A Message To USC Football: Hire Ed Orgeron Now As Permanent Head Coach!
By Derek Hart
Nov 16, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Ed Orgeron celebrates with fans at the end of the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC defeated Stanford 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Since the firing of Lane Kiffin in the dead of night at the Los Angeles International Airport, this man has…
* Coached six games for the USC Trojans as the interim head coach, winning five of them, including an epic 20-17 upset of then-#4 Stanford at the Coliseum his last time out,
* Returned a sense of fun to the team, doing things like providing cookies and other desserts at training table and taking the players to the movies,
* Seen a marked improvement in performance as guys like Javorius “Buck” Allen, Su’a Cravens, and quarterback Cody Kessler have emerged as standouts and key contributors,
* Has continued his great relationship with the players, many of them saying they would go through a brick wall for him.
and most of all, this man has…
* Essentially turned this season around for ‘SC, bringing sell-out crowds and an exciting atmosphere back to the Coliseum and to the USC campus.
As well as putting the Trojans in a position to possibly win the Pac-12 South championship if they beat Colorado and UCLA and the stars align for them the right way.
Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times urged caution in his November 19 column, saying that athletic director Pat Haden should wait at least two weeks – until the regular season is finished – before any decisions are made.
According to Dwyre, Haden and USC President C. Max Nikias need to consider several other factors, one of them being whether or not Ed Orgeron is the best man for one of the most prestigious jobs in college football in the long term.
Indeed, it was reported that former Trojan All-American and current Denver Broncos interim coach Jack Del Rio was interviewed for the head coaching job on November 1, in the midst of ‘SC’s impressive run, which tells me that Haden is not quite convinced that Orgeron is ready to be handed the keys to the Trojan Empire.
The other day I told a Trojan alum that if her team beat Stanford, Orgeron should get the job.
Well, they did!
Nov 9, 2013; Berkeley, CA, USA; USC Trojans interim head coach Ed Orgeron on the sideline during the first quarter against the California Golden Bears at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The message is obviously clear, and roughly a million members of the “Trojan Family” can’t be wrong…
The next coach of the USC Football Program has been standing on the sidelines all this time, right under everyone’s nose.
Haden, Nikias, and the Board of Trustees need to remove the “interim” from Orgeron’s job description and make him the next head coach NOW.
Regardless of what happens against Colorado and UCLA.
Give him a two-year deal with the option of a third; that will cover the last year of the NCAA sanctions regarding the loss of scholarships and the first year that the Trojans will be sanction-free and able to have their full scholarship allotment.
If the current Trojan players and recruits see that the school is making a commitment to someone who has changed the season 180 degrees, they will be ecstatic to play for such a popular coach.
And the recruits will come running.
THE BOTTOM LINE: USC should do the right thing and make Orgeron the permanent head coach.
Otherwise the program may take a big step backward.