Report: Steve Sarkisian Hired as USC Head Coach, Continuing Trojans’ Trend of Hiring Pete Carroll’s Assistants

The USC head coaching search didn’t last very long, and the Trojans have already found their man.

Following a 35-14 loss to in-state rival UCLA on Saturday, USC athletic director went out in search of the school’s next head coach. Washington head coach and former USC assistant Steve Sarkisian interviewed for the job on Monday, and it appears he’s accepted the position, according to ESPN’s Joe Schad.

Sarkisian, 39, was an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach at USC from 2001 to 2003 under Pete Carroll. After spending one year as the offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders, Sarkisian returned to USC to take over as the team’s offensive coordinator. He remained in that position through the 2008 season, when he accepted the job to become the head coach at Washington.

In five seasons in Seattle, Sarkisian led the Huskies to a 34-29 record, three bowl games, including a Holiday Bowl win in 2010. The Huskies finished with an 8-4 record and a third-place finish in the Pac-12 North in 2013.

USC fired then head coach Lane Kiffin, another former Carroll protege, earlier this year after a 3-2 start to the season. Head assistant Ed Orgeron took over on an interim basis, leading the Trojans to a 6-2 record the rest of the way. There was talk that Orgeron might be offered the job permanently, but a brutal loss to the rival Bruins on Saturday night likely altered athletic director Pat Haden‘s thinking on the matter.

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