Pete Carroll on Steve Sarkisian’s personal issues: ‘It breaks my heart to see how this has gone’

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says he’s saddened but also hopeful for Steve Sarkisian, his former assistant who has been fired by USC amid reports that describe a serious problem with alcohol abuse.

Carroll, speaking with “Brock and Salk” on Monday, said he’s reached out to Sarkisian.

“It breaks my heart to see how this has gone,” Carroll said. “But he recognizes it and he’s going to do something about it, so this is the day the turn occurs. I’m grateful for everybody around him that he’s finally figured it out. … This is going to take a long time. This is big battle and we’ll pull for him all the way.”

Related: USC fires Steve Sarkisian

USC has been vague about the issues that led to Sarkisian’s dismissal, athletic director Pat Haden saying Sunday only that the coach is “not healthy.” It comes not long after a widely publicized incident in which Sarkisian appeared to be intoxicated at a preseason team function. ESPN reported that Sarkisian also appeared to be intoxicated when he arrived to the team’s facilities on Sunday, three days after the Trojans’ loss to his former team, Washington. A Los Angeles Times report detailed issues with alcohol dating back to Sarkisian’s time at UW.

Carroll was asked whether Sarkisian’s issues are indicative of a greater – but mostly undocumented – problem with coaches in the NFL and college.

“I don’t know. I don’t know that,” he said. “I have not seen it be that obvious in my years, but it pops up every once in a while. But this is regular society. This isn’t uncommon. It just happens to be in the most visible setting you could be in.”

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