Taking over USC not likely in any high-profile coach's fantasy

Reggie Theus' interview at Southern California went "OK" on Thursday.

That's what a source told me afterward.

Which should be good enough.

The next coach at USC could feel the pain Dennis Felton had while down at Georgia. (Getty Images)

Because the reality is that despite a Friday morning report in a Los Angeles-area newspaper suggesting otherwise, USC is not going to be able to lure an established Division I coach who already has a good gig (i.e., Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon) given the current state of things. That means Theus is just as reasonable of a pick as anybody interested in being picked. And though USC is smart to be patient, it would also be wise not to be too picky because administrators will just end up disappointed if they wait to be wowed by an established name so they can in turn wow their fans.

It's not going to work that way.

Anybody pretending otherwise is living in a fantasy world.

USC can basically try to get an unemployed coach (Theus, Billy Gillispie), a non-BCS-affiliated coach (Cal State-Northridge's Bobby Braswell, Southern Miss' Larry Eustachy) or a BCS-affiliated coach from a not-so-great program relative to its league (Oregon State's Craig Robinson, Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg). Or an assistant. Any of those routes are reasonable routes to pursue. But make no mistake, that's the type of route this coaching search will travel because folks understand that succeeding at USC is hard enough under normal circumstances, and trying to do it under these circumstances is more likely to cost a career than propel one.

See Dennis Felton as proof.

Felton left Western Kentucky for Georgia in 2003 because that's what you do when you are at Western Kentucky and an SEC school offers more money. You leave. So Felton left. But Georgia isn't a traditional basketball power and it was coming off a scandal, which means what Felton was trying to do was turn around a middle-of-the-pack SEC program under NCAA sanctions that prevented him from operating in a way that it typically takes to succeed at that level.

Predictably, he did not succeed.

Georgia fired him in the middle of last season.

And though some will point to Felton as the problem, I'm inclined to believe the situation was more of the problem, that the academic standards Felton and his staff worked under -- because of the academic fraud committed by the previous regime -- made an already difficult job that much more difficult. Sure, he might've failed regardless. I suppose that's possible. But my larger point is that taking over a mediocre and wounded program in a power league is incredibly hard, and that's why the Jamie Dixons of the world aren't interested in USC despite the fact that the natural recruiting base is great, the new arena is gorgeous and the pay could be significant.

•  Parrish: Dixon not in mix | Theus interviews with USC

Who wants to recruit against Ben Howland and UCLA?

Almost nobody.

Now imagine having to do it without cutting any corners because another NCAA investigation might get everybody in the athletic department fired. Imagine you have to be careful about letting the same agents who are around most other programs come around your program because another Rodney Guillory incident might end your career. Imagine package deals and questionable hires being off the table because USC administrators are less interested in winning than they are in ensuring that no additional negative publicity comes to campus.

Does that sound like an easy gig?

Does that sound like a good situation?

To me, it sounds like the type of job you take if you are unemployed, unhappy (or unsafe) at your spot, or a low-major coach (or high-major assistant) looking for a nice salary increase. Short of that, you don't touch this. And that's why USC shouldn't spend too much more time imagining a scenario that ends with a hire that garners national attention and reinvigorates the fanbase, because this search is not going to work that way.

Anybody pretending otherwise is living in a fantasy world.

For USC's sake, I hope athletic director Mike Garrett isn't one of them.