Mike Garrett

Carroll left in January, which is pretty late in the hiring cycle for college coaches.

Mike Garrett, USC's AD at the time, was the one tasked with hiring Carroll's replacement.

Garrett always liked Kiffin, going back to Kiffin's time at USC as Carroll's assistant.

Garrett was also enamored with two of Lane's lieutenants at Tennessee: his father, Monte, who was the defensive coordinator, and Ed Orgeron, the former USC assistant who was now Tennessee's lead recruiter.

Garrett was old school.

He didn't negotiate with agents, and he knew he had the leverage with Kiffin, who yearned to be back at USC.

This is, like, Mike Garrett 101.

He's like, "Okay, well, man, I'll give you whatever you're making there, but I'm not gonna pay you more." I'm like, "Okay, same salary." But I didn't care.

John McKay has had an outstanding coaching career at the University of Southern California.

He has had two National Collegiate Championships in 1962 and 67, two unbeaten seasons, 1962 and 69, two Heisman Trophy winners, Mike Garrett in 1965 and the fabulous O.J. Simpson in 1968.

He has a great record in 11 years of 82 victories, 29 losses, and five ties.

One of the great coaches in American collegiate football.

I think, oh, Pete, yeah, Pete's next

... did Garrett get 1,000? Mike Garrett did for the Chiefs [bell dings] and Chargers.

He did, yeah, right.

Thank God.

The mood is oddly upbeat, all things considered.

Mike Garrett, USC's athletic director, stands in the front of a crowd of USC donors, all eagerly awaiting what he has to say.

Just a few hours before, the NCAA released its findings from a four-year investigation into USC, and the news was much worse than anyone at the school had expected.

The NCAA had found that star running back Reggie Bush received improper benefits during the '04 and '05 seasons.

Ben Bolch was in the room that day.

He's a former LA Times reporter.

And then here comes Mike Garrett up to the podium, and he said, uh, "I read the decision by the NCAA.

I read between the lines, and there was nothing but a lot of envy.

Look around.

My brutal honesty, Matt, has not been welcome at USC since Mike Garrett left in the summer of 2010.

Mike always encouraged me, to be honest.

But part of the biggest picture here, Matt, is the furious turnover in the USC athletic department.

I felt lighthearted doing it.

But we talked about the USC play-by-play situation with our old friend, Pete Arbogast, Sean Cody.

He

did not try to slide feet first.

oh, we got an exclusive.

Well, you're going to be in Seattle, Matt, over the weekend.

And it just happens that USC is hosting the Washington Huskies this weekend, which gives our friend, who does this job in Seattle on KJR, I join that show every Wednesday.

In fact, I'm probably on that show right now.

He loves Marshall High.

He was a little kid who high-fived Mike Garrett on his way off the field as a famous USC photograph.

Vanity Plate celebrating his USC play-by-play gig.

Well, what's that, Matt? USC voice, I believe is what it is.