Five years after Pete Carroll blasted Mark Sanchez for leaving USC early to enter the NFL draft, the wayward couple will meet again when the Seahawks visit the Eagles on Sunday.
But any resentment over that moment seems to have faded. Sanchez likely recognized that Carroll was being a little selfish. And Carroll probably realized that Sanchez knew Carroll was right, but needed to capitalize on a booming market for quarterbacks in the draft.
This will be the second time the pair will face off in the NFL. Sanchez and the Jets were demolished in Seattle back in 2011. This time, though, Carroll faces his old quarterback with a much better supporting cast.
And before the game, they will hug it out.
"He's great," Sanchez said Tuesday, via The Philadelphia Daily News. "He texted me during preseason -- you're doing awesome, so happy to see you back, having fun -- that means the world to me, because that's somebody I really respect. I had so much fun playing for him. It'll be good to see him again . . . He's a really good coach and a good friend."
Sanchez has every right to carry a little resentment, and perhaps he still does. What Carroll did at USC was unprofessional and could have potentially torpedoed his draft stock in a different situation.
We'll see if it's actually water under the bridge or not. This is likely the best chance Sanchez will have to make Carroll pay with Seattle in the thick of a heated divisional race.
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