When the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night, it’s not only going to pit two AFC West rivals; their head coaches have a history between them.
Pete Carroll, in his first year with the Raiders, and Jim Harbaugh, in his second year with the Chargers, have quite a history between them that dates back to their days as college head coaches.
That includes a noteworthy 2009 matchup between Carroll’s USC Trojans and Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal.
What’s the History Between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh?
Back in 2009, Harbaugh and Carroll had postgame words for each other after Stanford obliterated USC, 55-21.
In a video clip from the game, both coaches are seen talking to one another. They don’t shake hands, and Harbaugh, after hearing Carroll say, “What’s your deal though, you all right?,” says, “Yeah, I’m fine, what’s your deal?”
Carroll’s reply? “Nice game.”
Staying up until 1 AM tonight just to see if Jim Harbaugh finally swings at Pete Carroll at midfield: pic.twitter.com/f8iACNA2yq
— College Sports Only 🏈🏀⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) September 15, 2025
Yet, the rift between the two coaches goes back to 2007. Harbaugh took over at Stanford and knew he’d have his hands full with USC, which was college football’s top program at the time. Harbaugh was interviewed and asked about USC’s football coaches’ typically short tenures in their post.
“That’s what I’ve heard. I heard it inside the staff,” Harbaugh said. Well, Carroll wasn’t going to sit there and take it.
“If he’s going to make statements like that, he ought to get his information right,” Carroll said. “And if he has any questions about it, he should call me.”
On Oct. 6, 2007, Harbaugh led the Cardinal to a surprising 24-23 victory despite the fact USC was ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll at the time. It’s considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
In 2008, Carroll’s Trojans defeated Stanford, 45-23, and finished 12-1 while winning the Pac-12 Conference title. Then, in 2009, Stanford countered with the aforementioned 55-21 thrashing.
Harbaugh’s Stanford Team Went for 2-Point Conversion
But Stanford, which was up 48-21 with 6:47 left in the game, went for a two-point conversion at Harbaugh’s direction. That appeared to be the impetus for Carroll and Harbaugh’s post-game conversation.
In 2012, Harbaugh won his third straight game over Carroll in the NFL as his San Francisco 49ers topped the Seattle Seahawks, 13-6. But the Seahawks got revenge later in the season, beating the 49ers, 42-13.
At the time, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas said that after San Francisco’s seven-point win in the first meeting that season, Harbaugh took over the 49ers’ team bus, drove by the Seahawks’ team bus, and honked and waved to make fun of Seattle’s players and coaches.
“It seems like he tries to be a professional in front of the camera, but he does his antics, like that, when the cameras aren’t around,” Thomas said at the time, according to ESPN. “He’s just a big kid. We don’t worry about that stuff. We just play the game. The best team won, and it was convincing.”
Harbaugh later said that the whole story spun by the two was a fabrication.
Pete Carroll vs. Jim Harbaugh
‘07: STAN 24, USC 23 (all-time upset)
‘08: USC 45, STAN 23 (Carroll ices kicker late)
‘09: STAN 55, USC 21 (“What’s your deal?”)
‘11: SF 33, SEA 17
‘11: SF 19, SEA 17
‘12: SF 13, SEA 6
‘12: SEA 42, SF 13
‘13: SEA 29, SF 3
‘13: SF 19, SEA 17
‘13: SEA… pic.twitter.com/XAcFiC2hyf— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) September 16, 2025
In 2013, Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin was suspended for using a banned substance. He was the fifth Seattle player since 2011 at the time to be suspended for such an offense. Harbaugh didn’t miss an opportunity to take another shot at Carroll.
“Play by the rules,” Harbaugh said. “You always want to be above reproach, especially when you’re good, because you don’t want people to come back and say, ‘They’re winning because they’re cheating.'”
Carroll replied, “I don’t know about commenting about anybody else’s team, but as far as we’re concerned, we feel like we’ve addressed it directly.”
These two coaches also have had the common experience of parting ways with a previous NFL team despite successful tenures. But on Monday night, Carroll and Harbaugh will collide once again, this time under the bright lights of “Monday Night Football.”
