The last of the pregame Super Bowl XLVIII hype was complete by mid-morning Friday when the two head coaches, Denver’s John Fox and Seattle’s Pete Carroll, met with reporters together on a theater stage at the Time Warner Center.
Both appeared relaxed, complimenting each other and having some fun with the moment.
The most entertaining moment came when Fox, who missed four games this season after having emergency open-heart surgery to repair an aortic valve, matter-of-factly referred to the scary incident as being “like a sprained ankle’’ that was going to keep him out of action for about a month.
“What a stud,’’ Carroll interjected. “He’s comparing an open-heart surgery and being on his back to an ankle sprain. Congratulations on that. That’s really amazing. Come on John. That’s awesome.”
Carroll was typically upbeat and colorful when speaking about his ill-fated one-year run as the Jets head coach in 1994.
“There’s been a lot of challenges along the way since the days back here in New York,” Carroll said. “The tough times … are sometimes you can’t forget them fast enough, and then other stories you can’t forget. The time here in New York, in particular, was extraordinary even though it was so brief. I remember it well, but it has been a long journey, and I’m very excited that we have a chance to go ahead and show you what we’re about with the Seattle Seahawks.’’
Carroll said his experience as the USC head coach before he went to Seattle “really was kind of the groundbreaking for me about figuring out how I wanted to do this. That time there gave me the opportunity to be in charge and run a program in the same manner that we’re doing it here in Seattle.’’
Carroll said he doesn’t feel like he’s changed his philosophy much since he coached the Jets.
“I’ve just grown and learned how to better send the message out clearly and because the philosophy in my mind is more clear than it’s ever been,’’ he said. “It really took me getting fired a couple times and getting kicked in the butt and all that to really get it to the point where it is now. Unfortunately, and I hate learning the hard way and I’m sure John [Fox] does too, but sometimes you have to and it’s taken some shots to get here.’’
Both coaches, who have backgrounds as defensive assistants, delighted in the fact they are the last two standing for the season’s ultimate game in what has become a totally offense-oriented league.
“I take tremendous pride [in that],’’ Fox said. “I came up with a guy, Chuck Noll, who is a defensive guy, who I learned a lot from. Don’t forget about those defensive guys moving forward.”
Added Carroll: “You’ve got a couple old DB [defensive backs] coaches here, and it’s interesting that’s how it turned out. It is an offensive era that we’re in, and with all the passing game — it’s gone crazy. Maybe it’s fitting that we’ve been fighting our whole life trying to slow this thing down, and we get a chance to do it here on the biggest stage.
“We have very similar paths, and the fact that we’re defensive guys, maybe that gives the defensive guys hope that maybe we can hire one of those guys in the league soon.”
Both coaches seemed genuinely intrigued about how this rare matchup of the NFL’s No. 1 ranked offense (the Broncos) and No. 1 ranked defense (the Seahawks) will play out Sunday.
“I think a lot has been made of that and rightfully so,’’ Fox said. “Both sides have been fairly historic in what they’ve accomplished. I’m talking about Seattle’s defense and I’m talking about our offense. Obviously, your star players have to be great in championship games. There have not been very many championships in any sport where your big players didn’t play big.
“[But] there always seems to be the unknown guy that makes a critical play, whether it’s in the kicking game. Lord knows where it’s going to come from. My experience has been that there’s [always] been one of those events.’’
Said Carroll: “It’s obvious that there’s an attraction to the defense and the offense is a logical matchup to look for, but this game is going to be involving so many different aspects of it. It will be interesting to see if that is the story. Is it our defense versus their offense? I really don’t believe that’s what it’s going to be, like John thinks.
“It will be wonderful to see what the storyline is afterwards. There is a little bit of an undercurrent: Our offensive guys are thinking about it, too, and I’m sure his defensive guys are thinking about it. They want to be part of this whole factor. It’s going to be exciting to see the story.’’