This look at the dominant mid-2000s USC football program succeeds on multiple fronts, coupling multifaceted character studies with memorable tales of excess, dysfunction, and controversy. Center stage is Pete Carroll, who coached the Trojans to consecutive national championships. His players call him a “psychological ninja” and “a big-ass kid.” Per the author’s diligent reporting, both characterizations fit. Burke depicts a football lifer who rejects the industry-standard “authoritarian” model. Carroll’s approach, informed by applied psychology ideas that emerged in the 1960s, foregrounds fun. More than once, we see him try to keep practice loose by staging “morbid” pranks simulating untimely deaths. After mediocre coaching stints in the NFL, Carroll’s USC winning percentage topped 83%. The staff’s “good cop,” he employs full-throttle assistants. One strips naked during a pep talk; another tackles a curfew-breaking player in a hotel. Burke presents a rounded portrait of Carroll, who has since returned to pro ball. A prominent former player describes the coach as “sneaky,” and some of Burke’s other sources say Carroll’s oversight was too lax. Burke’s reporting includes an ex-USC athlete’s claim that he supplied steroids to players and glimpses of hard-partying Trojan stars. Burke wrings an impressive amount of drama from accounts of old ballgames, including one considered among the best-ever college tilts. He has an occasional tin ear, however, casually describing rape allegations against L.A. Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as “an icky scandal.” The Trojans’ accomplishments were tarnished when the NCAA levied stiff penalties after finding that a star player accepted cash and other prohibited compensation. Since-adopted rules permit college athletes to earn money, and to the delight of its many critics, the NCAA’s commitment to “false amateurism” backfired, Burke correctly notes, rendering it largely “powerless.”
