LOS ANGELES -- For a Rams team beginning its search for a new head coach, this is a time to dream.
Unless it involves Pete Carroll, apparently.
The Seattle Seahawks' coach, a California native who famously resurrected the Southern California program, said on Tuesday's conference call that he had "no comment" to reports that the Rams would love to hire him to replace Jeff Fisher, who was fired Monday. Asked if he would like to rule the possibility out entirely, Carroll laughed and said, "Yes."
Carroll is 65, in the first year of an extension that runs through 2019 and in an envied spot as the coach of a team that recently made back-to-back trips to the Super Bowl.
Carroll has been one of several big-name coaches linked to the Rams in the past 24 hours.
Another was Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who previously helped develop Andrew Luck at Stanford and Alex Smith with the San Francisco 49ers. But a source "very close" to Harbaugh told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that Harbaugh "isn't leaving Michigan" and "may never leave Michigan."
Another is New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who served in the same capacity with the Rams in 2011 but was let go along with then-coach Steve Spagnuolo after one season. McDaniels, head coach of the Denver Broncos from 2009 to 2010, said in November that he would "definitely love to be a head coach again" if it's "at the right place and right time."
McDaniels was asked Tuesday about the Rams opening, but didn't really entertain the thought, saying: "I have a short week to get ready for a great opponent and I'm focused on the Broncos. I know there are a lot of things going on out there, but my focus and my attention is going to stay right here in the building on the team that we have to get ready for and how we can prepare our team to play the best they can on Sunday."
Fisher was let go 13 games into his fifth season with the organization. The Rams were coming off a 42-14 blowout loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons, giving them eight defeats in a span of nine games. It was Fisher's 165th career loss, tying him with Dan Reeves for the NFL record.
Fisher signed a contract extension through 2018 before the start of the regular season, but the Rams' first season back in Los Angeles quickly unraveled, prompting his dismissal three days before facing Carroll's Seahawks on the road.
"First and foremost, I want to thank [owner] Stan Kroenke for the opportunity to be part of this organization the last four and a half years," Fisher said in a statement released to ESPN. "I want to thank the entire football staff as it has been a privilege to work with each one of them day in and day out. I especially want to thank all the players. They are a great group of men that I respect, and that I will greatly miss. My hope is that each one of the players experience great success in the future."