Ed Orgeron: The Key To USC’s Future Success

The media vultures will be quick to focus on the hiring of former University of Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin as the new head man at USC but the assistants that pack their bags and follow Kiffin are just as - if not more if a few cases - important to the continued dominance of USC and for Kiffin’s reputation as the successor to his mentor, Pete Carroll.

Even though offensive coordinator Norm Chow will be the most heralded of the assistants, Ed Orgeron, the recruiting mastermind behind USC’s back-to-back National Championships, comes back to Southern Cal with a chip on his shoulder after being let go as the head coach of Mississippi in favor of Houston Nutt and being bad mouthed by the cutthroat recruiters in the SEC during his tenure with Tennessee.

While at Ole Miss, Orgeron put together a boatload of talent that Houston Nutt has been able to cash in on over his first few seasons as head coach. Many believe Orgeron didn’t get a fair opportunity to see his recruits develop and nobody can dispute the fact that he was left to work with Ole Miss’ leftovers from an era in which there wasn’t much success. Orgeron was fired from Ole Miss after putting together two great recruiting classes, yet he couldn’t shake the perception that he couldn’t get the job done on the field because he was winless in conference play in 2007. Rebels fans wanted Orgeron to win immediately with highly touted freshman and sophomores which is an unreasonable expectation in the SEC. Nutt has reaped the benefits of Oregeron’s recruiting genius though, leading the Rebels to consecutive Cotton Bowl victories during the 2008 and 2009 seasons with Orgeron’s studs.

Now, the man who was responsible for assembling Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush and a bevy of future NFL stars has returned to his old backyard, ready to take out some frustration on the rest of the nation. Like a hunter who knows the landscape of his area better than anyone else, Orgeron will go directly from stealing recruits from the top programs in the SEC to sealing the deal with players from nearby high schools who have made it acceptable to play their college ball outside of the state of California.

Expect less and less blue chip recruits to get away from the Trojans - not like it had become an epidemic in the first place - as Orgeron will quickly restore his rapport with the best of the best in the California high school ranks.

With his assistants in place and a blueprint for winning ready to be followed do not expect much of a ‘transition period’ during the Kiffin Era. Don’t forget, Kiffin has a lot to prove to football fans in California considering the sour taste he left in their mouths following his dismissal in Oakland.

Expectations will be as high as ever for the Trojans entering the 2010 season and Kiffin has put together a staff that will not disappoint.