[Farm93]

So I don't see it.

LSU, Georgia and VA Tech have openings.  USC alums were about to learn their true place in the college football universe.  The program would have needed to hire a coach demanding mega dollars.  That coach likely would have relatively little West Coast recruiting experience.  The USC search could have included rejections by coaches that would opt for other openings.

This way they get a coach the players love, a coach with knowledge of the West Coast recruiting, and importantly the alums are not confronted with brutal evidence that the USC job is not even one of the 10 best gigs in the land.

See it now?

[Farm93]

So I don't see it.

LSU, Georgia and VA Tech have openings.  USC alums were about to learn their true place in the college football universe.  The program would have needed to hire a coach demanding mega dollars.  That coach likely would have relatively little West Coast recruiting experience.  The USC search could have included rejections by coaches that would opt for other openings.

This way they get a coach the players love, a coach with knowledge of the West Coast recruiting, and importantly the alums are not confronted with brutal evidence that the USC job is not even one of the 10 best gigs in the land.

See it now?