USC's staff is almost complete

by BPH, San Diego, Tuesday, March 02, 2010, 00:01 (5943 days ago)
edited by BPH, Tuesday, March 02, 2010, 00:04

Football Scoop (which I've determined is slightly more reputable than our old buddies at Football Coach Scoop) is reporting that Kiffin has interviewed 49ers assistant special teams coach Dave Fipp for his special teams job. If he gets it, that would give USC nine coaches and complete their staff.

After all the blather about the "all-star" staff, it's interesting to note that, aside from his dad and the Ogre (who were all but obligated to join him), Kiffin has been able to attract only one other assistant whom I would consider worthy of the sobriquet. That would be linebackers coach Joe Barry, not that it required any special cachet on Lane's part for Barry to return to his alma mater and reunite with Monte, whom he worked under on those great Bucs defenses.

The other six assistants:
- Todd McNair, the ethically challenged running backs coach who was roundly excoriated by USC fans as being part of the staff that led to the fall of Troy last fall.
- John Morton, WRs coach (See the McNair description, but remove "ethically challenged.")
- James Cregg, OL coach (One year at Tennessee in which his positive impact on the OL was difficult to distinguish from that of wildly overqualified GA Mitch Browning and OC Jim Chaney, who boasts experience as an OL coach with the Rams and at Purdue. Before that, Cregg was an assistant OL coach with the Raiders and a DL coach at Idaho.)
- Clay Helton, QBs coach (Kiffin managed to pry him away from Arkansas State, where he had gone after three seasons as the OC at Memphis.)
- Willie Mack Garza, DBs coach (One season at Tennessee, before which he was at North Dakota State for four years and Tarleton State [not a misprint] for one.)
- possibly Fipp as special teams coach

I'd say the trio of Monte, Orgeron and Barry is about as good as it gets on the college level, but the rest of the staff is pretty blah, especially given USC fans' dreams about Chow and Tim Davis and Kennedy Pola (Jaguars RB coach) and Mark Carrier (former Ravens secondary coach). It also appears that Kiffin could be his own OC in both title and action, which should scare Trojans fans given that he's obstensibly replacing Chaney with Helton.

I wonder whether the questionable caliber of coaches Kiffin was able to draw offers any insight into the looming threat of NCAA sanctions.