Video: Steve Sarkisian leaves Washington for head coaching job at USC
Former Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian left the program Monday and accepted the same position with the USC Trojans. Sarkisian departs from UW after five seasons in Seattle during which he compiled a 34-29 record and four consecutive bowl appearances.
"We conducted a very exhaustive and thorough search, pinpointing about 20 candidates and interviewing five of them," USC athletic director Pat Haden said in a school release. "We kept coming back to Sark. He is the only one who was offered the job. I believe in my gut that he is the right coach for USC at this time."
[Related: Final 2013 Pac-12 football bowl projections]
Sarkisian arrived at USC on Monday night with Haden but will not have an introductory press conference until Tuesday at the earliest.
Steve Sarkisian and Pat Haden arrive at #USC McKay Center. pic.twitter.com/6nUSdksy1t
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) December 3, 2013
Sarkisian spent seven seasons and four stints coaching the Trojans in various positions, including two as offensive coordinator. During those seasons, USC went 23-3. He also spent time at USC as a baseball player before transferring to BYU to play football.
Leaving Los Angeles is interim USC head coach Ed Orgeron, who replaced the fired Lane Kiffin in the middle of the season and rallied the Trojans to a 6-2 finish and a 9-4 overall record. Orgeron said in a statement that he leaves the USC program with the goal of finding a new head coaching opportunity.
At Washington, athletic director Scott Woodward thanked Sarkisian for improving the state of the Huskies' program in the last five seasons and added in a press release that the search for a new head coach has already started.
"I will work hard in the coming days to find the absolute best fit for the University of Washington but I will not comment on or speculate about the process," Woodward said. "We have tremendous tradition, fan base and a world-class institution, and I am confident we will find the right man. We will compete for Pac-12 and national championships and we will do so with class, integrity, sportsmanship and a commitment to our student-athletes. That promise is at the forefront of my mind as I embark on finding our next football coach."