USC football Coach Pete Carroll did not immediately accept the CBS invitation to be profiled on "60 Minutes" when it arrived last summer
"I was kind of doubting it at first," Carroll said Thursday. "I may not know everything about the show, but I do know they've been kind of tough on people in the past. I saw the piece they did on [Notre Dame Coach] Charlie Weis a couple years ago. I thought it was horrible.
"But I took a leap of faith and decided I needed to represent USC and the stuff we do for the inner city."
Carroll will be the focus of a "60 Minutes" segment Sunday between 7 and 8 p.m. on Channel 2. Carroll was interviewed by Byron Pitts on campus, at practice, in the locker room and during his late-night trips to the inner city, where Carroll, who has started a group, A Better LA, makes contact with young men on the street.
Pitts, 48, was a defensive back during his college days at Ohio Wesleyan and at first said he thought he might put on pads and participate in a Carroll practice. "That desire lasted about a minute," Pitts said.
The filming began last summer during two-a-day practices, and Pitts said Carroll's unsuccessful NFL days as well as the issues surrounding former USC tailback Reggie Bush and possible NCAA violations were discussed.
"We brought up some not particularly pleasant topics," Pitts said. "What I found with Pete was that, like every successful person, he has a certain amount of ego but there is also a real level of decency that you do not always see at this level of sports.
"I grew up with the Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes approach to coaching, and what struck me was how Pete uses the power of positive thinking so effectively. He uplifts players instead of breaks them down."
Pitts has also done recent stories about televangelist Joel Osteen, presidential candidate Barack Obama and Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health, which goes worldwide to give medical help in countries where natural disasters strike.
"What these men have in common," Pitts said, "is that while they all think in different ways, they all are men who like to be in control. But each of them is relentlessly positive about everything."
Lakers on the move
Starting next season, Lakers radio broadcasts will move from 570 KLAC to 710 ESPN. Lakers play-by-play caller Spero Dedes and color analyst Mychal Thompson will continue doing Lakers games.
