DEVELOPING STORY: Haden To Replace Garrett As USC AD

((HT: LA Times- Dwyre))

In a move a lot of people thought was a long time coming, former USC quarterback Pat Haden is set to replace current Athletic Director Mike Garrett as soon as August 3rd. USC President Steven Sample is retiring on that date, and it has been targeted and otherwise circled for the same transition in the Athletic Department.

Haden will, obviously, have to give up his role as NBC analyst for Notre Dame football, but the magna-cum-laude/Rhodes Scholar/Phi Beta Kappa-current private investment firm guy wants to restore the program to its past glory and reputation.

From Dwyre:

"This is not something I thought about doing, nor something even on my radar," Haden said. "But I began to see it as a challenge, as something new. And when my wife agreed — and she really doesn't follow sports closely — I took a closer look."

An announcement of an official nature is anticipated sometime Tuesday in Los Angeles. In addition, former Trojan JK McKay is also figured to be hired as some sort of compliance "liaison" between Haden and Lane Kiffin- presumably to keep Kiffin's head screwed on straight in recruiting and eligibility issues.

As Ol' JR used to say... Business just picked up...

More when we know more...
But, here's what USC will be trying to avoid with Haden...
Ed Laskos explains from Los Angeles from, about, six weeks ago...
((HT: KTTV/Fox 11- MyFoxLA))

USC Gets Their Own Update Now... Chow Down And Hold The Mayo...

((HT: KCBS-TV/ESPN))

Two things... looks like Norm Chow is staying at UCLA for as third season...

Head coach, and Chief Passion Bucket himself, Rick Neuheisel said as much today...

The HQ thinks that Chow wouldn't have gotten along with Changing Lane in the long-term, anyway...

And, according to Kelly Naqi at ESPN, OJ Mayo ((to the HQ's shock and surprise)) has not cooperated with the internal investigation the school made on illegal gifts and benefits, Rodney Guillory, stop us if you've heard all this before...

Mayo has referred all questions to his agent, LaPoe Smith, who isn't answering questions and told the LA Times last week that "(w)e can't talk about innuendoes..."

The HQ wishes AD Mike Garrett with all that...

Kiffin Speaks... Briefly...

((HT: WVLT-TV))

Here is the entirety of Lane Kiffin's good-bye to the fans, team, and administration of the University of Tennessee...

All 57 seconds of it...


The only thing missing in this are the Mayflower moving vans.
But the HQ takes that statement back somewhat... with the moving vans, that would have meant cowardice in this whole proceeding.

What Kiffin showed here is either brass balls the size of grapefruits or the notion that his 10-200's have no odor and he can do whatever he damn well wants...

His band of merry men are set to talk to the USC faithful tomorrow at Heritage Hall on campus... provided he's allowed to leave Tennessee air space without getting shot down from the sky... the student body at UT, late Tuesday evening, had issue with that- blocking Johnny Majors Boulevard in an attempt to prevent Kiffin from leaving the parking lot where he left his car... ((unruly mob pictured, thanks WBIR-TV))

Here's Mike Garrett's welcome back:
"We are really excited to welcome Lane Kiffin back to USC. I was able to watch him closely when he was an assistant with us and what I saw was a bright, creative young coach who I thought would make an excellent head coach here if the opportunity ever arose."

Kiffin, apparently, didn't even have the stones to tell Vols AD Mike Hamilton directly. Hamilton had to issue his statement from Denver...

"I want to thank Coach Kiffin for his work with our program this past year. We have already begun a search for the new head football coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and we'll complete this process as quickly as possible to put the right person in place to lead our great football program forward in the months and years ahead."

Stones, big guy...
Stones...

BREAKING NEWS: Kiffy-Kins To USC... WTF!!! Getting The Band Back Together...

((HT: ESPN/Chris Low Knoxville News-Sentinel WATE-TV))

In what was, probably, Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton's reaction to this whole thing...

This transfer of power comes as an absolute game-changer... Low reports that Lane and Monte Kiffin, along with Ed Orgeron, will head back to central Los Angeles.

Vols WR coach Kippy Brown becomes the interim head coach in Knoxville...

The HQ has to give USC AD Mike Garrett a lot of credit for this play, which completely sends an entire state into a tailspin... and subsequent hissy fit of biblical proportions...

Kiffin held a 9:30PM media briefing for the local press. No live cameras and transmission were allowed at the event- presumably so no one knew when the flaming pitch forks and lynch mobs could be allowed on campus.

"This was not an easy decision. It's something that happened very quick," Kiffin said. "This was not an easy decision. I really believe this is the only place I would have left to go."

Follow coverage here in these OSG-Endorsed locales...

