Ed Ogeron for USC head coach

[Irish7478]

Is there anything we can do to increase the odds of this happening? At first this seemed like a pipe dream. Now it looks like it might happen. I suddenly want to see USC run the table, and that's never happened before.

 

[jjc2009]

Is there anything we can do to increase the odds of this happening? At first this seemed like a pipe dream. Now it looks like it might happen. I suddenly want to see USC run the table, and that's never happened before.

Like the Chinese say, be careful what you wish for. Orgeron has done a commendable job unifying this team, where is predecessor did his best to alienate everyone on it. Orgeron uses his southern folksy charm to woo recruits and by all accounts, its working (granted USC has a long way to make up ground but imagine what a whole year with this guy could do). Lets not forget, he's won every game except one (thank you God) since taking over and he's done it with a skeleton crew. Heard he only substituted two players on defense the whole game against Stanford, which tells you he's got horses.

One could look to his record at Ole Miss and deem him not ready for a big time HC gig. I'd say that recruiting talent for USC and recruiting talent for Ole Miss are two different things. He was on a program that is perennially one of the weakest in the SEC with a few good years interspersed.

 

[NDHoosier101]

Agreed with the OP Oregone just doesn't fit the Bill of a big time coach IMO. I hope they hire him.

 

[Irish7478]

Like the Chinese say, be careful what you wish for. Orgeron has done a commendable job unifying this team, where is predecessor did his best to alienate everyone on it. Orgeron uses his southern folksy charm to woo recruits and by all accounts, its working (granted USC has a long way to make up ground but imagine what a whole year with this guy could do). Lets not forget, he's won every game except one (thank you God) since taking over and he's done it with a skeleton crew. Heard he only substituted two players on defense the whole game against Stanford, which tells you he's got horses.

One could look to his record at Ole Miss and deem him not ready for a big time HC gig. I'd say that recruiting talent for USC and recruiting talent for Ole Miss are two different things. He was on a program that is perennially one of the weakest in the SEC with a few good years interspersed.

I love your argument, and hope Pat Haden loves it as well. I watched his Ole Miss team win three conference games in three years (one each Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi State I think) with zero wins in his last year. The only thing he consistently does is break recruiting rules. For a team on probation, that's not a good thing.

In the overall scheme of things, other than re-signing Kiffin, or getting Ty Willingham, Orgeron is my top choice. By the way, is it only the Chinese that say "be careful what you wish for"?

 

[jjc2009]

The only thing he consistently does is break recruiting rules. For a team on probation, that's not a good thing.

In the overall scheme of things, other than re-signing Kiffin, or getting Ty Willingham, Orgeron is my top choice. By the way, is it only the Chinese that say "be careful what you ask for"?

This more than anything will, in the end, probably keep him from landing the job. Haden would have an awlful lot of 'splainin to do if Orgeron F'd up and got the school in more trouble (double-secret probation, sir). I don't think the expression is only associated with the Chinese, but I am sure they were the first to coin it. Anyway, I don't view the results of the bottom feeder programs as necessarily the same as a marquee program like USC. He'll have advantages there that he'd never have in Vandy, Ole Miss and Kentucky.

Then again, heavy lies the crown and he could be playing it like he has nothing to lose, and he doesn't. Even if they don't hire him, he'd make enough of a name for himself to get a lot of other offers.

 

[bbirish73]

I don't want USC to land him. I respect Ogeron. I want USC to hire a boob. I hope they hire Jack Del Rio

 

[Lillyliverd]

USC appears to be a much better team after Ogeron took the reins.

 

[socaljim242]

Ed is the main reason USC has guys like Agholor and Leonard Williams from Florida and in the past players like Cushing from back east. He's the main guy getting talent from Cali too with his ten plus years of forging relationships at schools like Serra ( Woods, Lee, Farmer) and John Bosco. Man for man he's the guy responsible for them being at SC.
He's been open about what went wrong at Ole Miss. He says he was a dictator and wanted to run everything and micro managed . So far at SC he's let the O and D coordinators do their thing and focused on the overall picture. I know 7478 sees Ed as some sort of cartoonish figure who couldn't possibly be a good head coach . I don't think he's trying to be Brian Kelly or lane and call all the plays . If he has a good staff and sticks to recruiting and game planning I think he can be successful. One big thing SC fans couldn't stand was lane having to call every play instead of focusing on the whole team. Pete didn't call the plays even though he had a big hand in on the defensive side. I have been to two of Eds games now and I can see the team not playing scared and taking on O's personality. It's not a lock but I would like to see him get a shot. Maybe a two year deal. There's one last year to deal with sanctions and I think he can make players want to play for him.Against Stanford USC played 13 players on the defense all game. That was incredible.

