USC Football: Ed Orgeron Makes Case for USC’s Head Coach Job, Talks Blindside Fame to Dan Patrick

Nov 1, 2013; Corvallis, OR, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Ed Orgeron is hoisted by players in celebration after the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. USC defeated Oregon State 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

USC interim head coach Ed Orgeron spent some time on the Dan Patrick Show Thursday morning, talking about the changing environment around USC, his pursuit of the permanent head coaching job and his famous movie cameo.

“We started this thing and I saw young men down, depressed. I wanted them happy. I wanted to see their chest out, their eyes up, a little pep in their step. And we’ve done that. This is for them,” Orgeron said. “Now that were having success obviously there’s things that will come down the road but all we can do is take it one day at a time.”

Orgeron said that he hasn’t had a conversation with Trojan Athletic Director Pat Haden regarding the upcoming coaching hire, but his answer of “Not yet,” carried plenty of subtext.

“That hasn’t come up. I was honored that he chose me at a time that USC needed somebody to steer the ship right and I think we’ve done that. I think he notices that but that’s going to come after the season.”

How exactly did Coach O turn the ship around?

“We just did a couple things we had done before with Coach Carroll, added a little bit of our flavor, took some advice from our coaching staff, from other schools that had had success and we put it all together,” said Orgeron, who takes every opportunity to emphasize Carroll’s influence on his coaching style. “The type of plan we had on a daily basis for how we were going to practice [under Carroll], we went to that. It worked back then and it seems to be working now.

Orgeron laughed when Patrick talked about noticing that no one was having fun at USC. That is no longer the case.

“We started laughing and joking and dancing in the room like we did with Coach Carroll,” Orgeron said. “I wanted to the guys to express themselves on the field, celebrate with the teammates, have fun. We’re doing it again and they’re enjoying it.”

The former Ole Miss head coach also talked about his experience filming his cameo scene in 2009’s “The Blindside.” He l

“I couldn’t believe all the people who come up to you and say ‘Hey, you’re the guy from The Blindside’.”

You can listen to the entire interview below or on DanPatrick.com.