Terry Blount, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Pete Carroll cherishes having his son along for the ride

PHOENIX -- There have been a lot of special moments for Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll the last two years in going to back-to-back Super Bowls, but the one that has meant the most to him is getting to do it with his son.

Nate Carroll, 27, is an assistant wide receivers coach with the Seahawks and is now in his fourth year with the team.

“It’s really a treasure for me to have Nate on the staff,” Pete Carroll said Wednesday. “Just to watch him develop through the years that he’s been with us and see his approach.”

Nate Carroll was a three-sport star at Peninsula High in Palos Verdes, California, while Carroll was the head coach at Southern Cal. Nate was Peninsula’s Athlete of the Year in 2006.

Nate had some college scholarship offers from small schools, including one to play quarterback at the University of San Diego. And here’s the part that will surprise you: Jim Harbaugh was the San Diego head coach who recruited Nate.

“I wasn’t there for the home visit, though,” Pete Carroll said about it last year. “Glena (Pete’s wife) took that one.”

But Nate elected to end his playing days after high school and attend USC. He earned a degree in psychology in 2010 but was a constant presence at USC football practices, watching his father work.

Nate started with the Seahawks as an assistant in the scouting department in 2011 before working with receivers coach Kippy Brown starting last season.

“It’s just makes it a cherished time for us, maybe more for me than [Nate]," Pete Carroll said. “To compete with your son at this level and try to figure out ways to win football games with someone you love, I just feel very fortunate.”

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