 

[socaljim242]

USC appears to be a much better team after Ogeron took the reins.

When Ed took over USC was sinking and ND was ranked. 7478 can dismiss Ed O as a coach but USC beat the 4th ranked team in the country is now ranked and ND lost to unranked Pitt and is now unranked.

 

[whywork2]

I love Lane Kiffin, that guy was great, nuff said. Everywhere Lane went he left a full can and a match.

 

[whywork2]

Jim,
If you want a ND fan to confirm USC has looked better than ND the last couple of games you're right. Notre Dame has looked pretty lame of late and USC has gotten healthy and looked much better. I am glad we got that win against USC, I always cherish victories over them. The Irish losing Nix has really hurt them. If I would have been betting over the last three or four weeks I would have made money on USC , they have looked like a much better team after getting some of their key guys back. You deserve some props no doubt about it. It's a must for the Irish to beat BYU today, gonna be a tough matchup without the big guy. It's time for Rees to play his best as he goes out. I wish him the best, the kid has been physically over his head the duration. I hope he goes out swinging and plays well.

 

[LucklessPadresFan]

I'd like to see Ed get a full year with team, maybe even a 2 year deal. Let's see what he can do with a team in the spring, fall and then an entire season. We've got another year of sanctions, but we have an extra 19 we sign this coming year that have been stockpiled.

 

[Irish7478]

When Ed took over USC was sinking and ND was ranked. 7478 can dismiss Ed O as a coach but USC beat the 4th ranked team in the country is now ranked and ND lost to unranked Pitt and is now unranked.

I think that this is the reason Ed should be named head coach. I don't know if he has built the reputation on defense that Monte Kiffin had, but I think he can be just as successful. Jim, we seldom agree but it looks like we would both love to see Ed get the nod here.

 

[poewelch84]

When Ed took over USC was sinking and ND was ranked. 7478 can dismiss Ed O as a coach but USC beat the 4th ranked team in the country is now ranked and ND lost to unranked Pitt and is now unranked.

Notre Dame are ranked again and probably should have been right along, they beat USC who are ranked, beat Arizona State who are ranked and playing in the PAC 12 title game (beat USC in one of the worst losses in the programs history). Beat Michigan State who are ranked and lost to Oklahoma and Michigan who were ranked or are currently ranked, and lastly to Pitt which was a horrible loss. USC lost to Washington State a bad loss of their own. Both teams have bad losses to bowl eligible teams.

 

[Irish7478]

I look at a new head coach based on what they have done in the past. I was very happy when SC got Lane Kiffin as a head coach, based on his performance at Tennessee. I have to say that I was very nervous when Michigan got Rich Rodrigues from WV. I still think he would have turned it around, if given the time. I'm glad they didn't give him the chance. I also stated (on the espn board) that I was happy when Michigan hired Brady Hoke, based on his performance at San Diego State. His first year at Michigan looked good but it's been downhill since. This is what I see happening at SC with Ed. Good start, good recruiter (just like Hoke) but I wouldn't expect it to last long. It seems like SoCal wants SC to hire Ogeron, I support this move. He may end up as a great coach, but my prediction is that it won't happen.

 

[socaljim242]

I look at a new head coach based on what they have done in the past. I was very happy when SC got Lane Kiffin as a head coach, based on his performance at Tennessee. I have to say that I was very nervous when Michigan got Rich Rodrigues from WV. I still think he would have turned it around, if given the time. I'm glad they didn't give him the chance. I also stated (on the espn board) that I was happy when Michigan hired Brady Hoke, based on his performance at San Diego State. His first year at Michigan looked good but it's been downhill since. This is what I see happening at SC with Ed. Good start, good recruiter (just like Hoke) but I wouldn't expect it to last long. It seems like SoCal wants SC to hire Ogeron, I support this move. He may end up as a great coach, but my prediction is that it won't happen.

