Pat Haden Retiring Is Best for USC Football and Therefore USC

Pat Haden retiring is what’s best for USC football and therefore what’s best for USC as a whole.

USC football is the most important athletic program at USC. It’s under the microscope 24/7, 365 by local and national media, as well as alumni and boosters alike.

It’s a numbers business. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. USC athletics has a budget of over $100 million and the football program made around $15 million during the 2014-2015 school year.

In all of college athletics, football and basketball make money and the other programs lose money. USC is no different, except the basketball program has been a laughing stock save for this current season, and has lost money as well.

Pat Haden, an alumni and member of the board, took on the job of athletic director in a time of chaos. Both USC football and basketball were hit with harsh sanctions and former AD Mike Garrett had no choice but to step down. Haden’s job was to steady the waters until a full time replacement could be found.

Almost six years later, Haden has come under heavy scrutiny for how he’s handled the football program, to the point where many were asking for his resignation. Haden’s tenure has seen him give a stay of execution for Lane Kiffin after a disastrous 2012 season, only to fire him at LAX nine months later. He brought in an alcoholic in Sarkisian, mislead Orgeron and hired interim coach Clay Helton to full-time head coach despite many hoping he’d make a splash outside the family.

Haden has had a mountain to climb, and the NCAA sanctions were a huge reason why, but there was generally no push back against the organization when they attempted to cripple USC for good. Though Haden says it was a university decision not to sue, the blame for not taking action the same way Penn State took action will lie at his feet.

Oct 4, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans athletic director Pat Haden before the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

During his tenure, the Trojan football program won the Pac 12 south once and has yet to win the conference title or get back to the Rose Bowl or National Title game during his tenure. Though the grades and graduation rate have gone up in his tenure, fans of the program could care less. They care about spending their money on a product that dominates and wins championships today, not tomorrow.

Is that a realistic point of view? Probably not, but this is what is expected at USC. Reality ends here.

Other athletics have flourished under Haden as tennis, golf and water polo have won National Championships. The baseball program made it back to the regionals for the first time in a decade and the hiring of Andy Enfield as mens basketball coach is looking like a, pardon the pun, slam dunk. However, USC lives and dies at football, and even if it’s only from a perception point, Haden has not done a good enough job.

On Friday, Haden announced he would be retiring from his position on June 30. He will spend the next year helping Nikias with renovations to the Coliseum, which will be helped in part from revenue attained by Haden’s other former team, the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.

Haden claims he’s going into retirement to spend more time with the family. That’s code for one of two things: USC forced him out or his health is a real issue. Since Max Nikias put his neck out for Haden, I’m willing to bet the latter.

Haden collapsed during the Notre Dame game and wasn’t seen at a football game for the rest of the season. He has had health issues for over a year now and some felt the clock was ticking.

Now President Max Nikias must find Haden’s replacement, and chances are it will be a familiar face. This also puts every USC coach on notice, because new ADs are like new General Managers. They like to hire their own people. That’s one thing Haden has proven to not be very good at. The fans see these coaches for the job they perform. Haden sees these coaches as human beings with families.

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It’s not an easy job, and in regards to football, Haden was probably too close to it. He couldn’t see the forest for the trees. He played football, not the other sports USC has to offer.

Mike Garrett was difficult and not very well liked. Haden seems to be everybody’s best friend. Garrett brought in an outsider by the name of Pete Carroll and was ridiculed. USC dominated college football and the Pac-10 for the better part of a decade.

What is it that they say about nice guys? I hope the bureaucracy at the top of USC’s money hierarchy adheres to this. Nick Saban is not a nice guy, but that’s not stopping him from out-recruiting and out-coaching the rest of the nation.

Who does USC play week one again?

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