CARROLL'S LIFE IS A BEACH, FOR NOW.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Somewhere right now, hyperactive USC football coach Pete Carroll is likely on a beach, trying so very hard to shut it all down.

``And I'll probably be scribbling plays in the sand,'' Carroll said before departing.

There will be palms bending with the breeze, white sand, sparkling blue waters. All elements of the ideal honeymoon.

Only Carroll knows his honeymoon is over at USC.

Become coach at a major university with a historic football tradition and the gloves come off quickly. It can go from pats on the back to knives in a single season. From being the next great thing to the thing that has to go.

You get a hands-off first year, and then people expect production. In Carroll's first season at USC, the Trojans went 6-6 and earned a bowl bid, where they were upset 10-7 by Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.

OK, for starters. Bounce back from a 1-4 record to win five of your last seven games - including 27-0 over rival UCLA - in your first season and the fans and alums and media back off, if only for a while.

In a lengthy conversation at his USC office, where Carroll was putting in 12-hour days in the middle of the summer before taking a vacation, none of this would come as news to the boyish-looking former head coach of the NFL's Jets and Patriots.

``It's happened to me everywhere I've been, OK?'' Carroll said. ``I think I understand that really well. Better than most. I have no qualms about it, either. I understand how the cycle of the times go.

``I'm not looking for a honeymoon period. I'm not looking for time to get my feet on the ground. I don't even relate to those questions.

``My expectations are so high that I'm never looking to settle for stages along the way. If the expectations of our boosters, alums, fans, was on a higher plane than mine, I'd be disappointed in me.''

People certainly will be expecting more this season, despite the Trojans having a difficult schedule. Several preseason magazines have USC in their top 25. Sports Illustrated picked it as one of the programs on the rise.

Fourteen starters return, including senior quarterback Carson Palmer and All-American safety Troy Polamalu. There is a heralded incoming freshman class. Carroll now knows his personnel, his opponents, the college game. People will look for a major leap forward.

Only the Trojans well could be better than last year and have a similar record.

USC opens the season Sept. 2 with Auburn before playing its next two games at Colorado and Kansas State. The Trojans could be underdogs in all three, and then go into a Pacific-10 Conference schedule that again figures as one of the toughest in the country.

Carroll dismisses the schedule. It's an element out of his control. He just wants his team to improve, to battle for the Rose Bowl. He's convinced the Trojans will be good ... but how good?

In his second season, Carroll somehow has managed to become even more involved with his program. Already head coach and defensive coordinator, this season he is becoming more involved with the offense. He's met regularly with offensive coordinator Norm Chow and his staff to add input and direction to the offensive scheme.

``I helped our offense assess the defenses that we're playing against, and the philosophy and the way they do things,'' he said. ``Hopefully that will help us and we'll be more effective than we were last year.''

Carroll is all energy, all the time. It's one of his great strengths, though some worry it's also a weakness, that he spreads himself too thin, gets too involved in the details to focus on the bigger picture.

Carroll leans forward in his chair, eyes bright, hands moving. Something always seems to be moving with Carroll. He's not worried about taking on too much. Carroll believes he delegates well enough that he can remain personally active in several areas.

``If you work your butt off, there is enough time to share your ideas and concepts,'' he said. ``Our offense and defense spends a lot of time mixing ideas and coming to grips with what we're dealing with, trying to work together to bring out the best of our collective ideas to attack our season.

``I just try to lead the charge in that regard through communication and spending extra time to get that interchange going.''

The ultracompetitive Carroll almost scoffs at the suggestion he's taking on too much, putting in too many hours, going in too many directions.

``I've having a blast,'' he said. ``Having fun trying to find ways to win. Heck, if I can't display high energy, if I can't display a relentless approach to try and find ways to win, how can I expect my coaches and players to do it?

``Somebody else would maybe define this as an obsession. But I'm very comfortable with the balance I've found in it. When I play, I play real hard and really enjoy it. But to me, this isn't work, either. It's fun. What's wrong with being immersed in fun? It really goes back to competing. That's what I'm doing. That's who I am and what I do in everything.''

He often seems a 50-year-old kid, a persona that has made him popular with players. Where predecessor Paul Hackett looked past you when he spoke and carried himself with an air of superiority, Carroll is one of the guys. He wants to help, wants to be involved in it all.

It's an approach many suspected would translate better to the college game than the NFL, where he was 33-31 as a head coach. No one now believes it more than Carroll.

``It's just really obvious,'' he said. ``I love the setting. There's so many more things going on to have fun with in the college game than there are in the NFL. The NFL's great for competing at the highest level, and that was really cool and I loved it.

``But there are just more things I can do that are in a positive vein, whether it's supporting the university or supporting our athletic teams or dealing with the kids on campus. I have more opportunities to have influence and fun with this position. I like that. It's a good time for Pete.

``I feel at home. I feel like I've come home.''

He'll be back home soon. He's already had his honeymoon.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) no caption (Pete Carroll)

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer