USC Football: Poll – Has Your Opinion Of The Sarkisian Hire Changed?

Oct 13, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive line coach Ed Orgeron (lef) talks with Washington Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian after the game at CenturyLink Field. USC defeated Washington 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a week since USC announced the hire of Steve Sarkisian as the Trojans’ new head coach.

Since that day, the couching carousel has gone around and around. Assistant coaches have resigned and been hired, former candidates have taken other jobs, and the murky waters around the hire have become both more clear and more muddled.

The question last Monday was whether USC should be mourning the hire. After all, it meant missing out on flashier hires like Chris Petersen, Kevin Sumlin or even a reach-for-the-stars choice like Jon Gruden. Worse still perhaps, it meant losing Ed Orgeron.

With Sarkisian in place, Orgeron jumped ship, leaving the Trojans without an interim head coach and, by proxy, without a defensive line coach for the bowl game.

Then there’s Petersen, the Boise State head coach known for his impressive winning percentage and surprisingly BCS success at a non-BCS school. A candidate for the USC and one of Pat Haden’s five head coaching finalists, Petersen reportedly missed out on a job offer after a less-than-stellar interview. Instead he was hired by Washington on Friday, a move that means the Huskies won’t be mourning Sarkisian’s loss too much.

The question now is whether the initial impression of the hire still stands.

After all, there has been positive movement in that regard.

If nothing else, Sarkisian has proven himself as a likable character. He said all the right things in his opening presser and continued to assuage fan concerns in a Spreecast live chat appearance.

On top of that, respected Washington assistant coaches Johnny Nansen, Keith Heyward and Peter Sirmon have already made their way to Los Angeles to join Tee Martin on Sarkisian’s staff, even though big fish like Justin Wilcox and Tosh Lupoi, who were first rumored as potential hires, are still up in the air.

So, has your opinion changed? Vote in the poll below.

Has your opinion of the Sarkisian hire changed?

View Results