Mark Carrier has a lifetime of memories made in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
A two-time All-American for USC in the late '80s, Carrier led the Trojans to consecutive top-10 national finishes in his final two seasons at USC. Losses at home were few and far between.
"We didn't lose too many games in the Coliseum," he said with a smirk. "Playing in the Coliseum was a lot of fun."
On Saturday, Carrier hopes to make one more memory on his old stomping grounds. And if everything goes as planned, it will rank up there with all the images he holds dear from the Coliseum. Because now, Carrier serves as cornerbacks coach for the ASU football team, and in his first season, he has a chance to help lead the upstart Sun Devils (5-0) against the top team in the nation.
"Once I retired from football, I never thought I'd go back to the Coliseum in any capacity other than a fan," he said. "I knew I wouldn't be back as a player, but as a coach, it's almost the same thing.
"I've been back to SC to watch games, but I haven't been through that tunnel in a long time. I can't tell you what it's going to be like, but I do know that every time I think about it, it gets me all fired up because there were a lot of great moments after I've come through that tunnel."
Carrier needs no extra motivation to get ready for a game. The youthful-looking coach with the ever-present backwards visor has already gained a reputation for playing to the crowd at Sun Devil Stadium as much as his players. And ASU head coach Dirk Koetter has nearly had to ask Carrier to tone down his pregame speeches.
But ASU cornerbacks say their coach has brought the team an unrivaled level of intensity, and even Koetter admits that his new coaching gem is a key reason why the Sun Devils are undefeated.
A big find
Once Carrier's days in Los Angeles were over, he was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. As a rookie, he led the league with 10 interceptions, the highest total in the '90s, and won Rookie of the Year honors. He went on to appear in the Pro Bowl multiple times before retiring after the 2000 season from the Washington Redskins with 556 career solo tackles.
Carrier and his wife Andrea had made Arizona their home since 1997. Once he retired, Carrier was a regular on local Valley sports shows analyzing the NFL and other topics.
Then in 2003, Carrier decided to try his hand at coaching for the first time when he took over the secondary at Brophy Prep in Phoenix.
During the same season, ASU suffered through a disheartening 5-7 record. After the year, although Koetter promised he would not make sweeping changes on his coaching staff, he would make one.
Of all the problems the Sun Devils had faced, there was no larger weakness than the secondary, which often looked at as soft and porous as Swiss cheese. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Ramsey was fired after one season on the job, and Koetter began a search for his third assistant in three years at the position.
Carrier seemed like a natural fit for the job and a valuable recruiting tool given his credibility as a player, but once Koetter interviewed him, the choice was obvious.
"I loved his enthusiasm," Koetter said. "When you talk to Mark for about five minutes, you figure out there is no BS in him. His character shines through right off the bat, and you can tell what kind of a guy he is. We need those kinds of guys around our players."
Immediate impact
ASU defensive coordinator Brent Guy said that Carrier's influence was felt as early as spring ball, and the cornerbacks experienced a jump in play immediately during practices.
Through five games this season, ASU has only allowed an average of 205.8 passing yards a game, a major improvement from last season's mark of 253. But beyond the passing game, Koetter puts the addition of Carrier on a short list of reasons why ASU's defense has held opponents to just 12.8 points a game.
"His toughness and confidence started off with the corners and probably moved to the safeties, but I think there is a part of Mark in our whole defense right now," Koetter said.
Aside from helping to instill changes from a technical standpoint such as a more "in-your-face" press and less variations of coverages, it is Carrier's fire that coaches and players say has made the difference.
"He brings intensity, man. He's brought that to me and my corners," said senior cornerback Chris McKenzie, who instantly cracks an ear-to-ear smile when Carrier is mentioned. "We're playing way harder than we did last year.
"He's brushing some of that intensity and love for the game off on us, and he is probably brushing it off on the whole team too. The day before the games when he gives his speech, it's like, 'wow.' You get goose bumps all over your body."
Among McKenzie's favorite stories about his coach include Carrier's antics before ASU faced Oregon State, a team the Sun Devils suffered an embarrassing loss to a year ago. Before the game, Carrier brought in a tape of the old James Brown jingle, "The Big Payback."
"We were getting so hyped," McKenzie said. "It was so emotional for us."
When asked if he had noticed Carrier was a rookie coach, McKenzie replied, "hell no."
"He is a hard worker as a coach and that just makes you work hard yourself and try to give it your all," McKenzie added. "He's got so much knowledge of the game that it comes out naturally."
Junior cornerback Josh Golden has been through all three of ASU's cornerback coaches since Koetter's staff took over in 2000 and said Carrier is easily his favorite.
"It sucks to have to go through so many coaches so fast, but I plan on him being here the rest of the time I'm here. That's for sure," Golden said. "He keeps us working hard, he keeps our confidence up, and if we have a bad practice, he's going to be on our ass. That has been the difference.
"He's been like a friend rather than a coach, and to get to work with somebody with that kind of experience has been an opportunity of a lifetime."
Despite the praise thrown his way, Carrier insists the team's jump in play has been because of the players and the entire coaching staff.
"It's been easy to go out and coach because these kids want to get that stigma off them," he said. "They know what reputation they have and they want to change it. No one man can do it. I'm a firm believer in that."
And despite answering questions about his experiences in the NFL, Carrier said he doesn't like referring to his Pro Bowl career all that often.
"You have to know when to use that," he said. "A lot of these players don't want to hear 'When I played...' They hear that enough. The only time I really like to use it is when it's very important to what we're trying to do here; to give them a comparison and be like, 'If you guys want to play pro ball, this is what it's like there.' "
Sun Devil recruiter
While Carrier's impact has been felt for ASU on the field this year, the coaching staff hopes it can be felt in the recruiting realm as well -- particularly in Southern California, a perennial battle ground for Pac-10 coaches to snag talent.
"Mark is very well known because he grew up there and played at USC," Brent Guy said. "But more than his celebrity, he's a good person and that will make him a good recruiter because he is easy to talk to."
Carrier said that his image as a pro football player has "without a doubt" opened doors for him and given him contacts. But after having one recruiting season already under his belt, Carrier felt his reputation was known most among coaches and parents, and not so much current high school players.
"A lot of kids think I'm from a different time, and that's OK," he said. "I was the same way at one point. But I don't use my NFL career as a crutch. I go to kids and show that I appreciate their game and why it would be good for us. I'm not pitching Mark Carrier the football player. I'm pitching Mark Carrier the ASU coach.
"You've got to find a way to get the attention of the young man. If you're not on the video games and playing right now, they don't know who you are anyway."
More than anything, Carrier said the team's success is the ultimate factor in luring the top recruits in the country.
"I'm sure there are a lot of other people saying to kids about me, 'We know he was a good player, but that doesn't mean he's going to be a good coach.' And that's absolutely right," he said. "After this first year gets over and they see how well we do, it's going to be much easier."
A bright future
With Carrier's quick success as a coach, many may think Koetter will have to jump through hoops to hold onto him in the future. But Carrier said that's not the case.
When he interviewed for the job last winter, both Koetter and Athletic Director Gene Smith asked Carrier what his future aspirations were, and Carrier's response undoubtedly earned him bonus points at the interview.
"I said, 'you know what? All I want to be is the best cornerback coach in the Pac-10,' " he said. "Everything else will take care of itself."
And while Carrier may achieve that objective sooner than planned, he knows what he must do first -- help ASU take down his alma mater.
"If this game was against SC any day of the week, it would be exciting because they are SC," he said. "But they are the No. 1 team in the country, and we have to show what we are worth."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
