Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll are two of the most accomplished coaches of their era. Both are quirky culture setters who have become defined by rebuilding teams into championship contenders at the college and pro levels.
In many ways, these two approach the job similarly, and unlike most of their peers.
Carroll, 74, often wears a long-sleeved Dri-FIT shirt, sweats and sneakers at practice, even now as the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in triple-digit heat. He joins practices, sometimes catching or throwing a pass, while running around and energizing players, some of whom are more than 50 years younger than their coach.
Harbaugh, 61, the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, also has roughly the same uniform each day: a Chargers polo shirt and hat, gray pants and cleats or tennis shoes. He joins workouts, pulling weighted sleds with defensive linemen or entering push-up competitions with linebackers.
For all of their similarities, the two coaches have an almost two-decade-long beef that intensified with a handshake and the phrase “What’s your deal?”
Since then, these coaching giants haven’t escaped each other. The rivalry will renew on “Monday Night Football” (10 p.m. ET, ESPN) when the Chargers travel to Las Vegas to play the Raiders.
“I remember Jim … I have no fond memories,” Carroll said on Thursday. “… There have been great games.”
Here’s a breakdown of their rivalry history.
March 2007
Three months after Harbaugh accepted the coaching job at Stanford, his rift with Carroll, then the coach at USC, which was college football’s premier program and one of the Cardinal’s Pac-10 rivals, began.
In an interview with CBSSports.com, Harbaugh, while talking about the short tenures of coaches at Stanford, said that Carroll would be at USC for one more year. “That’s what I’ve heard. I heard it inside the staff,” Harbaugh said.
Days later, Carroll responded: “If he’s going to make statements like that, he ought to get his information right,” Carroll told the Los Angeles Times. “And if he has any questions about it, he should call me.”
Carroll remained at USC for three more seasons.
Oct. 6, 2007
The first matchup between Harbaugh and Carroll. Harbaugh was in his first season at Stanford, which was 1-11 the prior year. Harbaugh’s starting quarterback T.C. Ostrander had a seizure the previous week, forcing redshirt sophomore Tavita Pritchard to make his first career start.
Meanwhile, USC was No. 2 in the AP Poll, had won 35 games in a row at home and boasted a roster loaded with future NFL talent, including linebackers Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing. Stanford went into the game as a 41-point underdog.
But Harbaugh pulled off what was then the greatest upset in college football history, toppling USC 24-23. Stanford outscored the Trojans 17-7 in the fourth quarter.
The game’s biggest play came on fourth-and-20 with 1:39 remaining. Pritchard connected with wide receiver Richard Sherman (later to become an All-Pro cornerback with Carroll and the Seahawks) for a 20-yard pass that led to a touchdown by wide receiver Mark Bradford and a game-winning extra point from kicker Derek Belch.
Nov. 14, 2009
Carroll got his revenge against Harbaugh in 2008, beating Stanford 45-23 en route to a 12-1 season and Pac-10 title. But Stanford, led by quarterback Andrew Luck, put a beating on USC in 2009, winning 55-21.
With Stanford leading 48-21 with 6:47 remaining in the fourth quarter of that 2009 game, Harbaugh directed his team to attempt a 2-point conversion. The conversion, a rushing attempt by running back Stepfan Taylor, failed. Stanford scored later (and kicked a PAT) to finish with 55 points; still, Harbaugh’s choice to go for two incensed Carroll.
After the game, when Harbaugh and Carroll met to shake hands at midfield, television cameras picked up a rivalry-defining exchange:
Carroll to Harbaugh: “What’s your deal though, you all right?”
Harbaugh: “Yeah, I’m good, what’s your deal?”
Carroll: “Nice game.”
The two walked back to their respective locker rooms side by side.
Days later, Harbaugh told reporters that Stanford went for two not to show up Carroll but because the team feared a USC comeback: “There’s nothing personal. I’m not trying to make any enemies.”
Harbaugh told reporters in the aftermath of the incident that he and Carroll had a competitive but good relationship, and often “yuck[ed] it up” pregame together. Carroll disagreed about them having any relationship.
“There’s not much of one,” he said. “He’s doing a great job of coaching, we’re in the same conference and we run into each other every once in a while.”
Jan. 7, 2011
A year after Carroll left USC following a nine-season run that included two national championships to become coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Harbaugh followed his rival to the NFC West to become the coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh left Stanford after a school-record 12 wins and a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Discover Orange Bowl.
April 30, 2011
In the fifth round of the 2011 draft, Carroll and the Seahawks selected cornerback Richard Sherman from Stanford, the former wide receiver who was critical in the upset of Carroll’s Trojans 3½ years before.
