It took maybe a nanosecond after Lane Kiffin was fired as USC’s head coach for rumors of a replacement to begin, even as a hire likely won’t be made until shortly after the end of the regular season at the earliest.
The rumor mill goes 24/7/365, though, so the speculation continues unabated.
The latest name to be connected to the vacancy is Jeff Tedford. According to FOXSports.com, USC approached the former Cal head coach shortly after Kiffin’s dismissal with an offer to serve as an offensive consultant and recruiter. The offer, the source told the website, came with the suggestion that Tedford would then be considered when it came time to name Kiffin’s replacement.
Tedford reportedly declined the opportunity, but made sure the school knew he wanted to be considered for the job.
In November of last year, Tedford was fired as Cal’s head coach after 11 seasons. While he had a respectable 82-57 record overall with the Bears, a 15-22 mark the last three years of his tenure led to his demise.
In other USC-related coaching rumors, Chip Kelly is one of those who has been mentioned as a possibility. The thinking goes that Kelly is in over his head as a head coach in the NFL -- Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles are currently 1-3 -- and will decide to head back to the college game following the 2013 season.
Thanks to NCAA sanctions slapped on his former program at Oregon, Kelly has an 18-month show-cause that will follow him for the rest of whatever collegiate coaching career he has remaining. While such a penalty doesn’t preclude anyone from hiring him, it might make a school like USC, coming off their own NCAA sanctions, shy away from such a candidate.
That, though, hasn’t stopped the speculation connecting Kelly to the Trojans. Kelly was asked by a member of the media about the USC job Thursday and Kelly responded that he “doesn’t deal with hypotheticals.” When pressed about rumors, Kelly said “no” when asked if he’d entertain an offer from the school if it came to him.
“I’m the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles,” Kelly said. “I’m very, very excited to be here.”
Speaking of former UO head coaches, Mike Bellotti, who was rumored to have been a candidate the last time the USC job came open, told The Oregonian‘s John Canzano that he would not be interested in the opening this time around. When Canzano continued the line of questioning, Bellotti allowed that, if USC “somehow figure[s] out how to make my wife happy,” he would consider it. In other words, he won’t consider, although it’s highly doubtful the university would even given him the opportunity to do such a thing.
However, Bellotti did have a suggestion for athletic director Pat Haden.
“If they could somehow get Chris Petersen it would be the greatest get in the world,” the former coach said of Boise State’s current head coach, who is among the betting favorites to land the job even as it’s highly unlikely he leaves the Broncos.