USC Knows How To Pick Coaches

Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett says he'll put his hiring record up against anybody's record, provided that record doesn't include all the coaches who turned him down before he was stuck with Pete Carroll.

Garrett offered up these comments during the press conference on Monday introducing USC's newest hoops commander, Kevin O'Neill. O'Neill possesses many winning qualities including the ability to pick up his phone, leading Garrett to utter the least ringing professional endorsement imaginable:

"I really felt elated about the fact that this is a person who was available."

Kevin O'Neill: The Most Available Coach In America. Ticket line forms over here, Trojan fans!

To be sure that Garrett's record does "hold up," Adam Rose of the LA Times runs the down list of coaches who have turned down/been run out of town by the Garrett administration ... and it is very impressive! Dennis Erickson, Mike Riley, Mike Bellotti, Rick Majerus, Jamie Dixon, Jeff Van Gundy, Lon Kruger. Scratch that, Lon Kruger has never been impressive. But Garrett also has the distinction of firing one USC's greatest coaches (John Robinson) and replacing him with the worst (Paul Hackett.) Plus, he hired Chad Kreuter to coach their baseball team, which is sorta mindblowing, but not in the way you probably think. I assumed he was still backing up Paul Lo Duca in some bizarre alternate reality National League, but you learn something new every day.

USC's Mike Garrett says his record speaks for itself; agreed [LA Times] Awkward: Kevin O'Neill knows he wasn't USC's first choice [The Dagger]