Well good Monday morning to everyone. What a way to wake up this morning.
Let's get the official news out of the way. Mike Riley has told the Trojies to look somewhere else. He is staying in Corvallis:
Riley and the school agreed to a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2019 season.
"Due to the fact there is a lot of speculation on my future, I want to make it known that I’m very excited to be coaching at Oregon State University and I anticipate doing so for a long time," Riley said in a statement from the American Football Coaches Association convention in Orlando, Fla.
This doesn't surprise me at all. Mike Riley seems like someone who has too much class and integrity to waste his time at a sleaze factory like Southern Cal. He is not the only coach who is giving Trojies the Heisman pose:
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher and Washington coach Steve Sarkisian already informed USC they weren't interested in the job. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is interested, but sources said USC officials have reservations about offering him the job. One reason could be Del Rio's lack of college coaching experience. USC also contacted former Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, who was recommended by Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross, who previously worked under athletic director Mike Garrett at USC. Edwards might be the most controversial choice because of his primarily NFL background. Sources said USC is worried it will run out of qualified candidates if Riley officially turns it down. The school has not yet shown interest in coaches such as Stanford's Jim Harbaugh, Boise State's Chris Peterson, Utah's Kyle Whittingham or TCU's Gary Patterson. That was from Scott Wolff, who was probably a little too punch drunk and delusional when typing up names such as Harbaugh, Patterson, Peterson, and Whittingham. The sense of desperation became a little clear later on his own blog. More on how bad it has gotten for the TrOJans after the flip.
Just how bad is it for the TrOJies? Well I think this tidbit from Wolf kind of gives it away:
My new recommendation is a DeWayne Walker/Norm Chow/Ed Orgeron troika in charge of USC football next season. Walker will be head coach/defensive coordinator, Chow will be associate head coach/offensive coordinator and Orgeron will be assistant head coach/recruiting coordinator. It only takes three phone calls and $1.5 million per coach.
Well here is our recommendation Scott. I'd bet we can find 3-4 volunteers here on Bruins Nation (who are well versed on their Xs and Os), who will take the U$C jobs. Everyone can take a salary in the range of 200gs and then finish burning it all down the ground in next 3-4 years. They can all do it at a cheaper rate than any of those guys in charge.
On a serious note though the fact that Wolf is already pining for assistants shows how desperate the Trojans are feeling this morning and how that job has probably become the most toxic position in college football. I will leave you with the following tasty bit for now(emphasis added):
As Caesar departs in his chariot for Seattle, an athletic dept. official said, ``this department is in flames.''
So sad. So so sad.
GO BRUINS.