BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Coaches once had their detractors

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The red T-shirt Southern California tight end Alex Holmes wore Thursday spoke volumes: "Pete Carroll for President."
A lot of people out West feel that way, no matter their political affiliation.
Of course, they weren't quite so supportive when Carroll was a surprise, unpopular choice to succeed the fired Paul Hackett as USC's coach after the 2000 season.
Bob Stoops could tell a similar story: He's wildly popular now; he wasn't when Oklahoma handed him his first head coaching job in 1998 after John Blake's dismissal.
USC and Oklahoma were tradition-rich programs that had fallen on hard times. The Trojans were 26-22 in the four years before Carroll was hired, and the Sooners were 17-27-1 in the four seasons before Stoops' arrival.
Both struggled in their first years as coach: USC was 6-6 in 2001; Oklahoma was 7-5 in 1999. And both have been exceptional since: The Trojans are 35-3 in the last three years; the Sooners are 60-6 the past five.
Many similarities
Those numbers say it all. The top-ranked Trojans and No. 2 Sooners bring college football's premier programs into Tuesday night's Orange Bowl, with both Carroll and Stoops in search of a second national championship.
The similarities don't stop there.
"The obvious perspective you see in this game is that this is such a great matchup of two teams that have had really successful seasons and have like strengths," Carroll said Thursday. "We both play defense well, and both have big-time Heisman quarterbacks and flashy running backs and very exciting teams."
Carroll, 53, was fired as coach of the New England Patriots following the 1999 season and out of football until being hired by USC nearly a year later.
"That was really an important year for me," he said. "I took a look at what retirement is and found out I didn't like it. It was 10 months down from football that was fun. I enjoyed the time, but I realized I'm not ready to do that and I found the opportunity to kind of get refueled and I really did have some profound opportunity to get my football in order."
Stoops, 44, was the defensive coordinator at Florida for three years under Steve Spurrier before heading to Oklahoma.
"Joe took a big risk hiring me," Stoops said, referring to Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione. "I had never been a head coach. Being last in every offensive category, he hires a defensive coordinator from Florida, and a lot of people, they won't maybe admit it now, but they were scratching their head."
Always looking ahead
Stoops is aware of what the Sooners have accomplished under his watch.
"I'm right in the middle of it. I try not to look back too much," he said. "Hopefully in the end, as people look back on it, it'll be one of those great times that we've had so many of. And I think we do have a nucleus of people that we can continue this kind of run and to establish it hopefully for a longer period of time."
Normally, Stoops is more serious and less glib than Carroll, but he seemed relaxed and even came up with a little comedy when asked about defensive end Larry Birdine, who last week called USC's offense "average."
Stoops then made Birdine off limits to reporters before the Orange Bowl, but said Thursday: "It's not a big deal. You want to talk to him today? You can talk to him."
Then, after a pause, Stoops smiled and said: "Well, maybe you can't."