Kirk Herbstreit On Steve Sarkisian

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I just asked ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit for his take on the Steve Sarkisian situation:

”I was probably as surprised as everybody else. What made him do that? I have no idea. This is going to be a tough one to overcome. If you’re Pat Haden, I don’t know what you do there. It will be interesting to see what Pat Haden does.”

69 thoughts on “Kirk Herbstreit On Steve Sarkisian”

  1. Ummmm, Kirk, Paddy O’Hadden already did what he’s gonna do…nothing. This is Denial U!!

    And when Seven Shot Sark blows it again (he will), then Paddy Boy losses HIS JOB too.

    #It’sLikeThat

      • I think he went from being able to lose 4 games comfortably, to only being able to lose 3 – and they all 3 better not be to Ucla, ND, and any game that decides the Pac12 South

      • I realize you’re joking, sas, but the truth is the team doesn’t deserve ANOTHER mid season axing of a Head Coach. If Haden has concerns about Sark’s ability to be effective this year, and he should, he ought to take action now —before the season begins. We have at least two Assistant Coaches who could take things quite nicely from here.

        • Although I wouldn’t favor a coaching change. Its not out of the question. And I think you are referring to Helton and Tee Martin. I don’t know if I’m ready to hand over the keys that easy. As much as I like Martin and Helton not yet.

          • Well, we’re on the same page as to which two coaches could take the reigns. And I appreciate your concerns about being too precipitous about this—- but, let’s face it–
            Sark is not Lou Saban or Urban Meyer. He’s a great recruiter whose act is wearing thin.

          • I agree. To be honest…it’s a tough spot to be in for Haden, Sark, and us fans. The drama continues.

          • I’m guessing you mean Nick Saban. He’d simply close practice, o wait, Bama practices are already closed. Aside from this incident, what off field act are to referring to? or by act, do you mean coaching? 9-4 in his first year is better the McKay, and Carroll. You have to go back to Robinson to match it.

          • All smart observations, SoCal. The “act” I’m referring to is the one Sark has been employing since he left to coach Washington— i.e., almost frantically projecting the image he’s the coolest coach in the Pac 12 —while, at the same time, looking like he’s straining and doesn’t believe in the act himself . The problem is that teams are, as the old saying goes, extensions of their coaches —and USC, particularly in tough games, and especially when they are ahead by less than a touchdown late in the 4th quarter, plays like a team that, deep down, doesn’t believe in itself. The foregoing, of course, could be dismissed as simply an opinion, but for the fact it’s one shared by opposing coaches, conveyed by them to their teams, and substantiated by the way Sark’s teams tend to play in the crunch.

    • Correct call as usual, CB.
      Based upon their vast experience over a long, long time, SoCal football now has the best damage control algorithm software in the business. The problem here is that there are no win/loss numbers to enter at this point. You see, behavior is not part of the formula and compliance with NCAA rules isn’t in there either.

  3. Pat Haden has a big decisions to make, dose he crack under pressure from the media ? If so, Steve Sarkisian maybe suspended, and be on a short string. I don’t always believe what bloggers put on the internet but Sarkisian has been rumored to have problems with the bottle, and having a few affairs, stemming from his Washington days. Well his wife did file for divorce a few months ago, and it appears his drinking issues are coming to light.

    • If anything, Haden should make a decision before Sark coaches another practice. If he’s gonna suspend him or not, get it over with. This can’t linger.

      • If he does suspend Sark, it will have to be for more then the two games they open up with against the cupcake teams, because the media will come down on Pat Haden for that. So I assume it will be for a significant amount of games if a suspension is handed down at all

        • I don’t think Sark deserves to get fired. But i do think he should be disciplined. Two games should definitely send him a message in humility.

          • I doubt Pat Haden would fire Sarkisian for that incident, but I think if Sark follows up with a losing season, Haden would pull the plug.

          • Rightfully so. It’s noon already. I think Haden already made his mind up to not suspend Sark. It almost feels like Sark won’t be suspended, but if he has any small whiff of trouble going forward he could be canned. I don’t know. We shall see.

          • Let’s put it this way, Fred—before Salute to Troy, Sark could lose to Notre Dame and UCLA and be back next year —not anymore.

          • Agree not a fireable offense. But as I said elsewhere in this post, I think you hurt your program in the long run if you don’t move to suspension. Otherwise, it doesn’t send a good message to those 85 men he coaches and who are held to very high standards. Nor does a simple slap on the wrist send the right message to recruits and their families. I feel for anyone who’s going through divorce–especially the kids. I wish him the best.

          • I agree with you. As a fan I want to give our coach a second chance, but as a fan I also believe in discipline for his actions. I hate talking about suspension. But it wouldn’t hurt if he was suspended a month. The remaining two weeks before our games start and for also the first two games. Now…I wish I could say he will never do this again and he doesn’t need a suspension, but I don’t know that for sure. I do believe in second chances. I truly hope Sark is thinking about his actions as a person, father, coach, and his family’s name. Because he may get a second chance right away and I hope he doesn’t blow it for himself as a person before anything else.

        • The Stanford game would be a 3 game suspension. I would prefer a 2 game suspension, but I wouldn’t hate him being suspended for that game.

        • That would be the perfect punishment IF he’s suspended (unlike Klemm) WITHOUT pay for 2 games. Hurts Sark and doesn’t hurt the team.

    • media pressure … Sark did this and doesn’t win anything to boot … should have never been hired , everyone knew his Udub teams sucked too

    • Pretty silly asking a mediocre tOSU sports announcer who works for the SEC about a USC issue.

      How many alcoholics does it take to change a light bulb Wolfman ?
      Just one, but the light bulb has to want to change.