WVLT-TV in Knoxville with Rick Russo...
The Knoxville News-Sentinel and govolsxtra.com
SportsAnimal99 talk radio in Knoxville...

Wanna see what Kiffin's contract was like at Tennessee, here you go...

According to Articles 16 and 17 of the deal he has with the University of Tennessee, Kiffin is set to pay "liquidated damages" to the school...

Since it was in the first year, Kiffin is liable for $1-million payable over a three-year period...provided Kiffin gives 30 days written notice...

945 EDT UPDATE: ESPN's Shelley Smith relays that Norm Chow is heading from UCLA back to USC as part of the package deal to be the Offensive Coordinator...

So USC has Kiffin, Kiffin, Orgeron, and Chow as of this moment in a very fluid situation. Kiffin ((the younger)) had, apparently called a 9PM team meeting to break the news...

1030 UPDATE:
WVLT catches up with SEC All-Freshman tackle Aaron Douglas and he's not happy one damn bit...

Silver Surfer Heading To Seattle

Multiple media outlets are reporting that USC head football coach Pete Carroll ((pictured wanting Mike Garrett to co-operate, thanks LA Times/Skalij and Gallardo))has reached terms on a five-year deal to become the new lead dog for the Seattle Seahawks.

The LA Daily News reported the length of the deal while other details ((namely "power" within the organization)) have to be worked out...

He replaces Jim Mora who was fired Friday after a frustrating 5-11 year in the Pacific Northwest.

The new questions now ripple through college football...provided the Seahawks comply with the Rooney Rule before they announce Carroll's hiring.

Adam Schefter says that Vikings DC Leslie Frazier will not interview if Carroll has been promised absolute power.

SI's Don Banks says that two GM candidates pulled out after the Carroll name was floated- Baltimore #2 Eric DeCosta and Philadelphia GM Tom Heckert, Junior. This leads to, according to Banks, DeCosta being named GM-in-Waiting for Ozzie Newsome and Heckert going to Cleveland to hang with Mike Holmgren.

Banks also thinks current New Mexico State head coach Rodney Walker may be Carroll's new DC- or the new USC coach. Norm Chow could follow Walker to either Seattle or central LA. USC OC Jeremy Bates is on track to follow Carroll to Seattle, if he doesn't go to the Chicago Bears where his services are requested also.

Make any sense yet...???

SI's Jim Trotter has people who have spoken to the Seahawks as well. His peeps say that Seahawks owner Paul Allen is not all that keen on giving absolute power absolutely to Carroll. He's been through that once before with Mike Holmgren...

And we all know how well that worked...

So, if TJ Simers column in the LA Times is accurate- it's premise that USC AD Mike Garrett has left Carroll hanging after Mark Sanchez, Joe McKnight, and hell the HQ will Say it- Reggie Bush... then, maybe it's time for the Silver Surfer to find a better set of waves...

More when we know more...

USC Says Hold The Mayo... And The Season...

((HT: KCBS-TV))

USC tries to be pro-active and nukes their own 2009-2010 basketball season...

AD Mike Garrett found out that, shockingly, rules were violated during OJ Mayo's one season with the Trojans under former coach Tim Floyd.

Mayo did his one-and-done and now is in Memphis playing for the Grizzlies.
Some people would say that doing that is sanction enough...

The sanctions call for:
A one-year ban on all postseason play for this season,
A loss of one scholarship for this season and next,
A loss of one coach able to recruit this summer, and
20 less recruiting days next season...

Whatever in the hell that means in the grand scheme of things... they're also blowing up the 21 wins from that season.

SportsCentral's Jim Hill and Steve Hartman look at the fallout of the self-imposed ban and try to figure out where in the hell Mike Garrett and Kevin O'Neill go from here...



Mike Garrett's full statement is here on the USC website...

The HQ long has wondered what Kevin O'Neill was thinking when he took the job after Floyd abruptly resigned...

We're still wondering...

Bear Down, Trojan Man! O'Neill Moves To USC

((HT: LA Times/Foster))

Kevin O'Neill has been hired by USC as basketball coach, the school announced today on its website.

O'Neill's hiring came a day after USC representatives made a final run at Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon, who again declined to leave the Big East powerhouse to take over a beleaguered Trojans' program that is under NCAA investigation.

O'Neill, 52, replaces Tim Floyd ((pictured, thanks LA Times file)), who resigned June 9 in the midst of a tumultuous off-season that included allegations that he hand-delivered a payment in 2007 to an associate of former USC star O.J. Mayo.

The salvage operation O'Neill faces is immense. USC had its three top returning players declare their intent to turn professional, and five recruits either asked to be let out of their scholarships or change their verbal commitments. Only nine scholarship players remain on the roster.

