Pat Haden On Risk Of Hiring A Football Coach

“I could be absolutely wrong. We’ll find out,” Pat Haden said today regarding the hiring of Steve Sarkisian.

29 thoughts on “Pat Haden On Risk Of Hiring A Football Coach

  1. Pat sure knows how to re-assure and build confidence in a fan base…

    24 hours into the decision and he is already admitting he could be wrong…

  2. Wolf, please spare us the empty quotes. You shouldn’t feel compelled to post platitudes. Then again, I could be way off. Only time will tell . . .

  3. That is exactly the opposite of how a manager should feel after making a hire. Not exactly reassuring.

    • Pat’s career has been public relations, so I was surprised that Sark was much more polished. Yes, Pat made a number of off-key remarks, looking defensive and unfocused. I wonder if he will soon take another position at the university, perhaps a university professorship and turn the AD job over to someone with a lower profile.

  4. WH-WH-WH-WHAT?????

    way to kick Khardsaian in the crotch, Hadden!!!

    when Mrs Hadden served up her thanksgiving turkey, did you say: “well, this could taste like crap! you never know!!”

  5. Haden had the moxie to admit that no coaching search is a sure thing. Not one. Can you imagine any other weak-kneed self-aggrandizing AD admitting he might be wrong? Haden can because he needs the USC AD job like he needs a hole in the head. Very refreshing to see a person in power throw caution to the wind, roll the dice and say basically, “I trust myself. If you don’t, I’ve got other options.” And believe me. He has.

          • Anyone that has ever hired anyone knows it is a bit of a crap shoot. You never really know what you have until you are working with him or her. Only those with massive egos are unable to admit that. Surprising to hear Haden say that, but it is a true statement.

          • Haden wouldn’t say it if he didn’t know Sark wouldn’t blink. And if it bothered Sark in any way, then Sark is as good as finished before he ever gets started. May as well rip up the contract and sue for fraudulent misrepresentation of character. Void it. Kind of like firing a guy in the airport parking lot. Timing is everything.

          • I understand the virtues that you see in Haden’s “candor” with the above posted quote. I just see something else, a slimy political type that has mastered the art of sidestepping any form of accountability. Shaking hands and kissing babies is what Haden is good for. Not much else.

          • I agree, Jack. Pride before the fall and modesty always prevails. A real confident man will never shy away from the truth and is never above reproach.

          • I agree….Haden may not be the best AD in the country, nor is he the most qualified, but his honesty and self deprecating humor is refreshing to me… enough with the overused cliches already….I have interviewed, hired and fired many people in my career…. and the ones who interview well are not always the best hire…..

          • I’m a betting man and I’ve known Pat (not well) since before he was the Rose Bowl MVP, became a Rhodes Scholar, played for the Rams, announced ND games (very fairly I might add), and eventually parlayed a law degree and decent intelligence into hobnobbing with L.A. big wigs, etc, etc, etc, for huge profits, all the while remaining a very decent guy. If you can top that, my hat’s off to you Saul. Will you please apply for the USC AD job when Haden lets it go?

          • How does being a medicore NFL player and a lawyer make Haden qualified to be AD? He was as bad a selection as Sarkiffian.

    • Jack B, if you followed the stories on the search, you know that Haden pursued the risk-averse course. He didn’t want media issues (Peterson), he didn’t want any risk of scandal (Franklin & the rape), and he got played by Sumlin. He didn’t want to pluck a brilliant young guy from a much lesser school, or from an assistant’s job.

      He hired a guy who did OK for five years at a B+ program, but shows zero signs of greatness.

      Caution to the wind? That’s not what Haden did at all. Yes, I like that Haden admits he’s fallible. I don’t like that he put risk avoidance ahead of reward maximization. Jack Welch, he’s not. And usually, the outcome of what Haden did is “bog standard” performance.

      As he says, we’ll see.

  6. The hire makes sense! for anyone that doesn’t understand that and is upset about the hire because Sark has a past with kiffin… CAN GET OVER IT!
    Now we wait and see if its successful!

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