Answer Friday! (Part 3)

Q: YogiBear said:
Who would you have have chosen Lane Kiffin or Steve Sarkisain to replace Pete Carroll, assume Monte Kiffin, Nick Holt, Ed Orgeron, and other coaches can not come with either of them. Based on coaching, personality, recruiting, and other qualifications who is the best choice.Assume both will be take the same salary and contract. Strictly between the the two of them who is the best coach and best to take over USC. Please explain.

A: It depends on what you want. Sarkisian is more of a rah-rah personality, sort of like Pete Carroll. Kiffin is more reserved and more of a disciplinarian. If all things were equal, I might have hired Kiffin because I might want a more cut throat-personality to run my program. I think they are both about the same. It just depends what you are looking for from an external image perspective. The problem is Lane Kiffin brings Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin while Sarkisian brings Nick Holt, so things are not equal in the real world.
But if everything was equal, I might flip a coin, depending on what I wanted in a coach. Pete Carroll did pretty well with a rah-rah approach.

Q: HANDICAPPED PARKING said:
I liked your two deep, Scott, but has Baxter moved into second in Kiff's eyes as well, you think, and I saw you were using only current players except for Henderson, but, if you put him in, don't you have to put Woods in at WR too? Thanx.

A: I did not include Woods because he has not practiced yet. But I assume he will be in the rotation early. I listed Baxter as the second back because I feel he could contribute the most, even with fewer carries than some of the other backs. For example, he might get less carries than C.J. Gable in a game, but have more yards because he broke a long run, perhaps even in the Wildcat formation. He was too good in spring not to include in a two-deep.