What’s the wait with USC coaching search?


It’s been 16 days since the USC men’s basketball team’s season ended in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas against a terrible Utah team at the Pac-12 tournament.

The Trojans, who had been playing well under interim head coach Bob Cantu, stumbled toward the finish line, losing five of its last seven games. A loss at Washington State also led to a pair of suspensions after a fight broke out at a bar following the game in Spokane, Wash.

A picture-perfect season, to say the least.

But since former USC head coach Kevin O’Neill was fired on Jan. 14, the question of who the next Trojans’ coach will be has remained up in the air, unsettled and lacking closure until … wait, we still don’t know.

Isn’t it about time these guys get a leader?

Northwestern hired a Duke assistant to lead its team on Wednesday. Shaka Smart from Virginia Commonwealth signed a 10-year extension to stay at the school after being courted by UCLA. USC’s best hope was Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh, who was thought to be the next man in charge. Naturally, he signed a 10-year extension to stay with the Panthers.

Is the USC basketball coaching position that unattractive? Is it cursed? Has there been little effort to make a hire? Who knows?

The Trojans need to make a splash to get the program on track — consecutive losing seasons are embarrassing. There are no more excuses: The John McKay Center is one of the top training facilities in college sports. The Galen Center is a great arena and one of the better ones in the conference. Southern California is an attractive place to attend school. So, what’s the holdup on a coach?

I could understand if O’Neill had been fired after the Pac-12 tournament — then it would make sense that a coach hasn’t been hired yet.

But he wasn’t. He was fired months ago, and since then a coaching search has supposedly been underway. Where’s the progress?

UCLA has already been openly rejected by a coach, but at least the Bruins made an offer. If Northwestern, who has never made the NCAA tournament in its men’s basketball history, was able to find a coach in less than two weeks after firing its coach, USC sure as heck should be able to land one.

Maybe Pat Haden and the gang are waiting for the right coach to come up, which is reasonable in theory. But the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t really work like that. Coaches get snatched up by other programs quickly, or the schools they’re at give them a huge deal that prevents them from leaving for other  pastures. If you wait, you lose. Everyone, after all, wants Gonzaga coach Mark Few, Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield, Butler’s Brad Stevens and VCU’s Smart.

With three of those four coaches already out of the NCAA tournament, why the delay? And if the coaches of mid-major schools stay put? Pull an assistant away from a big-time program and hope for the best like Northwestern did. Not having a permanent coach for the last two months has not been good for the program.

A program in flux is a program that is destined to fail. What does that say about stability to recruits? Or, worse yet, what does it say to fans and supporters? It says either, “We’re waiting around” or “No one wants this job.” Neither is a particularly good update, especially the latter.

Whatever the reason for not having a coach, this can’t go on any longer. The players need to know who is going to lead them moving forward. Recruits need to know who is going to be wooing them during the next few months. Fans need a figure to place their confidence in.

Waiting around is not going to accomplish these things. Either make a move for a hot name or poach someone from a coaching staff. To have two months pass and still not have a coach? That’s not going to fly in Troy; that’s for sure.

“Goal Line Stand” runs Fridays. To comment on this story, email Michael Katz at [email protected] or visit dailytrojan.com.

1 reply
  1. USCalum
    USCalum says:

    USC will hire Syracuse’s assistant Mike Hopkins as their next head coach. No announcement has been made since the Orange are still dancing.

    Do you guys do your research before writing articles?

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