Ex-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll planning return to USC — as a teacher

Pete Carroll is returning to the place where he became a college football icon. But Carroll's second stint with the USC Trojans will not be as a coach.

Carroll is aiming to teach a course at USC in the spring, he told a local Seattle radio station Tuesday. Carroll, whose 14-year tenure as Seattle Seahawks head coach ended in January, said he is "looking forward" to the new opportunity.

"It's gonna be a really exciting endeavor when it's all finalized," Carroll said.

After being fired by the New England Patriots in 1999, Carroll revived his coaching career in Los Angeles after arriving at USC in 2001, restoring the Trojans to the top of college football during his nine years there.

The Trojans won seven Pac-12 championships and have claimed two national titles from Carroll's tenure there, including a win in the BCS National Championship Game after the 2004 season. Three players — quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, and running back Reggie Bush — won the Heisman Trophy under Carroll.

Carroll then went on to coach the Seahawks, winning Seattle's first and only Super Bowl title after the 2013 season. The Seahawks reached the playoffs 10 times in Carroll's tenure, highlighted by back-to-back NFC Championships in 2013 and 2014. Though Carroll still expressed a desire to continue coaching, the Seahawks moved him to an advisory role in January and hired former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to replace him as head coach.

Carroll does not appear set to have any involvement with the current USC football team under head coach Lincoln Riley as the school moves to the Big Ten conference. Carroll said Tuesday that he is doing some consulting for teams "outside of football" but refused to go into details.