USC football: Strength and conditioning coach joins Pete Carroll with Seahawks

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Chris Carlisle, USC’s strength and conditioning coach for the last nine seasons, will join former Trojans coach Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks, USC announced.

Carlisle is the fifth member of USC’s staff to follow Carroll to the NFL, joining former assistants Jeremy Bates, Ken Norton, Brian Schneider and Matt Capurro, who was the director of football operations.

‘I want people to know that I’m walking away, not running,’ Carlisle said in a statement. ‘There’s not a reason for me to leave except that this is a great opportunity for me to continue my career and take a step in my evolution as a strength coach. Also, this is an opportunity to work with Pete Carroll, which is a heck of an opportunity and one that’s very difficult to turn down.

Carlisle said that new USC Coach Lane Kiffin and the school administration, ‘wanted me to stay and I really appreciate that.’

Jamie Yanchar, who has worked at USC since 1990, will serve as interim head strength and conditioning coach as the school begins a search for Carlisle’s replacement.

--Gary Klein