Steve Sarkisian has been hired by USC to be its next football coach, according to ESPN’s Joe Schad.
The USC head coaching search was picking up steam, with Sark reportedly one of the candidates who was interviewed for the position. According to ESPN.com, Sarkisian met with USC over the weekend.
Sarkisian confirmed during an interview with KJR-Radio in Seattle on Monday that he spoke with USC athletic director Pat Haden, though he stopped short of calling it an “interview.” He said he is not that far along with USC yet for it to be considered an interview, though it seems obvious that there is mutual interest.
A report on Sunday indicated that James Franklin and Chris Petersen were two of the top candidates for the job, with the intention of keeping current interim head coach Ed Orgeron on-staff as the highest-paid associate head coach in the nation.
As LB already pointed out, Franklin seemed like the most likely candidate given his resume and the fact that accepting a job at USC would be a clear upgrade over Vanderbilt. That being said, Sarkisian spent several seasons as a quarterbacks coach at USC in the mid-2000s and served as the team’s associate head coach and offensive coordinator from 2007-2008 before taking the job at Washington. It makes perfect sense that the 39-year-old, who has compiled a 34-29 record at Washington, would be a top candidate.
