On Saturday at the Coliseum, Coach Carroll will look across the field and see a familiar face, one that he'll recognize from more than 30 years ago.
When he was a second-year graduate assistant at Pacific in 1975, Carroll drove down to L.A. and spent a day studying with then-UCLA secondary coach Dick Tomey, a spry 37-year-old assistant just a few years away from his first head coaching position. Tomey, 71, is now in his fifth season as San Jose State's head coach and 29th overall year as a head man.
"He was a big-time secondary coach at the time," said Carroll, who was 24 when he met with Tomey. "He was really good to me. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot."
While the day spent with Tomey was certainly memorable for and appreciated by the then-young Carroll, he's not so sure it was the same for the now-legendary Tomey.
"He probably doesn't remember it," Carroll said with a smile. "I was just a punk G.A. at the time."
When he was a second-year graduate assistant at Pacific in 1975, Carroll drove down to L.A. and spent a day studying with then-UCLA secondary coach Dick Tomey, a spry 37-year-old assistant just a few years away from his first head coaching position. Tomey, 71, is now in his fifth season as San Jose State's head coach and 29th overall year as a head man."He was a big-time secondary coach at the time," said Carroll, who was 24 when he met with Tomey. "He was really good to me. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot."
While the day spent with Tomey was certainly memorable for and appreciated by the then-young Carroll, he's not so sure it was the same for the now-legendary Tomey.
"He probably doesn't remember it," Carroll said with a smile. "I was just a punk G.A. at the time."
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