Strength coach Carlisle bolts for Seattle along with Carroll


In the college football world, the months of January and February are typically the time where young student athletes are put through various weight lifting and conditioning exercises as a way to remain in shape for the upcoming season.

For the past nine years, Chris Carlisle has led the young USC Trojans through these grueling offseason works, but with new head coach Lane Kiffin taking over for the NFL-bound Pete Carroll, Carlisle looks to be headed for the professional ranks as well.

On Monday, the USC Ripsit Blog announced that the 47-year old strength and conditioning coach had resigned from his post at USC to take a similar position with the Seattle Seahawks.

In the wake of his departure, there have been numerous posts across message boards reminiscing over the hard work and effort Carlisle had invested in the USC program. For the better part of the decade, Carlisle helped construct one of the most successful strength and condition programs in the country.

Following the 2006 season, he was rewarded for his efforts, as the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society named him the National Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach-of-the-Year. In short, he bears a lot of the responsibility for the success Carroll’s teams experienced over the past decade.

Long-time assistant strength and condition coach Jamie Yanchar, who has been a part of the Trojans’ staff since 1990, will serve in Carlisle’s role on an interim basis, as Kiffin begins to search for a full-time strength and condition coach.