Ranking The Best USC Football Coaches of All-Time

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12. Steve Sarkisian

Though Sam Barry still claims the shortest tenure of a Trojan head coach who was not technically an interim, Steve Sarkisian’s situation remains one of the most disappointing among that group of individuals.

Because the popular Ed Orgeron was passed over in favor of Sarkisian, his position at USC was tenuous from the start.

His first season could be termed a relative success. USC placed second in the Pac-12 South, trounced Notre Dame at the Coliseum to end the season and beat Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl to end the year with a 9-4 record.

However, Sarkisian’s team lost games in a way which left a bad taste in Trojan mouths. Physically outplayed at Boston College, stunned by a Hail Mary meltdown against Arizona State at home and then stung by a last-second touchdown against Utah, the Trojans were also easily handled by Jim Mora’s Bruins.

Heading into the 2015 season, Sarkisian got off to a poor start by embarrassing himself at USC’s annual Salute to Troy rally when he appeared intoxicated on stage. Concerns about his alcohol consumption ultimately came to a head following the Trojans second loss of the season to Washington when he arrived for team meetings under the influence and was removed from his post soon after.