With an agreement in principle already in place, Pete Carroll took the final step towards taking charge of the Seahawks this evening, stepping down from his position as head coach at Southern Cal. Carroll is returning to the NFL coaching ranks a little more than ten years after he left, guiding the Trojans to two straight national championships in 2003 and 2004.

Carroll’s contract with Seattle is expected to be an average of $7 million a season and is likely to be for at least five years. He’ll also receive the control over the Seahawks personnel that he always wanted in New England and New York, but never received, although Seattle will share some of the player acquisition responsibilities with the rest of the front office.

The Seahawks finished the 2009 season with a disappointing 5-11 record and surprisingly dismissed head coach Jim Mora, Jr. after just one season at the helm. The knowledge that Carroll would be open to a deal with the club likely made that decision easier, and it seems as though the new management team is doing their best to remove all traces of the Mike Holmgren era from the team.

Carroll is expected to be introduced as the Seahawks new head coach as early as tomorrow, and will be pushing hard to bring several key assistants with him, including USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who has been rumored to be in the hunt for the same job with the Chicago Bears this off-season.

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