With Steve Sarkisian out the door and battling with his own personal demons – I wish him the best in what is sure to be a tough struggle – focus now turns to the next man to lead the Trojans. Assuming that Athletic Director Pat Haden doesn’t follow his first head coaching hire out the door (something that isn’t entirely out of the realms of possibility), he needs a really good hire to make Trojan fans, administrators and boosters forget about the Sarkisian hire, and the Lane Kiffin mess before that.
Of course, the usual names will be thrown about, including
current ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden and high profile former
USC players, and now NFL coaches, Jeff Fisher and Jack Del Rio, but I’m leaning
towards none of those men taking this job.
So, who are candidates in my mind? Here are a few coaches, listed
here in no particular order, who you might want to keep an eye on:
Chip Kelly
The former Oregon coach is widely credited as being the
driving force behind the Ducks emergence as a serious national power in the
last six-eight years. Currently, he’s presiding over a less-than-glamorous NFL
coaching gig in Philadelphia, where the Eagles haven’t been great to start the
year, and Kelly’s revolutionary offense seems less and less difficult to stop with
every passing week.
So, with the Eagles not winning and the USC coaching gig
coming open, surely we’ll see Chip return, right? Maybe, but if the whispers at
the time of his departure about him being tired of recruiting and hobnobbing
with boosters and all the other non-football things a college coach is required
to be a part of is anywhere near the truth, he probably won’t want to return.
And even if he does, there’s every chance his old job up in Eugene will open up
this year, too. That’s not to say that USC won’t place a call to Kelly’s
people.
Kyle Wittingham
The Utah coach (who, admittedly, has deep connections to the
program) has done an amazing job in Salt Lake City, delivering sustained
success over a long period now, since taking over from Urban Meyer. Wittingham
has arguably never been hotter as a coach, with the Utes inside the AP National
Top 5, and playing as well as anyone in the nation.
When you consider what Wittingham can do with the talent he
attracts at Utah – not to be disparaging, but it isn’t at the same level as
what USC recruits – imagine what he could do with the likes of JuJu
Smith-Schuster, Adoree’ Jackson and whomever else the Trojans recruit in the
future. It’s mouth-watering.
Bob Stoops
Big Game Bob has been at Oklahoma for a long time, and might
just be looking for a change of scenery. When you take into account that he’s
very much a defensive-minded coach in a Big XII conference where defense is
increasingly becoming an afterthought these days, maybe the USC opening is one
that Stoops looks at a little harder than the other offers that must come
across his desk fairly regularly.
Looking at it from a Trojan standpoint, Stoops is everything
you could want in a college coach: he has a wonderful track record at a program
that has long been a national powerhouse. Obviously, he doesn’t have a problem
recruiting A-grade talent, and his ability to get it done in big games – the
Trojans thrive on wins in big games against rivals like Notre Dame and UCLA –
would surely be attractive to Haden and co.
Bryan Harsin
A very experienced offensive coordinator and now setting the
world on fire at Boise State, Harsin is a young coach who is clearly going
places. You imagine the Broncos will head to a big Bowl game once more this
year, after Harsin took them to the Fiesta Bowl and a big win against Arizona
in his debut season as head coach in Boise.
Some see Boise as a destination coaching spot, particularly
now that they’ve transformed from flash-in-the-pan underdogs to legitimate
national powerhouses, but even Harsin, a BSU alum, would surely want to
consider coaching in Los Angeles. Aside from the great talent available in
Southern California, you’re arguably the biggest off-field football name in the
second-biggest media market in the country.
On the recruiting front, Harsin hasn’t missed a beat, bring
in plenty of great talent, and you only have to look at what has transpired since he arrived. The program hasn't missed a beat, despite injuries and coaching change.
Mike Gundy
A commenter on one of my previous articles suggested Gundy,
whose name wasn't originally on my radar, but the more I think about it, the
more I think that Gundy, the current coach at Oklahoma State, would be a good
fit at USC.
Fairly quietly in comparison to the Big XII heavyweights
Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Christian, Gundy is doing a good job at keeping the
Cowboys relevant, with ten winning seasons in as many years. He knows how to
win, and is probably wondering what it might be like to be at the helm of a
huge, nationally-recognised program with so much tradition, and so much talent.
Chris Petersen
The long-time Boise State coach (who was replaced by Bryan
Harsin) is into his second season in Washington, and was apparently an early
target of USC’s in the 2013 search that ultimately netted Steve Sarkisian.
Ironically, after that, Petersen left Boise for the vacant Huskies job.
Petersen, though, has been reticent about leaving the
northwest. He passed on overtures from a bunch of very good teams over his
years at Boise, only to decamp to Washington, because, according to the rumours
doing the rounds at the time, it meant he was still in the same region as
Boise, where he is apparently very comfortable. Still, the Trojans expressing
interest a second time might be the catalyst for another move.
Besides, USC probably doesn’t want to hire a coach out of
Washington. I mean, look what happened the last time!
Ed Orgeron
Not hugely realistic, I know, but us USC fans can dream,
right? I thought Coach O was incredibly hard done by to not be offered the head
coaching job after leading the Trojans away from the Lane Kiffin mess to a very
respectable season – he won six games during his time as interim head coach
before resigning when Sarkisian was hired.
Imagine the conversation between Haden and Orgeron two years down the
track from the last time the Trojans were searching for a coach.
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