Before Pete Carroll, there were other great coaches that included John McKay, John Robinson and Howard Jones. Those are the four greats that most people will mention when you are talking about the legends and football traditions at USC. Mike Garrett and Pat Haden came along later and arguably were almost as important, as say Marcus Allen, Charles White, Anthony Davis or OJ Simpson.
Back in 1959, Coach John McKay took over a football program that was usually backing up to places like UCLA, Stanford and CAL. Bill Nelsen was the iron headed quarterback, Ken Del Conte the running back along with Big Ben Wilson at Fullback. Coach McKay won 4 National Championships by 1975. In 1976, he left USC to become the coach of the the NFL expansion team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Coach McKay had reached the mountain in college football and had beaten Red Sanders of UCLA, Ara Parseghian of Notre Dame and other so-called world beater Collegiate Coaches. Coach McKay sadly, never found that kind of clarity after he moved to the NFL. He found a great paycheck, a nice home in Florida, good golf…but never reached “the heights” that he had accomplished as the Coach and Athletic Director at USC by 1975.
Coach McKay had been lucky too, he got talented Pete Beathard to load up and support his student body right offense. He got a dutiful Craig Fertig to be the back-up quarterback guy. The McKeever Brothers to supplant the Defense! It was so bad, that when Pete got blitzed and sacked, it was reported that he said: “Keep that up and we will put in the Defense and really score on you!” The call in the Coliseum many times was: “Bring in the Animals!” McKay’s teams represented their Coach: his character, sense of humor and desire to win. The ’72 Trojan team was known to have called their offensive plays openingly. “We are coming around left end for 20 yards!” Then run it 25 yards!
Today, Lane Kiffin is the scrappy, younger than life Head Coach of the USC Trojans who has replaced Legendary Coach Pete Carroll – now gone to the Seattle Seahawks, the other Coach in USC History to truly approach the greatness of McKay, John Robinson and Howard Jones. The similarities are truly amazing. Coach McKay was 36 when he took over at USC. Kiffin just turned 35 on May 9th, 2010. The good news is that his dad Monty, is the Defensive Coordinator, the additonal good news is that Kennedy Pola got ripped from the Tennsessee Titans by Kiffin to become the Offensive Coordinator. For players that want to excel in the NFL…there could be no better training ground.
Kiffin still has the quiet and shy QB Matt Barkley, who is a local Newport Beach kid, that has put on several pounds of muscle over the summer. He is looking toned and ready. Kiffin seemingly gets nothing to start with, except a bunch of grievous NCAA sanctions. It will be interesting to see who shows up on the field of play this year and beyond. It is too easy to blame “the End of the Legend” on Reggie Bush…so it goes! Actually, back in the day of McKay, you could have seen several USC Football Players, leaning on rakes, looking at the leaf build-up next to Tommy Trojan….making a few bucks to keep up with school book costs and the like…we are sure! Would the NCAA sanction those activities too? If so, there wouldn’t be a team in America with players that qualified to play.
Hey, when you are a Trojan Fan and Notre Dame beats our team, we die. When UCLA beats our team…we die. When Stanford beats our team…we want to puke! When CAL beats our team…we want to play the game over immediately! When an Oregon or Washington school beats us….we are too amazed to be upset. When an Arizona school beats us……we know that the odds makers in Las Vegas have just made a bundle. No, we are not cynical, nor elitest. No, we are Cardinal and Gold. The one, the only and by golly, our babes, weather and nearby Hollywood makes aus a draw from which…those kids in Kansas…just can’t say no too!
The NCAA is loaded with a unforgiving arrogance that can only be described as something that will eventually kill the sport of college football. Four years of sanctions says more about the jealously of the NCAA than something about the truth of what may have happened at USC. No Bowls, no BCS ratings for four years! The only USC hope…will be to go undefeated over those four years. Make the NCAA realize that even though we might have the best college football players in America…..not letting them play during bowl season is going to kill “their little Golden Gooses”!
