Who will land the USC job?

[.GR]

According to ESPN.com's Pac-10 blogger Ted Miller, Oregon State coach Mike Riley has agreed to a three-year extension, ending his short run atop the list of candidates to replace Pete Carroll at USC.

We wrote yesterday that there was a chance Riley could be scared away this time around after being a strong candidate for the job back in 2000.

With Riley out, Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that AD Mike Garrett should push for Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, TCU's Gary Patterson (who received a contract extension through 2016) and Boise State's Chris Petersen (who also recently reached a five-year deal). He also reported yesterday that sources have told him Garrett would like former offensive coordinator Norm Chow, now at UCLA, to return to Troy, and that former assistant Ed Orgeron would like to rejoin the staff in some capacity. Both are possibilities now with Jeremy Bates accepting the offensive coordinator job alongside Carroll in Seattle and Ken Norton Jr. following Carroll as linebackers coach.

Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher is USC's second choice, Sports Illustrated's Peter King reported Saturday on NBC. Garrett is known to have twice tried to hire Fisher, in 1997 and again in 2001, so perhaps the third time will be the charm. However, King said that the uncertainty at USC (the university president is retiring in August, and his replacement may want to hire his own AD) is a turn off to Fisher, the NFL's longest-tenured coach, and that Fisher is expected to remain with the Titans.

That would bring us to Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, who is on the hot seat. King said he would be surprised if USC goes in that direction, but there is a lot of buzz that Del Rio would be interested, given his shaky position in the eyes of owner Wayne Weaver. Wolf's sources also confirm Del Rio's interest in the position.

Herm Edwards could also be a candidate, according to ESPN's Shelley Smith and Chris Mortensen. Wolf also says that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has interest in the job but is not considered to be a candidate at this time.

Whatever his list looks like, Garrett has to hurry up and name a replacement if he wants USC to be able to salvage any semblance of a recruiting class.

In-House
In-house candidates might include USC assistant head coaches Jeremy Bates (offense) and Ken Norton (defense). But Bates is rumored to be on Carroll's wish list for the pro job.

Other Schools
Another potential candidate is Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who was the offensive coordinator/assistant head coach at USC before he bolted for a head coaching gig last offseason. He is known as a QB guru, given his success with Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez, as well as Jake Locker. Sarkisian is signed through 2013, but it likely won't stop him from jumping at this elite job, if he gets an offer. External candidates such as Boise State's Chris Peterson, Utah's Kyle Wittingham, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, BYU's Bronco Mendenhall may also be mentioned along the way, as well as Pittsburgh's Dave Wannstedt.

NFL
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio and Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher might also be candidates, according to the Seattle Times' Bob Condotta. Former NFL coaches Steve Mariucci or Marty Mornhinweg might also have interest. Both have ties to the state of California as coaches in the 49ers organization, and Mariucci coached at California prior to his stint in the NFL.

 

[jarrod2323]

I see Del Rio more of a candidate due to his lack of success in JAX.. Fisher isn't going anywhere