Harbaugh swept Carroll (and Sherman) in his first season, claiming a 33-17 win in the season opener and a 19-17 win on Christmas Eve that knocked Seattle out of the playoffs.
Oct. 18, 2012
The Seahawks, riding a two-game winning streak and led by rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, met the 49ers, who had won the NFC the previous year, on “Thursday Night Football.” In a defensive battle, the 49ers and Harbaugh won 13-6, making it three in a row for Harbaugh over Carroll in the pros.
Dec. 23, 2012
Two months later, Carroll and the Seahawks got their payback on “Sunday Night Football,” blowing out the 49ers 42-13. The beatdown was payback in more ways than one, according to Sherman and safety Earl Thomas.
Sherman and Thomas told Yahoo Sports that after the 49ers’ win in October, Harbaugh drove by the Seahawks team bus and honked and waved to mock the players and coaches.
“It seems like he tries to be a professional in front of the camera, but he does his antics, like that, when the cameras aren’t around,” Thomas said. “He’s just a big kid. We don’t worry about that stuff. We just play the game. The best team won, and it was convincing.”
Harbaugh denied mocking Seattle, calling the incident “a fabrication.”
Sherman was also furious at Harbaugh. Sherman said he asked Carroll if the Seahawks could attempt a 2-point conversion, some revenge for what Harbaugh did years earlier. But Sherman said Carroll told him the Seahawks “had more class than that.”
June 11, 2013
Ahead of the 2013 NFL minicamps, Seattle defensive end Bruce Irvin was suspended for four games for using a banned substance. Irvin was the fifth Seahawk on their roster since 2011 to be suspended for using a performance-enhancing substance, joining John Moffitt, Allen Barbre, Winston Guy and Brandon Browner.
Sherman was also suspended, but the NFL overturned his suspension on appeal.
Harbaugh took this opportunity to throw a subtle shot at Seattle.
“Play by the rules,” Harbaugh said. “You always want to be above reproach, especially when you’re good, because you don’t want people to come back and say, ‘They’re winning because they’re cheating.’
“We want to be above reproach in everything and do everything by the rules. Because if you don’t, if you cheat to win, then you’ve already lost.”
When asked about Harbaugh’s comments, Carroll responded: “I don’t know about commenting about anybody else’s team, but as far as we’re concerned, we feel like we’ve addressed it directly.”
Jan. 19, 2014
After splitting their regular-season meetings, the Seahawks and 49ers met in the NFC Championship Game. The game came down to the final play, when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw a pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who was in one-on-one coverage against Sherman. Sherman intercepted the pass to secure the Seahawks a 23-17 win and let his former coach and the 49ers know about it in his postgame on-field interview with Fox’s Erin Andrews.
“When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you going to get.”
The Seahawks then pummeled the Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Dec. 28, 2014
After three NFC championships and a Super Bowl appearance in his first three seasons in San Francisco, Harbaugh missed the playoffs in his final year. The 49ers were swept by the Seahawks, and lost four of their last five games. Throughout the season, there were reports of tension between Harbaugh and the team’s front office, including a contention that the team had grown tired of Harbaugh’s approach.
After the final game of the season, a 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals, to finish 8-8, the 49ers announced that Harbaugh and the team had mutually parted ways.
Two days later, the University of Michigan announced Harbaugh, a former Wolverines quarterback, as its next coach. In Seattle, Carroll reached his second straight Super Bowl, but lost to the New England Patriots 28-24.
April 28, 2017
The Seahawks appeared to focus on Harbaugh’s Michigan players, selecting safety Lano Hill and wide receiver Amara Darboh in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.
“Coach Harbaugh does a great job,” Carroll said to reporters with an ear-to-ear grin.
“What’s your deal, man?” Seahawks general manager John Schneider said while laughing.
Jan. 10, 2024
After 14 seasons, which included Seattle’s lone Super Bowl title, Carroll said that he and the Seahawks “mutually agreed to set a new course.” Carroll shifted to an unspecified advisory role ahead of the 2024 season.
Carroll’s statement, however, didn’t read like a mutually agreed decision. He said he “competed pretty hard” to remain Seattle’s coach and that he ultimately “went along with their intentions.”
Seahawks team owner Jody Allen said in a statement that the decision was made, “after thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise.”
Jan. 24, 2025
A year after Harbaugh returned to the NFL to coach the Chargers, Carroll accepted the job to be the Raiders’ next coach.
Harbaugh and Carroll are back in the same division again, set to face each other at least twice a year, renewing the almost two-decade-old rivalry. Harbaugh said Wednesday that he believes that if he ever played for, or worked with Carroll, the two would have been “pretty good friends.”
“Alas, we have been on opposite sides,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not on his Christmas card list.”
