Be Careful What You Wish For
There's obviously a lot of fans thrilled at the departure of Lane Kiffin, but what will be different following his departure?
New play-caller Steve Sarkisian wanted to take Kiffin to Oakland if he accepted the Raiders job and the two were always in-sync while working together the past two years. The pair spoke frequently before Sarkisian was rehired in 2005, to the dismay of former offensive coordinator Norm Chow. And Sarkisian enjoyed veto power over Kiffin's playcalling along with Pete Carroll the past two seasons.
The offense will now be a Carroll-Sarkisian effort instead of a three-headed monster. But it would be foolish to think massive changes will be enacted next season.

Comments
so who is going to be the new recruiting coordinator Scott?
Posted by: darmet
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January 23, 2007 03:08 AM
Clearly recruting is the issue here. If Pete can hire another firecracker assistant that works the recruiting trail 24/7 the way Kiffin did, this will be a good thing. I always thought the three-headed monster for play-calling was a bad idea. May have been why SC seemed slow at times to react to defensive changes. Fight on!
Posted by: Mike
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January 23, 2007 06:40 AM
I'm hoping that 2 heads are better than 3. At the very least, we'll be able to see if the poor playcalling was REALLY Lane's fault, or if we were blaming the wrong guy all along.
Like Gillyking posted in another thread, I'd like to see Jim Fassel have a shot, or really, I'd go for Walt Harris. He'd be the stern parent to PC's layed back parent. Perfect match.
Fight ON!!
Posted by: telliot647
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January 23, 2007 06:53 AM
Good point Scott. I've always wondered why the criticism of Kiffin while Sark skated for the most part. (My guess is that Sark doesn't have a dad who is an NFL coach so everyone thinks Sark earned his spot while Kiff was Mr. Goldenboy.)
I've never heard though, what was the rift between Sark and Chow? That always seemed awkward considering Sark played for Chow and seemed to be Chows protege when he was hired. Info anyone?
Posted by: PH55
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January 23, 2007 08:51 AM
Ed Orgeron was the recruiting coordinator before Kiffin and brought in great classes. We didn't miss a beat with Kiffin because the kids are coming here for SC, not some assistant coach. I don't see a problem with whoever taking over recruiting; all the coaches are involved anyway, not just the coordinator.
Posted by: uscfd
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January 23, 2007 09:00 AM
uscfd, Ed Oregeron started under Hackett. It wasn't this brilliance, but Pete's that turned it around. The point is that you need a guy willing to work endless hours and travel nonstop, i.e., a young guy on the make who's beholden to the head coach for his survival.
Posted by: Mike
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January 23, 2007 09:55 AM
uscfd, Ed Oregeron started under Hackett. It wasn't Ed's brilliance, but Pete's that turned it around. The point is that you need a guy willing to work endless hours and travel nonstop, i.e., a young guy on the make who's beholden to the head coach for his survival. Kiffin fit the bill perfectly. I'm sure there are others out there.
Posted by: Mike
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January 23, 2007 09:55 AM
Kiffin's got two young kids. Maybe that's why he bolted for the NFL. No more recruiting. Agree with uscfd, the kids are coming in for NFL dreams and what's a better lure than USC and Pete Carroll. The recruiting coordinatior just makes sure the other coaches are making their phone calls, writing letters, texting messages, etc. If anything, Pete's the closer.
Posted by: AlwaysBeatND
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January 23, 2007 10:12 AM
I don't understand why blast or take credit away from coach Ed Orgeron who is well respected as one of the best recruiters in the nation. Mike Farrell stated that coach "O" can recruit a raincoat. Ole Miss finished respectably #16 with a 3.16 ave and #16 now.
Thank you
Posted by: El Capitan
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January 23, 2007 01:38 PM
The statistics that I quoted about coach "O" are from last year according to Rivals.com.
Thnx
Posted by: El Capitan
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January 23, 2007 02:03 PM