      Haden could demand that Sark stop drinking and allow Sark to choose the method (this way doesn’t usually go so well) or choose it for him (this way usually fails too but saves face for Pat). Or Sark could just have had his moment and get clean himself. Time will tell.

      And Scott, stop piling on.

  6. If Sarkisian wanted to get the press & sporting nation off the team’s back in having very high expectations, he sure did a great job of putting that attention on him. I think it will cost him 1 possibly 2-game suspensions since their first 2-games are considered easy challenges.

    • There will be no suspension IMHO. Haden simply doesn’t want it and it has nothing to do with USC’s games, wins or losses. He won’t be pushed around and if you doubt this, you don’t know Haden. Only way a suspension would happen is if Nikias, who was very unhappy about this and its effects on his fundraising, insisted on it. But I doubt he will because of his ultra-close relationship with Haden. Hope I’m wrong, actually.

      Personally, I’m fine with a suspension for half the season if need be. Sark needs to change or he’s a dead man walking.

      • Sark needs serious help. Also, if Haden had done his due diligence he would have been aware of Sark’s problem. Sark seems like a decent guy with a huge monkey on his back while having what may be the most stressful coaching job in Los Angeles. It is not a great recipe. Whether he gets help during the season or after the season, he needs it. SC Alumni and Fans are a tough crowd to please and he may be in over his head.

        • Haden hired the prestigious firm Korn Ferry to search this job. It was their responsibility to vet Sark, not Haden’s. Presumably they were paid bookoo bucks for their work. Problem is, Korn Ferry is filled with USC guys and they don’t specialize in athletics, though simple background stuff like womanizing and drinking would seem to be a standard, basic function search that wouldn’t require a specialty.

          Haden may be guilty of a lot, but personally uncovering Sark’s substance abuse problems is not his bailiwick. However, I also hear Sark had a rep for hitting on women as a USC asst, so maybe it’s the good old boy syndrome, always alive and well at USC. A lot will probably come out making decisions look dumb, but hindsight’s always 20/20, and none of us, not even the venerable Kirk Herbstreit, saw this coming!

          • Herbstreit is a D-bag. You know more about this than I ever would. Hiring isn’t easy. It is a humbling experience and I certainly made plenty of hiring errors in my life. Sometimes we don’t stick to our full process when hiring one of our own, so to speak. I hope Sark gets some real help.

          • Herbie is one of Sark’s little buddies , if he doesn’t know anything what is going on regarding the SC brass ( you know him and Sark have talked ) then Sark is in big trouble … no doubt if Sark felt is was no biggie , he would have told Herbie … Haden shock us and fire the drunk

      • if Haden lets his little boy Sarky slide , then he needs to be fired … this frat boy I’m so special act of Sarks needs to be shut down … he hasn’t won a thing and never will

      • Pressure is building from inside $ people to punish or fire Sark. Suspension looks more likely to me now.

        • A suspension seems unavoidable, from what I’m hearing from my SC alum family members and friends. Also confirmed by a friend in attendance that there were children present. Yikes. Sad. The guy needs some really good friends to apply tough love.

  8. As if… as if Herbstreit would take Scottie’s call – the restraining order is still in effect.

  9. Wolfe really piling on. Nobody else is covering this. Not ESPN, not Fox Sports, not LA Times, nobody! #drinkOn!

  10. LOL read this today.
    “That’s a man that I not only want to play for, but would love to drink with. I have a soft spot for anyone who gets drunk and their first thought is how much Notre Dame fucking sucks.”
    I have to admit I would have rather Sark not bring negative attention to the program. Do I think this is a ok, no. Do I think this is worthy of a suspension, nope. Do I think the quote above is funny, hell ya.

  11. Clearly a mistake in judgement. Didn’t drink & drive, didn’t strike anyone, didn’t cheat or steal. He had to much to drink and made a fool of himself on the last day of camp. Bad, but not headline news.

    • Ahh, you see but it IS headline news, Jerry. It IS. When you’re (a) fresh off a 5-year bid, (b) barely a season beyond a slew of messy fire/hire cycles and (c) standing at a podium, mic’d up in front of parents, kids and boosters… you MAKE it headline news. Believe it or not, I’m not enjoying this either. My MOM called yesterday to ask, “What’s up with USC?!”… and she could care less about CFB.

  12. Look folks as an SC alum, I’m not happy with the incident but don’t think this is a big deal that warrants a suspension or firing him. Sark made a mistake and drank too much before his speech and the comments he made about our opponents. He apologized for his behavior and understands he can’t do this again.

    Time to move on to more important things and let it go.

    • This is quite a difficult thing for the administration to move past, and I think if the administration ignores Sarkisian’s behavior, it could hurt the program in the long run. It’s not just about the drinking (it’s a dinner event, people drink)–it’s the fact that the man is in a position of authority over 85 young men who themselves are held to very high standards. When the coach publicly breaks the rules that he sets for his own players, it’s a problem. In fact, for a program with the esteem of USC, I think doing nothing now will hurt the team more than a suspension will. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing respect with recruits and their parents. I wish the guy the best–and hope he gets the help he seems to need.

  13. Herbie is a big Suck buddy, like Cowturd. They used to drink and chase tail together until Herbie go tossed out by his wife too. For Herbie to rip on Suck like this or remain clueless , it doesn’t look good for SUCK. He isn’t getting word from the Haden and the Prez , he could be toast , lets hope. Suck is a crappy coach anyway ,just lazy and drunk.

  14. So what’s going to be the headline in tomorrows news. Except for Wolf, everyone else will move on.

    • everyone? well I guess you’re sort of right…..aside from the national media, local t.v. and radio, local print, and the internet….I gotta hand it to that Arbogassss guy….he’s , as usual…the Bagdad Bob of usc….

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