He asked his assistant who they were, and when he found out, quickly agreed to the meeting. People don’t like to admit it, but money does buy access. Ron Pennington and Gabe Francis’s donations had been one of the reasons he’d taken the job.
To run a top-flight athletic department took money. The Pac-12 TV deal didn’t bring in the income other schools received. Examples were universities in the SEC and Big 10. Their TV money alone was more than most university athletic departments could raise altogether. USC was blessed to have two men who could give the kind of money that made it possible to compete nationally.
With that in mind, he took the meeting.
“Gentlemen. Welcome,” Drew said as they entered his office.
Introductions were made.
“What’s your plan to replace Coach Clayton?” Ron asked.
“How did … never mind,” Drew said, seeing that these two had more access than he’d realized. “Because of the short time we have, I believe the best approach is an interim head coach until we can hire someone for next year.”
“It would almost have to be an internal hire. Who are you thinking?” Gabe asked.
“I was thinking maybe a retired coach,” Drew shared.
“Terrible idea,” Ron jumped in. “You need continuity. An outsider tinkering with what’s in place would be an utter disaster. You need to hire from within.”
“I agree, but I wouldn’t make the obvious choice of promoting one of the coordinators,” Gabe said.
Drew felt like he was being bulldozed. These two were used to running large businesses; in Gabe’s case, a studio.
“They both have the most experience. I was actually leaning toward Jackson Farrow,” Drew admitted.
“Jackson is more than capable, but you don’t want him splitting his time with running the defense and trying to be the head coach. You need to leave your offensive and defensive coordinators in place. Let someone else be the head coach. That will cause the least amount of disruption,” Gabe said.
“And remember, you have to do it this week. I would suggest an up-and-comer. Someone for whom this job will let them land a mid-major head coaching position next year,” Ron added.
“I hadn’t thought in those terms,” Drew admitted.
“Here’s a short list of who we would be comfortable with. Look for someone young. A good recruiter because we can’t let that fall off. Finally, someone who can hold it together for the coming year,” Ron said.
Drew looked at the list: Mike Bolton, offensive line coach; Jason Merritt, defensive backs coach; and Bryant Franzese, recruiting coordinator.
◊◊◊
In the end, Jason Merritt was their man. Jason was 35 and popular with both the coaches and players. He was considered one of their ace recruiters. He was glad that the whole coaching staff was enthusiastic about his pick.
The day before fall practice, the contract was signed, and they announced the coaching change.
Coach Clayton had also accepted a reduced buyout of his contract. All that was left to do was for Coach Merritt to find a special teams coach.
Drew rewarded himself with a nice dinner out with his wife and a glass of scotch. His first crisis on the job had been resolved.
◊◊◊
Chapter 55
David
For fall football practice, USC made all their players move into the athletic dorm. David’s roommate was Craig Hendricks, one of USC’s wide receivers. David actually knew him from before coming to campus; Craig had been on his seven-on-seven Elite 11 team the summer before his junior year in high school. As he remembered it, Craig was no slouch, but there were better receivers on his team at Elite 11.
Craig had arrived first and was unpacking when David walked in. Sitting on his bed was Bill Callaway, his former high school teammate.
“Boys,” David said as he sauntered in.
David tossed his duffle bag onto the bed before giving them both a fist bump.
“Did you hear the news?” Bill asked.
“Yeah, they picked Coach Merritt to take Coach Clayton’s place,” David said.
“I hope that means that they’ll have open competition this fall,” Craig said.
Craig would be a junior this year but classified as a redshirt sophomore. He’d been injured in the second game of last season and sat out the rest of the year. David was sure that Craig and Bill had rehabbed together.
David looked around the room and shuddered inside. It looked like a prison cell, with a closet, twin XL-sized bed, and desk on each side of the room. Craig had better be the best roommate ever, or David would kill him before the end of fall practice. He hadn’t had to sleep in the same room with another guy since he was like four or five.
He debated whether it would be possible to slip out and spend the night at his townhouse, which was only five blocks away. He was sure Craig would prefer a single.
“We have a pre-fall-practice team meeting in fifteen. Get changed, and we’ll walk over,” Bill said.
David rooted through his duffle bag and found a pair of USC shorts and a t-shirt he’d borrowed from the school and put them on so they could go to the team meeting room.
◊◊◊
David had sent a message to all the players who had worked out with him over the summer. He told them to meet him out front. When he came out the front door, thirty-five guys were waiting for the three of them. They were primarily backups and the freshmen.
Craig gave him a curious look, but David just smiled at his workout buddies. Like he’d done in high school, David was building the core to the football team’s future.
“Good to see you all. We’ll catch up after the meeting,” David promised.
“Line up on Dawson!” Bear called out.
David appreciated having a giant take charge. No one would ever question him. David began to walk to the John McKay Center as his teammates fell into line, two-by-two.
As they approached the entrance, Coach Merritt was greeting players as they entered the building. He had an amused look when he saw David leading in his group of men.
“These are the ones you practiced with this summer?” Coach Merritt asked as he shook David’s hand.
“Yes, sir,” David said. “First of all, congratulations on your new position. Each and every one of us will do whatever you ask. With that said, I’ll let them introduce themselves.”
It wasn’t that Coach Merritt didn’t know each player, but it was a chance to make a first impression for fall ball as their new head coach.
They all filed in and sat down in the middle of the team auditorium. It left room for the starters to sit down front, but David was putting everyone on notice that his guys were a united group. The message he hoped to convey was that USC’s football team should all come together.
Once everyone was seated, Coach Merritt went to the front of the room.
“Welcome back. I hope you had some quality time off with your friends and family.”
He went to the podium and looked out over the 104 men participating in fall practice. David didn’t know it yet, but their starting placekicker was missing.
“Our new athletic director wanted to come in and say a few words before I talk to you and explain our practice schedule,” Coach Merritt said. “I would like to introduce Drew Langford, who joins us after guiding Baylor on their turnaround.”
Drew looked like a businessman who had dressed down for his audience. He was wearing khaki pants and a USC pullover with the Nike logo on the left upper chest, but the dead giveaway was the $500 shoes.
Drew shook their coach’s hand and took the podium, where he began talking.
“People ask me, ‘How do you become successful?’ I can sum it up in one word: focus.
“As you go through every day’s tasks, be it a workout in the weight room, a conditioning run, practice, in the classroom—focus on what you are doing that day. Don’t cheat yourself out of a rep, a play, a practice, a learning opportunity. Because you’re going to get tired, you’re going to get sore, you’re going to get bored. But what I can tell you about us is we’re tough.