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The removal of Lane Kiffin from the post of USC head coach on September 29th kicked off a 65-day search for his replacement. This has culminated with the announcement by Athletic Director Pat Haden that University of Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian will be the 23rd head coach in Trojan school history. Sarkisian has had three previous stints at USC as an assistant under former head coach Pete Carroll.
Several people thought that USC would be swinging for the fences in search of a big name coach but the name ‘Steve Sarkisian’ feels more like a double to many. Haden and USC President Max Nikias did their due diligence and went through an exhaustive search to find the guy to lead the football program into the future. Only Sarkisian was offered the job. He may not have been their first choice but we should not forget that several people loudly complained and denounced the hiring of Pete Carroll.
There are some that felt that with USC staying in the family and hiring Sarkisian (good friends with his predecessor), the school was essentially getting the same person, a.k.a. Lane Kiffin 2.0, which couldn’t be further from the truth. In five-years, Sarkisian posted a 34-29 mark and turned around a moribund University of Washington program, thereby returning the Huskies to respectability.
Despite University of Washington Athletic Director Scott Woodward feeling blindsided by the hiring, Sarkisian left the UW football program in better condition than he found it. Sarkisian is from Torrance, Ca. and knows the high school coaches in the area. He is an excellent recruiter and does a solid job developing players. The right man for the job, he gives USC the chance to make a seamless transition.
Sarkisian now has to weather the first two years dealing with the NCAA sanctions and less recruits. He must beat everyone on the schedule with special emphasis on defeating UCLA, Oregon and Notre Dame. If everything goes as planned, he could be the man that returns USC to competing for championships.
The day of the announcement was an emotional one at the school for the players and students. Interim head coach Ed Orgeron — affectionately known as “Coach O” — was one of those outraged by Haden’s decision and bolted to become a head coach at another school. He turned around what had become a dark program. He won over and united the players, the school, the alumni and the fan base. During his tenure, the team went 6-2 so disappointment is understandable. Outrage is not. Coach O brought the fun back… but then everyone always likes the substitute teacher.
The job Orgeron and the entire coaching staff did was admirable but two important facts linger:
- Ed Orgeron was not the big name the school was after, and
- Coach O was 0-2 against rivals Notre Dame and UCLA.
By all accounts, Orgeron was loyal to the kids. But his outrage at not being named the head coach sounds a lot like there was too much ego, pride and vanity involved. This is a shame because staying around would have been a great opportunity for him to take a deep breath and remain with the program as one of the highest paid assistants in college football.
L.A. media member and sports talk show host Jeff Little can be heard daily on “The Locker Room” on Sports Journey.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JeffLittle32
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