Raiders applying advice from 11-time champion
Carroll has coached in the NFL and at the collegiate level for a long time. He's always one of those guys who can strike up a good conversation with just about anyone. This includes professional athletes from many different sports.
Raiders tigh end Michael Mayer said this week that Carroll has been using words NBA legend Bill Russell once told him as a way to get his players in the right mindset to be winners.
"'Every day when I wake up, I try to find ways to help my teammates,' Mayer said, quoting Carroll quoting Russell. "He said every day he wakes up and he's not thinking about himself. He's not thinking about what he can do to help the team. It's how can I get my teammates better? And I think literally like 12 years in a row he led his team in assists and did a bunch of crazy stuff. And that was a pretty cool story to hear. That's what we're trying to build here. That's the culture we're trying to build here. I want to help Brock [Bowers] out as much as I can. He wants to help me out. Geno [Smith] wants to help us. I mean, when your teammates are playing good, you're playing good, the offense is playing good, and the team's playing good. So we're all in this together."
Russell used this philosophy to lead the University of San Francisco to two NCAA titles and then the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons. And unbelievable run.
Mayer isn't the only one with whom Russell's words have resonated. Several players on this team have talked about how much closer they are as teammates than they had been in previous years. How they are all having a lot more fun playing for each other and the camaraderie that goes with that. Carroll has used this philosophy to win championships at the collegiate and the NFL level, just as Russell did. Tried and true.
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