Coaching Carousel (USC)

USC Trojans

It's not too often that a job like USC is open twice within four years. It was back in 2010 when Pete Carroll left the Trojans for the Seattle Seahawks. Speculation was rampant who was going to take over. Names like John Gruden and Chris Peterson were thrown all around. But the knowledge that NCAA sanctions were coming and that along with the thought of following Pete Carroll scared off many top names. So when Lane Kiffin was hired away from Tennessee everybody was shocked. It was Kiffin who was fired from the Oakland Raiders and then only coached a year at Tennessee where he was known more for his outlandish comments than winning. But he was labeled as a stud recruiter and was going to carry on Carroll's winning ways.

At first it looked like Kiffin was going to keep the winning going. He lead the Trojans to a 10-2 record in 2011 and had the team stocked with elite college level talent. With QB Matt Barkley, WR Robert Woods, WR MarQise Lee, and RB Silas Redd on board, the Trojans opened the 2012 season ranked #1 overall ahead of the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide. With the bowl ban gone, the Trojans were the favorite to win the National Title. But instead this is where the wheels began to fall off. They were 6-1 before dropping five out of their next six games to end the season 7-6. They went from being #1 to unranked. This season everything just continued. They dropped a horrible loss to Washington State and then got blown out against Arizona State. It was clearly time to move on and Kiffin was fired.

Where does USC go from here? Well the job is a lot more attractive now then it was four years ago. The NCAA sanctions are up so that won't scare anybody away. Add in that your replacing a guy who failed and not a guy who was ultra successful and expectations are a little lower. USC should be able to find a highly qualified head coach. But who is that going to be? There really isn't that one guy out there that everybody is pointing to. Don't be surprised if the hire comes out of nowhere. Remember AD Pat Haden hired Florida Gulf Coast's Any Enfield to be the new basketball coach. Nobody saw that coming.

Potential Candidates

Jack Del Rio (Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator)
Here is your front runner.  His name was brought up during the last search, but then he was still the coach of the Jaguars.  Now he's the coordinator of the Broncos defense and with the season they are currently having he's going to be a hot name.  Del Rio has a lot of fans within the SC community, so that only enhances his chances.  However I worry how good of a hire this is.  He wasn't that great of a coach in Jacksonville and has never coached in college.

Steve Sarkisian (Washington Head Coach)
If you remember, Sarkisian was on Carroll's staff as offensive coordinator before leaving to become the Washington Head Coach.  He was seen as a good recruiter and a well liked coach.  He's gone on to build the Washington program into a top 15 team this year.  Sark has also hired a great staff that would have success at USC.  Let's also not forget that it would be easier to win in the South Division, then in the North where he has to face off against Oregon and Stanford every year.  The problem is that he was around during the NCAA violations, so that could tarnish his chances.  Also add in that he finally has the Huskies where he wants them, so would he leave after all that hard work? 

Chris Peterson (Boise State Head Coach)
Whenever there is a big time opening in college football, Chris Peterson's name is thrown out there.  He's a very talented and sout after coach who everybody assumes is going to leave Boise State at some point.  With the Broncos starting to regress, is this the year he leaves?  It could be.  Peterson is a West Coast guy and he has success recruiting the LA area. But Peterson doesn't like the limelight and at USC he's going to have a ton of attention and media. H  

James Franklin (Vanderbilt Head Coach)
Franklin is one of the hottest young coaches in college football and that's because of the job he's done making Vanderbilt, of all places, competitive. Franklin has a dynamic personality and would do well with the LA media and with the prospects in the area. But is he going to be the big name that USC wants? He's got no ties to the area, is that going to hurt his recruiting efforts?

Greg Roman (San Francisco 49ers Offensive Coordinator)
USC enjoyed all sorts of success when they hired Pete Carroll from the NFL. Would they do that again? Roman is a hot name largely because of the offense he's lead at Stanford and now with the 49ers. However despite his time at Stanford, Roman has coached exclusively in the NFL. And he's largely thought to be a front runner for NFL openings. And with all the animosity about Jim Harbaugh at SC, would they want to hire one of his guys?

Dan Quinn (Seattle Seahawks Defensive Coordinator)
A name that isn't thrown out a lot but could be a darkhorse candidate is Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn. Much like Greg Roman he is largely considered an NFL guy and has only had a short stint as a college coordinator. But the one thing that Quinn has that Roman doesn't is an affiliation with Pete Carroll. The difference between Quinn's relationship with Carroll and Sarkisian's is that Quinn wasn't on the staff during the NCAA violations. Quinn is very well respected and outgoing personality fits well with the college game.