In his freshman year of high school, he weighed a mere 110 pounds (50kg). His small size required him to get a doctor's approval to try out for the high school's football team. Despite his physical shortcomings, Carroll made up for his small size with heart and became a talented athlete who played football as a wide receiver, quarterback and defensive back for his high school football team. Carroll was also active in baseball and basketball and even earned the school’s Athlete of the Year award in his senior year in 1969.

Education:

Carroll graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur, California. After graduating from high school, he attended junior college at the nearby College of Marin for two years and played on the college's football team. After two years at Marin, Carroll transferred to the University of the Pacific where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. While studying at Pacific, Carroll played free safety for two years for the college's football team the Tigers. He eventually graduated from Pacific with a Master’s degree in Physical Education in 1976.

Career:

While he played for the Pacific Tigers, Carroll drew the attention of the team's head coach Chester Caddas for his talent and optimistic disposition. Carroll told Caddas he was interested in coaching and he was offered a graduate assistant job at Pacific. While studying at Pacific, Carroll earned secondary teaching credential which would become important later in his career as a professional coach. Pacific had created many successful coaches, many of whom started as assistants just Carroll. The names of previous assistants who went on to have successful careers coaching include Jim Colletto, Bob Cope, Ted Leland, Greg Robinson, and Walt Harris. 

Bobe Cope and Pete Carroll became friends while attending Pacific together and when Cope graduated and got a job at the University of Arkansas he used his influence to help get Carroll a job as well. In 1984, Carroll went on to enter the National Football League as a defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills. While he did not stay with Buffalo Bills for long, the role would serve to get his foot in the door of the world of the NFL. After a year with the Buffalo Bills, he took switched teams to the Minnesota Vikings where he stayed for five seasons from 1985 to 1989. After he left the Minnesota Vikings, Carroll applied for a job as head coach of Stanford University but lost the job to Dennis Green.