I'm convinced he deserves a shot. It's college football not the pros so emotion coupled with talent can get you a long way. The number one thing is to get the best players available for your system and I don;t have a doubt Ed can load USC with elite talent.He's a D line coach and wont be calling the O plays so as long as that position is filled with someone competent USC should be fine.USC already had a top O lineman decommit from Alabama and he's good friends with Mama out of Bosco down here and if he comes the O line is Stanford quality but with skill player Stanford can only dream about.
If you would have based USC chances with Pete because of his past then you would have been badly mistaken. Robinson was a motivator as was Pete. I think Ed can be another.

 

[jjc2009]

I'm convinced he deserves a shot. It's college football not the pros so emotion coupled with talent can get you a long way. The number one thing is to get the best players available for your system and I don;t have a doubt Ed can load USC with elite talent.He's a D line coach and wont be calling the O plays so as long as that position is filled with someone competent USC should be fine.USC already had a top O lineman decommit from Alabama and he's good friends with Mama out of Bosco down here and if he comes the O line is Stanford quality but with skill player Stanford can only dream about.
If you would have based USC chances with Pete because of his past then you would have been badly mistaken. Robinson was a motivator as was Pete. I think Ed can be another.

If Ed gets the job, he'd be smart to make sure Haden hires very solid and independently functioning OC and DC's and let them run the plays. Ed's greatest asset is he can be a big cheerleader, light the fire and woo the recruits. I don't see him as a great X and O guy. A big part of Kiffin's downfall is he tried to run the offense and he was terrible at it. As ND fans, we should have sent him gifts for the way he called the end of the 2012 game. I think that would be the winning formula. I think Orgeron is smart enough to know his limitations. Let him continue to work with the DL, but be a figurehead, ala Bobby Bowden, and let Mickey Andrews and Chuck Amato run the team.

 

[Irish7478]

When Ed took over USC was sinking and ND was ranked. 7478 can dismiss Ed O as a coach but USC beat the 4th ranked team in the country is now ranked and ND lost to unranked Pitt and is now unranked.

I know SoCal thinks Ed is a great coach, but I was just watching Keith Olberman's show and he had Paul Finebaum on and Olberman asked him whether he thought Haden should have offered the job to Orgeron. Finebaum said that in Orgeron's time at Ole Miss, Ed was the worst head coach he had ever seen in all his time covering sec football. (that includes Vandy and Kentucky) He said passing on Ed was a very smart move by Haden. Damn.

 

[socaljim242]

I know SoCal thinks Ed is a great coach, but I was just watching Keith Olberman's show and he had Paul Finebaum on and Olberman asked him whether he thought Haden should have offered the job to Orgeron. Finebaum said that in Orgeron's time at Ole Miss, Ed was the worst head coach he had ever seen in all his time covering sec football. (that includes Vandy and Kentucky) He said passing on Ed was a very smart move by Haden. Damn.

I said he deserves a shot to be a head coach.. You seem to think everyone who fails once is automatically going to fail for the rest of their life . Funny position since ND just re admitted a player who was caught cheating back onto your team with fans saying give the kid a second shot . Bilicheck(sp) sucked in Cleveland and Pete wasn't very good the first time in the pros but both have shown to have been good hires. ND fans were jubilant when Charlie was hired and how did that turn out? You just never know. Hopfully he gets a HC gig some where. I think he deserves a shot some where . It was a long shot for him to get the SC job but people love the underdog and it was a nice thought that it could happen for him. I know you're ND fan but people really like the guy and so did his players.

 

[jjc2009]

ND fans were jubilant when Charlie was hired and how did that turn out? You just never know.QUOTE]

I agree with your overall point, Orgeron should get another shot he's been around long enough and there's more than enough retreads in both college and pros that get numerous mulligans despite wretched past performances. Hell if Bob Davie can be welcomed back into the coaching ranks, anyone can. That said, I think Orgeron will only be successful if he takes on the figurehead role and has real experts running the offense and defense. He's got the personality to do it. If he assembled a dream team of assistants, he could strengthen any program.

I do take issue with the above snippett. I think the average ND fan thought "who?" when Weis was hired. Of course, the Stockholm Syndrome had already set in and the hope that someone, anyone that could turn things around would do so. His first two seasons that turned out to be smoke and mirrors did little to dispell that belief. I for one was lukewarm about his hiring, and the steady decline of what was considered his strong suit, selling the NFL to recruits, was noticeable by 2009. The ship never got righted. I think as his first season wore on, people thought more and more of him and as painful as the loss to USC was, it exceeded so many people's expectations that he was imprudently given a big contract extension, a high water mark in how far the program had fallen, when there was exuberance about a closs loss to their biggest rival.