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USC Morning Buzz: A Tale Of Two Coaches And Tradition

Before he got fired by the Raiders yesterday, Pete Carroll was recently asked about the USC-Notre Dame rivalry ending.

“I have no space to think of why somebody would want to do that,” Carroll said. “I hope that doesn’t carry over to other matchups that have been so important to people over the years and so much fun, not so much the teams. It’s for the fans and for the alumni. That’s too bad. I’m disappointed to hear that.”

It’s a much better reaction than the mealy-mouthed things Matt Leinart said about the news.

But Carroll always valued the rivalry and made a point of speaking to Marv Goux about it when he was at USC.

He’s the opposite of Lincoln Riley and that’s probably a reason why Riley has never really reached out to Carroll. One embraced USC tradition. The other . . . not so much.

21 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: A Tale Of Two Coaches And Tradition”

  2. Why the delay in naming a defensive coordinator. My guess is that Jen has already decided on Pete Kwiatkowski but is delaying the announcement until a time closer to the closure of the transfer portal. The hope is that this will prevent a mass exodus of some of the defensive talent who are probably angry that Henny didn’t get the job. I know that some reports say that Pete K. is going to Stanford. Really? Would you go from Texas to Stanford when USC is an option. If he does, it is effectively the end of his upward career projectory.

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    1. KAM: Sadly both USC and Texas ended up being non-Top 25 programs this season.

      DON: Many would go from Texas to Stanford to avoid Riley Coyote.

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  3. Pete definitely has some SC football life in him. But definitely still think Coach O as the next DC makes too much sense to ignore. Orgeron has signaled that he wants back into coaching college football. He knows exactly how to build a defense, which has been critically lacking at USC during the LR era. The current D-staff who should be retained will be to avoid a transfer portal exodus, as Orgeron has no installed base and will need to build his staff from the ground up. He has a personality that players will gravitate toward. And since he has won a BCS natty, he puts a legitimate HC heir-apparent on the staff. So in the unlikely event that USC drops Ls in both its home games against tOSU and Oregon, potentially after losing to Indiana and Penn State away, and with one other potential unexpected loss out there like Illinois the past 2025 season as LR is wont to do, Riley will be canned for a 7 and 5 season or any worse fraction thereof, guaranteed. This would be the ultimate GM power move signal hire, imho…

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    1. No way they go for Coach O. If they passed on Urban Meyer because of issues in his private life, they will pass on O for the same reason. And he does not have a record of consistently producing great defenses as a head coach or coordinator. His LSU teams won because Burrows was the quarterback. Their defenses were mediocre to terrible.

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  4. Check out USC vs. Michigan and how aggressive and disciplined the USC defense is. Where was this the rest of the season? In particular, look at how they dominate the LOS.

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      1. 100%, ’67! [But the best defense USC played all year was the 3rd quarter against TCU —- stopped the runs up the middle, hurried the QB, knocked down passes…

        #….ThenTheyGotTired

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      2. Michael, all kidding aside, with 25 guys opting out, I can imagine that the team was hampered by a thin bench. Not excusing the team for the outcome, but the NCAA really needs to figure this thing out, otherwise bowl games outside of the CFP will be useless.

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      4. Actually, ’67 [although you’re too diplomatic to say it] –it IS an excuse. Jayden couldn’t completely adjust in a couple weeks to new receivers [who, in spite of everything he woulda connected with…but for the fact the refs let them get tackled before the ball arrived]. And we lost our signal callers & best defensive backs on defense to injury or sitting out.

        I’m sure Riley is selling this fact to all interested players: “I didn’t blow the game —that wasn’t my team on the field in the Alamo Bowl.”

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  5. Scooter,

    The reason that SC does not have a DC right now is because Jen Taco Lita Cohen can’t decide if she wants the tacos or the burrito from Taco Lita. She is a lousy AD. first you won’t fire Riley, second you screw up the game between sc and nd, and third she can’t hire a dc. I know a dc right now who might take the job and his name is Pete Carroll.

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  6. Gentlemen, your showing your age. You stall on hiring a DC until after Jan. 16th. The problem is Henderson will probably leave before then and then BAM!! There goes the Southern boys. Problem is, if it’s Mark Stoops or Gary Patterson, can they replace the players that leave or recruit at the same level for the defensive line? Ha ha ha ha ahaha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

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    1. Losing players is a risk. But it would be a beyond stupid move by the players. Virtually all of them are signed to nice NIL packages that cannot be matched by Georgia Tech. And they would lose the exposure they get by playing in Los Angeles.

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      1. I agree —so—-IF we lose lots of staff & lots of players it means something is wrong.

        My bet: We’ll come outta this process just fine.

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      2. Yes MG. There is an upside to the NIL contracts. The players are contractually obligated to play for us at this point. They leave at their own risk. If Jahkeen Stewart and Floyd Bouchard stay, along with Cam Crawford and Shelby, we have the making of a really good defensive line. And if the incoming guys are as good as advertised, Luke Wafle and Jamison Winfield, and Tom Tom, watch out. I think that is why Jen is being so meticulous with the DC hire. She knows these guys have the potential to be an epic defense if we can keep them together.

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      3. ‘Easier said than done’ department: Pop for the best d-coordinator in the NFL…someone who could take over …just in case…

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  7. wolfman, to quote the great Nate Scarbourough, “knows these bums better than they know themselves”!!

    who among us can doubt that if the wolfman were the SC AD lo these many years, you’d have 4-5 more Nattys in football, and that’s conservative.

    while the nattering nabobs keep SC down, only the wolfman can fix it! look, all my dough goes to the ACLU, UCLA and the SETI project, its up to you trOXan silver spoon mo-fos to ante up the cash to make it happen.

    #AnteUpOrBeOnWelfareTheWholeWinter

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