Okay, there's a lot of talk about 'proven' head coach or 'home run hire.' I know in some cases you can bring in a Meyer or Saban, but even they have had their less than successful runs (Saban in NFL). But being a historian, I like to look at what happened before. Here's a breakdown of our previous coaching hires for the last 90 years and what their background was when they were hired.
"Gloomy" Gus Henderson (1919-1924)-high school coach, no college experience, 45-7 record, ironically credited with inventing spread offense, also coached basketball and baseball at USC for couple years
Howard Jones (1925-1941)-head coach at several schools (Syracuse 1 year, alma mater Yale 1 year, Ohio State 1 year, Yale 1 year, 8 years Iowa, 1 year Duke) before USC, 121–36–13 record, defeated UCLA in their first meeting 76-0!
Jeff Cravath-(1942-50)-3 years of head coaching, 54–28–8 record
Jess Hill (1951-56) USC player, pro baseball player, high school coach, track coach at USC, 45–17–1 record, became AD at USC until 1972
Don Clark (1957-59)-USC player, pro football, assistant at USC before becoming head coach, 13-16-1 record (1-9 first season, sanctions meant had no recruited players for two years)
John McKay (1960-75)-assistant at USC, never head coach previously, 127–40–8 record
John Robinson (1976-1982)-assistant at USC, never head coach previously, 67-14-2 record
Ted Tollner (1983-86)-head coach at San Mateo College before assistant at USC, 26–20–1 record
Larry Smith (1987-1992)-head coach at Arizona, 44–25–3 record
JR (1993-1997)-return from Rams as head coach, 37-21-2 record
Paul Hackett (1998-2000)-head coach at Pitt, 32–38–1 record
Pete Carroll (2001-9)-college assistant, head coach NFL, 97-19 record
Lane Kiffen (2010-13)-NFL head coach, head coach at Tennesseee, 28–15 record
Steve Sarkisian (2014-15)-head coach at Washington, 12–6 record
My take is that other than Howard Jones, the successful coaches (Henderson, McKay, Robinson, Carroll, JR 1, Hill) were not coming in with college head coaching experience, although Carroll had NFL experience. And most had been assistants at USC. The ones that were former head college coaches (JR 2, Tollner, Smith, Hackett, Kiffen, and Sark) were not as successful.
Looking at the last 50 years there has been a good run of previous assistants moving up into the HC position at USC, while head coaches previously at another program as HC have not proven as successful. I would argue that the ability to bring in an experienced 'head' coach is not a good indicator of success.
"Gloomy" Gus Henderson (1919-1924)-high school coach, no college experience, 45-7 record, ironically credited with inventing spread offense, also coached basketball and baseball at USC for couple years
Howard Jones (1925-1941)-head coach at several schools (Syracuse 1 year, alma mater Yale 1 year, Ohio State 1 year, Yale 1 year, 8 years Iowa, 1 year Duke) before USC, 121–36–13 record, defeated UCLA in their first meeting 76-0!
Jeff Cravath-(1942-50)-3 years of head coaching, 54–28–8 record
Jess Hill (1951-56) USC player, pro baseball player, high school coach, track coach at USC, 45–17–1 record, became AD at USC until 1972
Don Clark (1957-59)-USC player, pro football, assistant at USC before becoming head coach, 13-16-1 record (1-9 first season, sanctions meant had no recruited players for two years)
John McKay (1960-75)-assistant at USC, never head coach previously, 127–40–8 record
John Robinson (1976-1982)-assistant at USC, never head coach previously, 67-14-2 record
Ted Tollner (1983-86)-head coach at San Mateo College before assistant at USC, 26–20–1 record
Larry Smith (1987-1992)-head coach at Arizona, 44–25–3 record
JR (1993-1997)-return from Rams as head coach, 37-21-2 record
Paul Hackett (1998-2000)-head coach at Pitt, 32–38–1 record
Pete Carroll (2001-9)-college assistant, head coach NFL, 97-19 record
Lane Kiffen (2010-13)-NFL head coach, head coach at Tennesseee, 28–15 record
Steve Sarkisian (2014-15)-head coach at Washington, 12–6 record
My take is that other than Howard Jones, the successful coaches (Henderson, McKay, Robinson, Carroll, JR 1, Hill) were not coming in with college head coaching experience, although Carroll had NFL experience. And most had been assistants at USC. The ones that were former head college coaches (JR 2, Tollner, Smith, Hackett, Kiffen, and Sark) were not as successful.
Looking at the last 50 years there has been a good run of previous assistants moving up into the HC position at USC, while head coaches previously at another program as HC have not proven as successful. I would argue that the ability to bring in an experienced 'head' coach is not a good indicator of success.
