Pete Carroll’s syllabus is as lively and star-studded as his sideline.

The legendary football coach, a guest professor at USC, has brought in a parade of celebrities to speak to his “The Game is Life” class of 56 students, chosen from a field of more than 300 applicants.

One week it’s Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr imparting his wisdom. Then, it’s author and new-age guru Deepak Chopra. Actor Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) has spoken to the class, as has Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from “The Office”) and Olympic gold medalists Rai Benjamin and April Ross.

In the auditorium in the Fertitta Hall basement, the biggest star of all is the eternally youthful, irrepressibly enthusiastic Carroll, 73, hired in January as new coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. His USC teams went 97-19 in his nine seasons with the Trojans, winning national championships in 2003 and ’04 — before many of his students were born. There was no NFL team in Los Angeles at the time, and Carroll’s sidelines were always a who’s who of the entertainment industry.

“He’s very kind and he’s easy to talk to, so he’s honestly been one of my favorite professors I’ve worked with,” said teaching assistant Abby Louderback, a graduate student in USC’s business school. “I feel like he’s not what I would think of a football coach in my head.”

Each week, Carroll discusses his “Win Forever” philosophy with his students, then conducts a panel chat with his guest along with David Belasco, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship, and Varun Soni, dean of Religious and Spiritual Life. In the second hour, students are invited to ask questions of the guest.

“After I leave every class, I call my dad religiously and talk to him about what we talked about on that day, what I felt, what I experienced,” said Ari Naiman, a senior studying psychology and law. “I tell him every week that those are the two most valuable hours of my life.”

Pete Carroll teaches at USC

The class is on Thursdays and begins with informal breakout groups, with students discussing a given topic or getting to know each other against a backdrop of popular music piped through the auditorium sound system. Carroll happily moves from cluster to cluster, chatting with the students, relaxed and casual in his slacks and untucked linen shirt. A basketball hoop, at which students often shoot competitively at the behest of Carroll, sits at the front of the auditorium beneath video displays showing his “Win Forever” pyramid.

It’s a different side to Carroll, whom NFL fans might better recognize bouncing down the sidelines for the Seattle Seahawks, or hunched over with hands on knees, chomping gum and laser focused on his players.

Carroll is still squarely positioned in that NFL world — he’s preparing for his first team meeting with the Raiders this week — but he wouldn’t think of stepping away from his once-a-week USC class, which has three more sessions.

“I said I was going to be here for them and see it through,” he said. “I was committed and stayed committed. I didn’t let anything get in the way of that.”

That devotion isn’t lost on his students.

“How many people get to say their professor is also head coach of the Raiders?” said Bridget Duffy, a senior studying finance and accounting. “And it’s happening all at the same time. … The only class he wasn’t here was when he was at the [NFL scouting] combine — and he Zoomed in.”

In keeping with Carroll’s “Always Compete” mantra, getting a spot in the class was no small feat. Students were hand-selected based on their essay-style applications. As a result, the group is an eclectic collection of high achievers, one that included USC basketball player JuJu Watkins, the national player of the year.

The coach discusses with them the value in both success and failure, creating a belief system, an unyielding dedication to practice — whether it’s sports or something else.

“What’s really amazing about this class is you have musicians, artists, dancers, golfers, people who have their own unique craft that they’re really good at,” said graduate student Audrey Nourse, a former USC beach volleyball player. “And for me as an athlete, I’ve always been kind of biased in that I think it’s very hard to approach life the way an athlete would, not having that type of experience.

“However, what this class has shown me is that you can come from any unique background and still approach it like you’re practicing every single day. You’re repping out what you’re doing every single day. You’re creating the right daily habits to be successful. You’re playing for something bigger than yourself.”

A class rule: No laptops. Carroll wants everyone dialed in.

“I’ve been in other classes where even though they say no laptops, people still pull them out and are doing their own thing,” Louderback said. “I think a lot of the students are actually just really into it. They keep their electronics away and are so focused.”

The class “completely changed my life,” said Elina Khoshnevis, a junior studying business and entrepreneurship.

“From the start, Pete has the ability to make you feel seen and heard,” she said, adding, “He’s the type of person I’m never going to forget in my life. Ever. More than any professor, any class. I will never forget the knowledge that he’s shared in that space and beyond.”

Naiman, for one, feels especially fortunate to be in the room because he’s not actually enrolled in the class. He asked if he could sit in on the course and initially was told no. So he waited outside the auditorium before and after each class for four weeks in a row, hoping to catch a few moments with the coach. Each time, they chatted briefly.

Finally, Carroll told him he had put in the work and he could audit the course.

Happens all the time in football.

A walk-on makes the roster.

latimes.com

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