Is Pete Carroll Making Another Big Mistake?

After USC stiffed UCLA 28-7 to win their record seventh consecutive Pac-10 championship, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian made it official. He has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Washington, which also set a record today. They were the first Pac-10 team to ever go winless in a season.

Sarkisian said he would remain the Trojans O.C. for their Rose Bowl game with Penn State and would do whatever recruiting and staffing he could in his spare time.

The announcement did not displease some Trojan fans. In fact, they were glad that Sarkisian would not be returning next year. Some even hoped he would not return for the Rose Bowl.

They felt that hiring Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin as co-offensive coordinators in 2005 was Pete Carrol’s first mistake.

These are the same fans who have had a love relationship with former Trojan O.C. Norm Chow, who is now the offensive coordinator at UCLA after a three-year stint in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.

They have also had a love-hate relationship with head coach Pete Carroll. They love what Pete has done with recruiting and turning USC into a perennial Top 10 power. But they hate that he had a falling out with Chow in the first place and then did not go outside the organization to hire an experienced O. C.

Later they blamed both Kiffin and Sarkisian for losing the national championship game against Texas and Vince Young. They feel Reggie Bush should have been on the field when Texas stopped Lendale White on a fourth-and-short.

The fact that USC put up 38 points while Pete Carroll’s defense blew a two score lead with about 10 minutes to go doesn’t matter as much to some fans.

The following year, it was the stunning loss at Oregon State and the embarrassing upset at the hands of UCLA that cost the Trojans a third consecutive BCS title appearance.

Again some fans heaped the blame squarely on the co-offensive coordinators.

Last year, Kiffin took over as head coach of the Oakland Raiders a post he held until Al Davis fired him a month ago, leaving him free to take head coaching job with the Tennessee Volunteers.

So, Sarkisian took full responsibility for the offensive play calling along and with that came responsibility for the greatest upset in college football history as a 41-point underdog Stanford beat USC in the Coliseum.

No longer were these same fans displeased, they were downright angry.

Fast forward to Corvallis, Oregon, this past October and another upset loss to Oregon State that knocked USC from their #1 ranking and wound up costing them another appearance in the BCS Title game.

Now these same fans were fuming, and as far as they were concerned Pete Carroll’s placing his faith in Sarkisian was a tremendous mistake.

Last night during the postgame radio program, callers were nearly unanimous in expressing their relief that Sarkisian was leaving. Text messages on this morning’s “Trojan Brunch” program also indicated that fans were glad to see Sarkisian move on.

One message equated losing Sarkisian to “losing a girlfriend that you were too good-looking for.” Another said it was like “losing Paul Hackett.”

Sentiment on the Trojan fan sites has been running about 50-50.

Now that he is leaving the anti-Sarkisian faction is stressing that two wrongs don’t make a right. What has them so bent out of shape?

After last night’s win over UCLA, Carroll said that he was “leaning toward” wide receivers coach John Morton to replace Sarkisian. He was also thinking about bringing back USC’s 2004 quarterbacks coach, Carl Smith.

Uh-oh, hiring from within again. This has some fans yelling, “Personal foul!”

So, what exactly are my feelings on the situation?

Read my follow up report: “Steve Sarkisian Doesn’t Coach Here Anymore.”