hired by Seattle Seahawks in 2010 as their head coach. He led them to their first Super Bowl victory in the 2013-14 season.

Troy Polamalu's NFL Career

After his USC career concluded, Troy Polamalu was selected No. 16 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2003 NFL Draft. He ended up playing his full 12-year NFL career there from 2003-2014. Polamalu was named First-team All-Pro four times, Second-team All-Pro two times, a Pro Bowler eight times, and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010. He won two Super Bowl with the Steelers.

For his career, Polamalu had 783 total tackles, 107 passes defended, 32 interceptions, 56 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, and five defensive touchdowns. In the playoffs, he had 64 total tackles, three interceptions (one which was returned for a touchdown), seven passes defended, and four tackles for loss.

He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020, This was one year after being elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

Aside from being known as one of the best defensive backs in the NFL, Polamalu also gained recogition for his long hair. He had a very popular sponsor deal with "Head and Shoulders" shampoo.

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