Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll built one of the most successful runs in college football history at USC before moving to the NFL, where he led the Seattle Seahawks to victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. Across both levels of the game, he became known for a distinctive coaching philosophy centered on competition, positivity, and player development.

In 2003, while at USC, Carroll founded A Better LA after hearing a news report about another Los Angeles child killed by gang violence. The organization takes a distinctive approach, funding community-based nonprofits led by former gang members who have turned their lives around to work as street-level peacemakers and mentors. A Better LA also places outreach workers as school crossing guards in high-risk neighborhoods to help ensure children have a safe path to and from school, and Carroll helped produce “License to Operate,” a documentary following reformed gang members' work to break cycles of violence in South LA.

Westcoast Sports Associates honored Pete Carroll with the Roy Firestone Award in 2009, recognizing both his coaching success and nearly two decades of hands-on work confronting gang violence in Los Angeles.