Coach O Comes Home

With his fiery brand of coaching, a voice that was made for the job and his intense motivation techniques, Orgeron became a Trojan fan favorite and when he left to become the head coach at Mississippi in 2005, this website described it as losing the heart and soul of our program.  Trojan fans followed the career of "Coach O" with great interest and when the news started to float around earlier this winter that he could be coming back to USC there was great excitement amongst both the fans and Coach O himself.  

"I was so excited," said Orgeron, who served last year as an assistant coach at Tennessee.  "Ever since I left, I wanted to come back.  My family wanted to come back.  Those were some great years for us, this is where my kids were raised. There are tremendous people here and I believe that once you're a Trojan, you're a Trojan for life.  I just couldn't wait to get back."

There wasn't a lot of time to think about things or reflect too fondly upon his time in Knoxville because the coaching search to replace Pete Carroll got wrapped up in a hurry.  The first rumors about Carroll to the Seahawks were reported on a Friday, by the middle of the next week Kiffin was being introduced in a news conference at Heritage Hall.  

"It all went down real quick.  Me, Lane and Monte were on a recruiting trip and Monte told us that Pete was going to be taking the job with the Seahawks.  We all got to wondering who the next coach would be at USC and Monte said Lane could get it and we could all go with him.  Lane called me the next day and asked if I was ready to go, I said yes sir.  He said we may get hired on Wednesday, I said I'm leaving on Tuesday.  I was ready to go.  Tennessee was good to us but I was ready to come back."

We know what Trojan fans like about Coach O but what is it about USC that makes it so attractive to a born and bred southerner who still maintains his thick Cajun drawl?  For Orgeron, there are several reasons.

"First of all, it's got to be the people.  I made so many friends here.  My wife and kids love living here.  I love coaching the best players, I love recruiting the best players. USC is just so powerful and it offers everything you need to win.  A great private education, football tradition, great weather, a great city.  You can't beat it."

Orgeron knows the feeling of achieving success at USC because he has been through it before.  Originally hired by Paul Hackett in 1998 to coach the defensive line, Orgeron came to warm southern california from snowy Syracuse and he and his family settled into the Orange County lifestyle just fine.  He also found a coaching kinship when Pete Carroll was hired following the 2000 season.  Orgeron and Carroll immediately hit it off and they began by hitting the recruiting trail in relentless fashion and then they followed that up by going on one of the greatest runs that college football has ever seen.  When he reflects back upon his first stint at USC, what are some of the memories that stand out to Orgeron?

"First of all, getting hired by Pete during that transition and then hanging on to Shaun Cody.  We didn't really know who was going to come but when Shaun signed I thought that was a real turning point.  I remember winning all those games and getting all those #1 recruiting classes.  It was great.  Competing for national championships is what you live for as a coach and we were able to do that."

And boy did they compete.  They took a program that had finished in last place in the Pac-10 in 2000 and by the time Orgeron left after the Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma the Trojans were the undisputed kings of college football.  Orgeron was part of three BCS wins, three Pac-10 titles and he coached All-Americans in Cody, Kenechi Udeze and Mike Patterson, all of whom ended up in the NFL.

That resume helped get him the head job at Mississippi where he went 10-25 in three years at the helm of the Rebels program.  He may not have won big in a tough SEC environment but Orgeron recruited well and most college observers will agree that he left a more talented roster than the one he inherited.  Ole Miss also saw success after he left with the players that Orgeron brought to the school.  He then spent one year in the NFL as the d-line coach of the New Orleans Saints before returning to college football last year for the Volunteers.  

"I feel like I come back here with a lot more experience, especially from being a head coach. I learned how important it was to choose my own team.  You look at Mississippi the last two years and there were some good players, I chose them. I also went through some adversity. That process helped me mature.  It also took me leaving here to realize that USC was the best job in the world.  I always thought it was when I was here before and now I know. Some of the other places I've been have some positives but nobody has the whole package like USC."

Now that he has returned to USC, Orgeron has once again been put in charge of selling that whole package with his job as recruiting coordinator in addition to his duties on the d-line.  The recruiting role is one that Orgeron relishes.  

"First of all, I want to win.  Second, I like the competition.  I like the identification process, figuring out the best players and then going out to get them. I love finding the Kenechi Udeze's and the Mike Patterson's that nobody really knows about.  I also love when you have the chance to go out and fight for the best player in the country, the absolute #1 guy, and you compete for him and when you get him it's a great feeling.  You win some and you lose some in recruiting but I like going into the fight with my guns loaded and I feel like my guns are loaded at USC."

Orgeron helped usher in the Lane Kiffin era by putting the finishing touches on a recruiting class that was ranked among the top 10 in the nation.  He also got a head start on the 2011 class by getting a signing day verbal from a top defensive tackle in Antwuan Woods from Taft.  He continues to work on recruiting with various junior day activities and constant evaluations but later this month the Trojans will get back to the field with spring football and that is something that has Orgeron very excited.  

"Recruiting is something I love but I really love coaching the d-line.  I love being around the guys, working hard with them.  I think we've got a good group here.  Obviously they've heard of me from my time here before so there's a certain respect there but there are also expectations which need to be met and we'll meet them. We have some powerful guys.  They have quickness and they know how to rush the passer.  I think we need to work on some fundamentals against the run.  It's a toughness, a mental attitude.  That's what they need to work on and those are the things I bring to the table.  I believe a unit reflects the coach and I want them to reflect my attitude."

The thought of Orgeron plying his trade on Brian Kennedy Field is enough to get any Trojan fan excited for spring ball but this year also adds the added attraction of the Kiffin debut as head coach.  As Trojan fans we have only seen Lane as an assistant coach, we've had to watch from afar at his previous head coaching stints with the Oakland Raiders and with Tennessee.  Orgeron, on the other hand, had an up close look last year at Kiffin in action as a head man and he had nothing but good things to say.

"Let me tell you this, he is fantastic with his players.  They love playing for him.  At Tennessee we had great practices, things were enthusiastic and he did a great job with our offense, especially developing our quarterback. He's a great game day caller, he manages the clock well and he's highly competitive.  I really believe the combination of Lane Kiffin, Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron is a great one for USC.  You've got three coaches who are among the best in their areas.  When Coach Carroll was here he did the defense, I helped him with the defense, Lane ran the offense with Coach Chow.  Now you're kind of getting the same package."

Pete Carroll and Monte Kiffin are very close in part because of their shared defensive philosophies.  Orgeron says USC fans can expect to see a few differences from a Monte Kiffin coordinated defense as opposed to the ones we are accustomed to under Carroll.

"As detailed as Pete was, Monte is more detailed as far as his fronts go, his defense against the run, his third down coverages.  He has a very extensive blitz package, which Pete did too so they are very similar in that area.  When Pete and I were together the front and the back of the defense were excellent and they worked together in a great combination.  I think you're going to see us get back to the type of defense we played in 2003, 2004 and 2005."

Is there anybody reading this story who doesn't get fired up when thinking about a return to the style of football we played in those years?  With the homecoming of Ed Orgeron it feels like old times around Heritage Hall and it sure would be nice to have those familiar good feelings return to the football field this fall.  I'll take my chances of that happening with Coach O helping to lead the way.