Caesar Era 2001-2009 A.D.

Sc danced with the devil, allowed a carpetbagger full access to their cherished football program, and now will pay the price. The funniest thing is sc fans doing a candlelight vigil for a guy who just skipped out of town to the highest bidder leaving the place in the afore-mentioned flames. As if he gives rip out the damage he did. Still, sc fans will look back fondly at the "Peat Carroll Era" because of the win at all costs, always compete mentality.

Scott, I think most USC fan would say the only and biggest regret is that you are not going with him.

Pete Carroll is leaving for $35 million??? How could he, when he could stay and have the pleasure of being bitched at by ingrates for less money?! We all understand when a talented player leaves for the NFL and the millions it promises...I don't see how it's any different for a winning coach.

I fear that the football program is placed years behind because of just how piss poorly this was all handled. Weeks away from national signing day and a top five potential recruiting class (top recruiting classes are proven by Bleacher Report to directly lead to BCS games), our superstar coach has decided to move onto the No Fun League. It is a shame considering what could have been, but I guess that is what alumni like myself and fans of the program will be left with...what could have been. I read that Mike Garrett commented to a reporter (one of the few comments he has made during this time of crisis for his program) that he had contingencies for every scenario. Wonder just what his contingency could be for this? Call Mike Riley as everyone and his mother seems to think? Seems like the Oregon State AD has a contingency for that with a proposed and rumored lifetime contract. What now, Norm Chow, Ed O, Steve Sark, Lane Kiffin, Jack Del Rio, Jeff Fisher, and a partridge in a pear tree? Burn it down baby. Burn it! And PLEASE everyone - enough with the gloom and doom of "possible" NCAA sanctions. The NCAA has about as much power and influence as the UN. There is a silliness involved with thinking something will come of all this when absolutely nothing has come of anything in four years. Scott Wolf is probably the best beat writer covering USC football. Scott, what will you and I devote our time to now? I, for one, look in the photo album and fondly remember better days. Legacy is an odd animal to predict. Hope Carroll has not thrown his away to obtain his dream of coaching in the all mighty NFL. Oh, what could have been... Guess they better let the thing burn. Does grass grow from ashes?

Scott, Urban Meyer can walk away from Florida, with a assistant coach taking over and the program continues with little damage and Pete Carroll leaves and SC's football program is on fire? What the f*&%^ is Mike Garrett doing to earn his paycheck?

@Dunkman - in the words of Smokey Robinson, I second that emotion.

Seriously though, are Mike Garrett and Pete Carroll having a contest for who can botch this whole thing more completely. They both look like incompetent asses at this point. MG for not getting out in front of it and controlling to some extent the information/disinformation that the press is forwarding to the public and Pete for the callous disregard for the program, fans, current players, and recruits.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a coaching change this completely mishandled.

FIGHT ON!

Sureshot, this is pretty bad. But the John Robinson firing might have even been more of a fiasco (especially since it led to the worst coach in USC history).

Scott GO FUCK YOURSELF PUSSY

fleeing the Jedi Council, Darth Carroll is.

only Sith Lord Garrett remains hmmm?

join Floyd Sidious and Darth Carroll, he will i sense.

assume Athletic Director duties, Yoda will.

YoYo,
Pull the butt plug out! Ok?

you know, maybe I had this Pete guy wrong all along. He's not so bad after all!

pk - WTF??!?!???!

It's not the end of the world folks, just the end of an era...beginning of another. The only thing we still can work towards is getting a new AD...One who leads instead of hides, doesn't point the finger, treats coaches of all sports with support and dignity while doing his/her best to comply with rules and graduate student athletes.

That should be our passion as the current situation evolves.

Scott, did you get the text from pete?

Way to show no class, pete. Have your assistant send out text to players about your resignation.

I would like to hear the reason why Garrett has said nothing about this whole matter. Only conclusion to be reached is he knew it was coming. Seems to me that he should be making some sort of statement as to who is now in charge of the program, like in Florida, what with recruiting in full swing. I do not fault Carroll for choosing to leave for a position with all of the attributes he has sought. I do fault him and Garrett if they have taken no steps to make sure that the program and recruiting are as stable as possible during the transition. Hopefully Monday's press conference will supply some answers.

There's a Fire Mike Garrett effort underway:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fire-Mike-Garrett/267377231966

From the Seattle Times:

"The Los Angeles Daily News reported USC had contacted Washington coach Steve Sarkisian to gauge his potential interest, and he said no thanks. Sarkisian, however, said Sunday in an e-mail he had not been contacted."

Scott, you are a phony. Or maybe your "source" inside the program gives you false info. either way, check your facts

or maybe Sark lied pdx but of course you wouldn't consider that fact, would you.....

