Swann’s hire is more of the same for USC

When Pat Haden announced in February that he would be stepping down as USC athletic director in June, University President C. L. Max Nikias wrote in a letter to the Trojan Family that the search for Haden’s replacement would be “national in scope.”

For all we know, it might have been. Nikias, with the help of a search firm, considered more than 200 candidates for the position, a pool that he described as “diverse” and “highly qualified.”

But by hiring Lynn Swann, a former football star at USC with no prior experience in athletic administration, Nikias failed to prove the candidate he picked fit either category.

Rather, Nikias reaffirmed the significance of the “Trojan Family,” a concept that may be important for a sense of unity among students or a lasting bond for alumni, but should not be a priority for hiring an athletic director.

It has been more than 30 years since USC last hired an athletic director from outside the University: Mike McGee in 1984. Alumni complained that McGee wasn’t part of the “Trojan Family,” and McGee left in 1993 to take the same post at South Carolina.

Since then, the Trojans have exclusively stuck to their own. Mike Garrett, who replaced McGee, was the school’s first Heisman Trophy winner. Haden, too, was a beloved ex-football player hired in 2010 to succeed Garrett.

They both have similar backgrounds: cherished former football stars with strong careers outside of the sport, but no experience as athletic director. And it’s fair to say both their tenures were rather tumultuous.

Garrett’s lone bright spot was hiring former football head coach Pete Carroll in 2000, and that could be chocked up to just blind luck. His hiring tendencies were described by a Seattle Times writer as “random, whimsical, at times reckless and at worst, ill-considered.” His lack of control over the program contributed to the heavy sanctions handed down to both the football and basketball teams during his tenure, which ended in 2011, but not before one final reckless hire in former football head coach Lane Kiffin.

He left Haden with a mess, and while USC recovered from the sanctions, it was still treated to controversy after controversy, from Haden axing Kiffin on an airport tarmac to the debacle that was the firing of Steve Sarkisian.

And now we turn to Swann, who has eerily similar credentials to his two predecessors. He was treasured as a player. After his football career was over, he dabbled in a wide array of fields that included broadcasting, business and politics. He ran for governor of Pennsylvania. He has served on the board of several successful companies. Swann is a smart, distinguished man who has been many things — just not an athletic director.

The University’s decision begs a simple question: Should a newly hired athletic director at a primetime program such as USC have experience, you know, as an athletic director?

Time and time again, the answer has been a resounding “no,” and it remains baffling. Considering the size and power of USC Athletics, there are undoubtedly hundreds of successful, experienced athletic directors at other programs around the country who would jump at the chance to take charge at a Division I powerhouse.

Greg Byrne at Arizona, Jim Phillips at Northwestern and Bernard Muir at Stanford were three names from outside USC that surfaced this go-around, and it’s probable that they were among the 200 names that Nikias considered. Yet, he ultimately decided that a man with no athletic administrative experience whatsoever was better suited to handle the many rigors of heading 21 Division I sports than the many established candidates with a proven track record.

Nikias was asked about Swann’s lack of experience following the introductory press conference on Thursday.

“That wasn’t a concern to me at all,” Nikias said. “When I look at leadership positions … I am looking for the person that has the leadership qualities, the trait of leadership. I am a believer that the best training for leadership is leadership itself.”

Fair enough, but “leadership” is a broad trait. Garrett and Haden certainly possessed leadership, but lacked the specific qualities to succeed in a demanding role.

After Helton was promoted to full-time head coach of the football team last November, a Yahoo! Sports columnist dubbed USC the “University of Self Congratulation.” Indeed, the University could have waited literally two more games — both of which Helton lost — before the season ended and they could have their pick from a wide array of high-octane candidates. But as soon as they saw an opportunity to reward one of their own, they did not hesitate, quickly dubbing Helton — a man with no previous head coaching experience — as the solution to getting the football program back to national prominence.

And how does Nikias feel about Swann’s USC pedigree?

“The fact that he’s a Trojan legend — my God — that’s a big value added,” he said.

This “self congratulation” concept has carried on for decades and lives on with Wednesday’s hiring of Swann. It shows that the University is more interested in gratifying old friends than building a successful athletics program.

It is entirely possible that I could be wrong; that Swann, unlike Haden and Garrett, could end up being the perfect fit and turn USC into the West Coast capital of collegiate athletics. For now, though, we can only judge by what’s been put in front of us — the same story, over and over again that Nikias is just asking to be repeated a third time. The University’s lack of willingness to sway from the familiar, to concede that someone from outside the Trojan Family could bring a much-needed fresh perspective proves that USC is too busy living in the past to look toward the future.

Eric He is a freshman majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column,  “Grinding Gears,” runs Fridays.