"I'm very excited about this opportunity to coach at such a great institution as USC, with its tremendous athletic and academic tradition," O'Neill said in a statement released by USC. "I appreciate [Athletic Director] Mike Garrett's confidence in me. I will work my hardest to coach us to a championship level every single day. I can't wait to get started."

O'Neill also sounded like a coach who knew what he was getting into at USC.

"I recognized that USC basketball has been through a tough time lately," he said. "Like many college basketball fans, I have been following the developments in the media. One thing I expect people might second-guess me on is whether I made the right call in taking this job.

" . . . I want to assure you that I made my decision only after a thorough evaluation. . . . If I didn't believe in USC -- and all of the people involved -- I wouldn't be putting my name and reputation on the line. But I do and I am. Enough said.

"I'm sure I am also going to be asked whether the NCAA investigation involving basketball is going to hurt recruiting or the program in general. Let me just say that if I thought I wouldn't be able to do my job -- do the job that the University expects of me and equally important that I expect of myself -- I wouldn't have taken the job."

O'Neill spent last season as an assistant coach and special assistant to the general manager for the Grizzlies. He was the interim coach at Arizona, filling in for Lute Olson, during the 2007-08 season. Arizona reached the NCAA tournament and finished with a 19-15 record. Although O'Neill was designated as Olson's successor by Athletic Director Jim Livengood, he was pushed out when Olson announced his return in April 2008.

O'Neill was the Toronto Raptors head coach in 2003-04, when they finished with a 33-49 record. He has been an assistant with the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.

On the college level, O'Neill has been the head coach at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern. Marquette made the NCAA tournament in 1993 and 1994 under O'Neill.

PJ And Reggie Up For USC Gig

((HT: LA Times/Chris Foster))

Former NBA coaches Reggie Theus and P.J. Carlesimo have emerged as two of the leading candidates for the USC basketball job, independent sources familiar with the situation said.

Another source said Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons has already talked with USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, whose football and basketball programs are under NCAA investigation.

There were no indications that Garrett was close to making a decision. A USC spokesman said Garrett would not comment on the search to replace Tim Floyd, who resigned last week amid mounting pressure due to the NCAA probe.

Theus, 51, spent 1 1/2 seasons as coach of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, who fired him in December. Before that he was head coach at New Mexico State, going 41-23 in two seasons and taking the Aggies to the 2007 NCAA tournament. They went 6-24 in 2004-05, the season before he arrived.

Carlesimo, 60, was fired as coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder in November, early in his second season with the team. He also has coached the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors. Carlesimo last coached on the college level in 1994, the last of his six seasons at Seton Hall. The Pirates reached the NCAA championship game in 1989.

Theus declined to comment, and attempts to contact Carlesimo were unsuccessful.

Both fit the profile Garrett has sought in football and basketball coaches in the past -- former college coaches with experience on the professional level.

In football, Garrett went after Dennis Erickson and Mike Riley before hiring Pete Carroll, who was a college assistant before becoming head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots. In basketball, Floyd coached at Iowa State before doing NBA tours with the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets.

Cleamons, meanwhile, spoke with Garrett late last week. He also has professional-collegiate experience. He was head coach at Youngstown State and an assistant at Ohio State and Furman. He was the Dallas Mavericks' head coach and has served as an NBA assistant, winning titles with the Chicago Bulls and Lakers.

Floyd resigned last week, part of a tumultuous off-season for the Trojans that has included an allegation that Floyd gave at least $1,000 to a runner for an agent at a February 2007 meeting. USC has had three players declare for the NBA draft and lost five recruits since the season ended.

Tim Floyd Resigns From USC

((HT: NBCSports))

Tim Floyd has resigned as USC's men's basketball coach, according to a report in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

Floyd has been under fire since a report surfaced that he gave $1,000 to a man associated with former player O.J. Mayo. If true, the payment would be a major NCAA violation.

Floyd submitted a letter to USC athletic director Mike Garrett, obtained by the paper:

“As of 1 p.m. today, I am resigning as head basketball coach at the University of Southern California. I deeply appreciate the opportunity afforded me by the university, as well as the chance to know and work with some of the finest young men in college athletics. Unfortunately, I know longer feel I can offer the level of enthusiasm to my duties that is deserved by the university, my coaching staff, my players, their families, and the supporters of Southern Cal. I always promised my self and my family that if I ever felt I could no longer give my full enthusiasm to a job, that I should leave it to others who could. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor.”

Floyd reportedly turned down an offer to be Arizona's coach earlier this spring. He led the Trojans to the NCAA tournament each of the last three seasons.