LOS ANGELES -- Student Body Left and Student Body Right became Pete Carroll left and Pete Carroll right Friday afternoon, when Carroll couldn't stand still in front of a lectern at Southern California.

The new Trojans football coach plans to have USC display the same zeal and tenacity on the field next season.

"I think it's going to be difficult," said Carroll, 49. "I think it's always difficult. There's so much to get done at this time, to come right in and get it done is a great challenge. There are a lot of things to do.

Pete Carroll and Mike Garrett say they will work together to rebuild the program at Southern California. (AP)

"(But) I think the caliber of athletes we have and the caliber of athletes we can draw to the university gives us a chance to do it right away, I really feel that. What does that mean? To show progress, play good football and get right on top of this Pac-10. Anything short of that, I (won't be) happy with and won't accept."

Neither will Trojans athletic director Mike Garrett, who proclaimed Paul Hackett "the right man at the right time" for USC when he hired Hackett three years ago. With two years left on his contract, Hackett was fired by Garrett last month.

Fans, alumni and boosters have been furious since it became apparent that Carroll, who was 33-31 in four seasons as an NFL head coach and hasn't worked at the collegiate level in 17 years, was the Trojans' top choice two days ago.

Some prominent boosters have threatened that they had made their last donations to USC, fearing Garrett bungled the move by hiring someone who isn't exactly a high-profile coach who has had success at the college level, the type of coach Garrett said he was seeking the day he fired Hackett.

"Talk is cheap right now," Garrett said. "What we have to do is get to work."

Carroll said he'll be as impatient for quick improvement as the disgruntled fans.

"Those expectations, they're no different than mine," Carroll said. "If we didn't share the same expectations, maybe it would be different. Really, I'm ready and prepared to do that now, (but) they need to see the product. I hope they give us a chance and opportunity to see what we turn out. I want to make them proud.

"I'm driven to do that. I don't need anyone to fire me up or give me pep talks, that's who I am."

Even the most unbiased school official begged media members to give Carroll, known as a laid-back figure with a specialty in defense, a chance.

"It doesn't really matter to me," Carroll said. "It's what I'm going to do with this opportunity, it's not what was, or how it was laid out or mapped out. Together, in time, we'll grow together if we're successful.

"I hope my style and approach will become the SC style and it will encompass what has been done before. I can't give you a timetable, we just need to make progress."

Both Garrett and associate athletic director Daryl Gross were adamant that they had offered the USC post to only one other coach, confirmed by everyone involved to be Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson.

Sources said Carroll signed a five-year contract worth approximately $6 million. Garrett reportedly tried to lure Erickson with a five-year deal worth $7.2 million.

According to Gross, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti was never given a formal offer. "He knows," Gross said. San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley and Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick were also in the serious mix. Gross said Lubick's age, 63, was never an issue in their conversations.

"Sonny even brought that up, and Mike said, 'It's not a big thing to me,'" Gross said. "And Sonny runs so much, he's in great shape. He looks like he's 45."

But Gross, USC's link to Carroll, also admitted that he and Garrett took their time, nearly three weeks, to ensure that they would get the right long-term coach.

"I'd like him to be here 20 years," Gross said. "Hey, when I hear from Ronnie Lott that, 'This is one of the best coaches I ever played for,' that's impressive. Pete Carroll is a high-percentage move, and I'm a high-percentage guy. It's like taking a layup for me.

"He has that personality to make a kid run through the wall for him."

Carroll was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets in 1990 when Gross was a scout for them. Gross said "absolutely," when asked if Carroll would be given enough time to take the Trojans back to national prominence.

Funny, but that's where Gross thought USC was headed early this season when he last saw Carroll, on the sidelines in East Rutherford, N.J., as the Trojans were beating Penn State en route to a No. 8 national ranking.

"We were playing good football," Gross said of his thoughts at that time, "and it looked like everything would go rosy."

It didn't, because the Trojans played an undisciplined brand of football that plagued Hackett's entire tenure and ultimately cost him the job. Gross said Carroll never expressed a concern, to him or Hackett, about the potential for not being given enough time to turn USC around.

"Pete's a pretty confident guy," Gross said, "because he knows what he's doing."

Carroll said he isn't concerned about not having a timetable and he is committed to a wide-open and disciplined system.

"I want to put a great football product on the field, with guys who know what they're doing, have confidence in what we're doing," Carroll said. "If they believe in the system and believe in what they're asked to do, then they'll have the best chance to execute.

"What we're shooting for is to play football where we don't make mistakes, we don't hurt ourselves. That sometimes takes time. Whether or not our players are capable of doing that, I'll find out. We'll figure that out as we go through camp."

Of immediate concern to Carroll will be filling out his coaching staff, which he said he plans to do over the weekend. Insiders believe defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, a three-year USC assistant, and running backs coach Kennedy Pola have the best chances of remaining on the staff.

Orgeron, 39, has been mostly responsible for keeping prospects informed of the USC situation over the past few weeks. He attended Friday's press conference at Heritage Hall but said he has been guaranteed nothing by anyone.

"But I'm looking forward to talking with Pete," Orgeron said. "I think he will bring enthusiasm back to the football program, he's so energetic. And the way he communicates, he'll relate well to the players. I think he's exactly what this university needed at this time."

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