OK people, the invoice is in, time to pay up.

Remember all the talk about the guy’s ego?

Remember that he was making the program all about Pete.

Remember the rumors of Pete not giving a darn about the athletic department or the rules?

No one cared as long as he was winning.

Well, time is up and the bill is in.

Time to pay the NCAA, PAC-10 and the College Football Gods.

The Donkey agrees with Dunkman

Well said, Chiete. Scott's quote is that the AD "dept is in flames." That speaks to the AD's office, not to the football program. USC remains the most talented team on paper in the PacX. And, a new coach of elite status hired w/in the next 10 days will save the recruiting class. The football team will be just fine, perhaps even better, with an elite coach and elite coordinators.

It is the Athletic Dept that is "in flames" due to the incompetence of Mike Garrett. Fire Mike Garrett!!! Pat Haden for AD!

(Julius) Caesar brought glory to Rome and was done in by his associates. Yet, good Caesar or bad Caesar, Rome continued to rule the world for several more centuries.

USC is still college football royalty. The LA basin will still produce enough grid talent to stock half the PAC10. Pete was a great recruiter who needed overwhelming talent to win in the tradition of Steve Spurrier and Rick Patino. Give them a USC or a Florida or a Kentucky and they win big as long as they do not stay too long. Or go to the pros.

Pete's skill set is sales not engineering. He is heavily dependent on his staff. Ed Orgeron took much of the mental toughness in the program with him when he left for Ole Miss. SC started loosing seemingly inexplicably to weakling programs not too long after he left. Bates for Sarkisian was a huge upgrade - for the Huskies not the Trojans.

This is a probable win for SC and a loss for Pete. Like Clint Eastwood once said in Magnum Force: "A man has got to know his limitations." Pete's well known need to be liked by everyone and to overvalue talent and potential in player selection (see Terry Glenn, Joe McKnight, Matt Barkley) are insurmountable weaknesses in the pro game where you have to deliver every time and mistakes are not tolerated while we wait for you to develop your potential.

If SC can land Riley that would be a giant win for the program. Riley can recruit AND he can scheme. His teams play Pete's teams tough without anything close to the talent Pete has.

In fairness to Pete, in the football coaching business, college football is still AAA and the NFL is the "Major Leagues". The Bowdens and the Paternos know the difference and choose to work with college kids for less money in a kinder gentler world.

Agree with Chiete and DFW, fire Napoleon!

If Pat Haden were AD, Joe McKnight would have graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Matt Leinart would have been a Rhodes Scholar. I bet that under Haden's leadership, a guy like Jeff Byers could get up in front of the team and explain the financial meltdown. But Haden has a great gig being traitor of the millenium calling Notre Dame games on NBC. He's gonna cost a bunch!

Trojan Rerun - of course I considered it, but if I have to choose between who lied, Sark or Wolf, I would guess wolf. or wolf had bad info

THE SKY IS FALLING!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!

pk-in-the-mesa keeping it classy!!

Bosco, Pat Haden is on the BoTs at USC. He might be very involved in all of this from the Board's standpoint. I do find it funny that he commentates ND, but he is an employee of NBC, not ND. Pat is a Trojan deep to the core.

Hire Petersen!

Rodney, don't tell me what to do Ruin.

Hey Scott

I actually have enjoyed reading your accounts of USC sports over the years...

You usually have good insight, even when we don't want to hear the truth.

I will say however, the next football coach may not be quite so gracious to you as the past one (Caesar) was...so your job might just have gotten a lot tougher.

B

Regarding Pete's resignation notice to players, if he is with the NFL then I don't think he is allowed interaction with amateur players.

Saddest guy of the day in all of this: the guy who thought he would make money someday sitting on www.firepetecarroll.com Thanks Pete for an "unprecedented" decade of Trojan dominance. I'll follow Seattle the way I follow all former Trojans, somewhat indifferently. I bought my first season ticket under Paul Hackett as coach and was mad as hell when I found out that the administration had hired another "NFL re-tread" to replace him. I was wrong before, so hopefully things will look better tomorrow. For now, I'll continue to support our team. Fight on Trojans!

@DFWTrojan... Yeah, I know. Jut joking around a little. Pat Haden is a class act and a smart guy. Would he make a good AD? I don't know. The only AD USC really ever needed was Anthony Davis. All the other ones just occupy space.

Blitz, are you crazy or is it a momentary lapse? You know this cat don't know shit about football, thanks for your insight over the years on the other site but saying you enjoy his crap over the years??? Lay off the sauce man. Scott, you need to keep your daytime job but hopefully in another city, cause the only time the cheerleaders will take a picture with you is when you are a fish hack.

We need to get rid of Garrett, NOW.

Forgot to add to my previous post: www.firemikegarrett.com