With USC off, Coach Pete Carroll will be looking ahead
USC FOOTBALL FYI
The Trojans' next opponent, Notre Dame, takes on Syracuse on Saturday while USC enjoys an open date. Carroll has an interest in both teams.
USC has an open date on Saturday, but Coach Pete Carroll will no doubt monitor Notre Dame's game against Syracuse for several reasons.
Notre Dame, of course, is USC's next opponent.
The Fighting Irish are 6-4 after holding on for a victory over Navy last week.
Carroll, though, also has an interest in Syracuse.
Daryl Gross, Syracuse's athletic director, is a former USC assistant athletic director who worked under Mike Garrett. When Paul Hackett was fired as football coach after the 2000 season, Gross led the search that ultimately netted Carroll.
Shortly after he was hired by Syracuse in December 2004, Gross fired football coach Paul Pasqualoni. He sought input from Carroll, who said at the time, "It sounds like he's looking for a defensive guy. He likes the way we did it here and it sounds like that's the kind of formula he's trying to put together."
Gross hired Texas co-defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who coached with Carroll at Pacific, North Carolina State and the New York Jets.
Last week, with the Orange 2-8, Robinson was fired, effective at the end of the season. He is 9-36 in three-plus seasons.
Klein is a Times staff writer.
gary.klein@latimes.com
