Carroll was expected to be introduced by the Seahawks as early as Monday, after the team interviewed Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier on Saturday morning.
According to the sources, Frazier met with the Seahawks in Minneapolis, satisfying the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head coaching and senior football operations hires.
Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke told Frazier prior to the interview Carroll did not have Seattle's job. Frazier had been unwilling to talk with the Seahawks about the vacancy if Carroll had been promised full control of the Seahawks. Multiple sources indicated to ESPN he had been.
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•Blog network: College Football Nation
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, asked about the Seahawks coaching search on the field before the Jets-Bengals playoff game Saturday in Cincinnati, told ESPN's Rachel Nichols he believed the Seahawks' interview with Frazier was in earnest.
Goodell said Seattle had fulfilled not only the letter but the spirit of the Rooney Rule, saying there was "no done deal" between Carroll and Seattle as of Saturday morning.
On Friday, Jim Mora became the first Seahawks coach to be let go after one season when the team finished 5-11.
Seattle also contacted the agent for Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, but as of Saturday morning, nothing had been set up. An interview with Rivera also would satisfy the Rooney Rule.
But the bottom line is, Carroll's agreement with Seattle is "100 percent done," one NFL source close to the situation told Schefter.
On Saturday afternoon, The Associated Press reported a league official with direct knowledge of the coaching search had denied a deal was in place, saying the Seahawks and Carroll were only in "discussions."
In a text message to ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Friday, Carroll said, "You know I haven't responded to a NFL question in two years."
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•Blog network: NFL Nation
But a league source told Mortensen that Carroll was trying to persuade USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates to join him in Seattle -- as opposed to Bates pursuing the same position with the Chicago Bears.
Carroll is no stranger to the NFL, having served as the head coach for the Patriots from 1997 to 1999 and for the Jets in 1994.
He was Jets defensive coordinator from 1990 to 1993 after stints as the defensive backs coach for the Vikings (1985-89) and Bills (1984).
Even before the deal had been agreed to in principle, the ripple effect from Carroll's pending move was reaching beyond the NFL and college ranks.
When the news broke Friday that Carroll could be headed to Seattle, USC's incoming freshman class at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio began frantically calling USC's assistant coaches.
For the rest of the day, not a single USC assistant returned a phone call, according to sources at the game who spoke with ESPN's Schefter.
By Saturday afternoon, some calls had been returned.
But witnesses said players such as All-American receiver Kyle Prater and running back Dillon Baxter could not figure out what was unfolding with Carroll.
Baxter had verbally committed to USC as a high school freshman and never looked at another school. But now that Carroll is expected to leave USC, other schools already have begun contacting players scheduled to enroll there in the fall.
NFL Insider Adam Schefter
•Blog network: NFL Nation
Prater said on NBC's broadcast Saturday of the All-American Bowl that he had spoken to Trojans passing game coordinator/receivers coach John Morton and he would discuss things further with his family and advisers before making a decision on enrolling at USC.
Prater said he was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles to sign with the team and enroll in classes starting Monday but would postpone the trip.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks' search for a new general manager also is under way.
Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross will interview for the position Wednesday, according to John Wooten, chairman of the organization that oversees Rooney Rule compliance.
The panel, called the Fritz Pollard Alliance, agreed to allow the interview after being given assurances Carroll would not have full control of Seattle's organization, but control over the 53-man roster.
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