The reality is: USC should withdraw from the PAC 10…15..25 or whatever they finally end up with. They should set their own schedule: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, UCLA, Boston College, Utah, Florida State, TCU, Missouri, Georgia, , Stanford and CAL. They should go out for their own Television Contract with ESPN and tell the NCAA….and the six great minds huddled around that pot belly stove in Norman, Oklahoma to go skip a rope!
Is this the only option? No, the NCAA could make the bowl ban good for 2010/2011 and forget it. Saving that….stick a fork in them – they are done as a governing body. We will not bother to bring up any of the past wrongs or penalties at other various schools or try to compare those wrongs to the wrongs of a private sports agent giving Reggie Bush’s mom and dad a place to live. All in all, this is going to be a tough year to be a Trojan fan! “Fight On” boyz…..win one for Reggie Bush! In fact win ’em all! Make Coach McKay and Carroll proud!
Lane Kiffin; one further word of advice: Do not go to Nashville or any other town or city in Tennessee EVER! Also, do not ask for a raise in pay until you go two seasons undeafeated…please!
“Legendary Coach Pete Carroll” – after proven that Bush received illegal perks, leaving USC in disarray — that’s not legendary-like.
*Coach,
Did you ever buy one of your players a breakfast at IHOP? How about a Pizza at Pizza Hut?
How about taking them to a topless strip joint? What about Buying them all tickets to the
annual Coach & Players dinner?
No, we know…..but when you compare the Dog Fighting of Michael Vick…..to giving a player
the down payment on a pick-up truck….and finding a place for his mom & dad to live…..the
punishment neither fits the crime….nor the retro-active removal of two years of team wins.
We need not argue the point. As we say: It’s tough to be a Trojan Fan!
The punishment did not go far enough. Bush put the whole school at risk. Coach knew something was coming down the pipeline, that is why he bailed. He is no legend. At the end of the day I will root for the Trojans – the new Trojans.
As will we…..we are pulling for Lane big time. Our worst fear is that he will wind up another
Larry Smith…It will take someone who has his ear….and is willing to challenge his childish
behavior when it raises its ugly head. Even our God McKay….had those nasty moments.
Perhaps with his Dad and Kennedy on board….they will have “the juevos” to always tell
him the truth…on personnel issues!
The biggie will be this: In the words of Art Rooney when the Steelers won their first Super
Bowl with Chuck Noll: “Well, it looks like the boys like him!”
As far as Reggie is concerned: Having his epilets stripped and his Heisman ripped, and
his legacy tarnished forever……that should be enough. His welcome mat at Heritage Hall
has probably been relegated to that for O.J. Simpson. He hardly brought down the entire
Trojan Football Program by himself. The death of kicker Mario Danelo off the cliffs near
his home in San Pedro – 2008…should have told us something. Garrett had to know, as
well as Samples. You can always fault Pete for being the nodding doggie in the window….
but this whole issue – is being created and propagated by NCAA Systemic Evils: the least of which you might considered a parallel reality – like: the “Pete Rose Gambling Again?” issue!
Manipulating who is BCS Qualified is simply – wine from the teaspoon!
Ron and Anna Winship are typical rabid Trojan fans – void of facts and making accusations with no basis.
Let’s start with two facts. John McKay never coached against UCLA’s Red Sanders. Sanders was long gone from UCLA when McKay took over at USC in 1960, not 1959.
As far as the Winship’s worrying that Lane Kiffin will wind up “another Larry Smith”. I don’t think they have to worry about that. When you exclude the two coaches that led the Trojans to the most NCAA violations since the NCAA’s inception, the late Coach Smith has the second winningnest percentage next to the legendary Jess Hill. Smith also had the guts to handle the erratic behavior on and off the field of Todd Marinovich which was part of his downfall at the hands of rabid USC supporters like, well probably the Winship’s. Perhaps if Pete Carroll did the same with Reggie Bush we wouldn’t be posting on this blog.
And finally, shame on you for making any comparison of Lane Kiffin to the late John McKay. Coach McKay was honest, ethical and never once brought embarassment to USC. Kiffin failed that test within his first hour on campus and continues to do so.