In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers needed to fill both of their highest-ranking assistant coaching jobs. They'd just lost defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes, who accepted an offer to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who accepted an offer to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos. Shanahan — father of current 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — told the press that his top choice for Denver's also-empty defensive coordinator role was Pete Carroll.
Nowadays, you know Carroll as the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl-winning signal-caller who also jump-started an early-2000s dynasty at the University of Southern California.