Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is known as a players' coach, a man who has his players' back and the ability to get them to buy in to what he's trying to accomplish.
And that's why it bothers him that he couldn't find a way to work things out with wide receiver Percy Harvin, who was traded to the New York Jets on Friday.
"We've had a lot of cases that called for understanding and compassion and strength and vision," Carroll said Monday on 710 ESPN Seattle. "But sometimes it just doesn't work. Most of the time I feel like it does for me, so I take it hard."
Carroll and Seahawks general manager John Schneider knew what they were getting when they made the blockbuster trade to acquire Harvin before the 2013 season. They knew he had temperament issues with the Minnesota Vikings and before that at the University of Florida.
Carroll believed he could make Harvin happy in Seattle. But Harvin never attempted to mesh with his teammates despite the efforts of Carroll, the Seahawks' coaching staff and management, a team source told ESPN's Ed Werder.
The source told Werder that Harvin was "always unhappy, always agitated" during his time with the Seahawks.
"I couldn't make it work for our team and our players," Carroll said. "I was disappointed, because I told John I would get this done. I thought I could, but it didn't work out the way we had hoped and we had to make our move."
ESPN's Ed Werder contributed to this report.