Monte Kiffin

Lane Kiffin snagged the starring role as USC football's top guy. But don't snub his supporting cast of assistant coaches. They aren't a bunch of no-name, B-list scrubs who wandered over from the service industry. The addition of Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin, both from the University of Tennessee, both with NFL experience, creates a possible "Dream Team" staff so good that it's been said, jokingly of course, that just about anyone could coach the Trojans. "My job must be really easy then," Lane Kiffin said, smiling.

The Dallas Cowboys have gone into the "Let's hire former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coaches" business lately, causing many to wonder if hiring Jon Gruden as their new head coach can be far behind. In the last couple of weeks, the Cowboys hired defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, defensive line coach Rod Marinelli and special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, all of whom were assistants under Gruden when he coached the Buccaneers from 2002 to 2008. So far, there has been no comment from the Cowboys, which must make current head coach Jason Garrett a little nervous.

The Times' Gary Klein has learned that USC has settled on its new football coach, and it is a familiar name: Lane Kiffin. Kiffin would replace Pete Carroll, who is now coaching the Seattle Seahawks. Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders coach, led the Volunteers for only one season and was an offensive coordinator for the Trojans before leaving to coach the Raiders. According to other sources, Kiffin will bring his father and defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, and assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron to USC with him, and wide receivers coach Kippy Brown will be named interim head coach at Tennessee.

USC's quarterback competition could take a slight turn in the next week because of a knee injury suffered by Max Wittek. Wittek did not practice Tuesday because, he said, of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Wittek was injured Saturday during a drill before the Trojans' scrimmage at the Coliseum. On Tuesday, he wore a brace on his right leg and said he might sit out Thursday and Saturday before the Trojans break for a week. "If there's ever a time for this to happen, I guess it would be right now," said Wittek, who is competing against fellow third-year sophomore Cody Kessler and freshman Max Browne.

USC Coach Lane Kiffin has selected Clancy Pendergast to become the Trojans' defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. Pendergast's hiring could be formalized in the next few days after the school completes a background check, said the individual, who requested anonymity because the hiring is not yet official. Pendergast, California's defensive coordinator the last three seasons, would succeed Monte Kiffin as the Trojans' top defensive assistant.

USC linebacker Dion Bailey is recovering from shoulder surgery and will sit out spring practice, new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said Thursday. Bailey, a two-year starter who had a team-best four interceptions last season, said in December that he hoped to return to safety next season. Pendergast, hired last month to replace Monte Kiffin as the top defensive assistant, said the Trojans would run a “52” defense. The scheme includes elements of a 4-3 and a 3-4, but could allow linemen such as Morgan Breslin and Devon Kennard to also play as linebackers.

Changes in USC's defensive staff continued Thursday as Coach Lane Kiffin announced that secondary coach Marvin Sanders was no longer with the Trojans. Sanders, who coached only one season at USC, was fired in the wake of the arrival of new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, who will apparently coach the secondary. "We wish Marvin Sanders and his family the best of luck," Kiffin said in a statement. "Marvin did a great job for us coaching our secondary and in recruiting. But with the hiring of Clancy Pendergast as our defensive coordinator, we decided to go in a different direction based on Clancy's desire to oversee the defensive backs unit.

Arizona moved fast, Oregon even faster. And UCLA could not be slowed down. The hurry-up offenses that confounded USC's football team this season show no signs of abating — and another is on the way. California just hired Sonny Dykes, he of the quick-paced, no-huddle "Air Raid" attack that will make the Pac-12 Conference even more harried for defensive coordinators. But USC's defensive struggles this season went beyond its inability to stop spread assaults. Stanford's offensive line punished the Trojans' front seven.

John Robinson, who led USC to a share of the 1978 national title and a 4-0 record in Rose Bowl games during his two stints as Trojan coach, will be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame during a luncheon at the stadium today. Robinson coached at USC from 1976 to '82 and from 1993 to '97. He compiled a 104-35-4 record with the Trojans, including a 41-32 victory over Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl, the Trojans' last appearance in the game. Robinson also coached in three Rose Bowls as an assistant under John McKay.

USC's new coaching staff continues to take on a Tennessee flavor. Coach Lane Kiffin announced Wednesday that he has hired assistant James Cregg , Tennessee's offensive line coach last season. Cregg, 36, is the third coach from Kiffin's Tennessee staff to move to USC, joining Ed Orgeron , the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, and Monte Kiffin , the defensive coordinator. Before coaching at Tennessee, Cregg was an offensive line assistant for the Oakland Raiders during Kiffin's brief tenure with the NFL team.