Morris | On USC's next coach, image isn't everything

Trying to hire the 'big-name' coach has hurt USC in the past, but Eric Hyman’scurrent search is valuing substance over style

IF YOU WANT a sure indicator of how different the South Carolina athletics department operates under Eric Hyman, look no further than the search for a men’s basketball coach.

You can sum up Hyman’s approach to hiring a coach this way: out with the old and in with the new. That’s because of differing management styles by Hyman and Mike McGee, who preceded Hyman as USC’s athletics director. In turn, that means different approaches to hiring coaches.

Hyman’s business style is to manage with a bottom-up mentality. McGee was a top-down manager.

Athletics department employees have been pleasantly surprised at how much input Hyman seeks on just about every decision made by the athletics department. Change the seating for students at the Colonial Center? Hyman called on his assistants, students and Colonial Center employees for input.

The hiring of a basketball coach to replace Dave Odom, who will retire at the end of this season, is no exception. Hyman has included a member of the basketball team to help in the search. He also is seeking input from members of his staff as well as former coaches and outside consultants.

Hyman’s belief is that a coaching search is 80 percent research and 20 percent interview. Before he talks to any candidate, which likely will not occur until after USC’s season concludes, Hyman wants to be well versed. He wants to know a coach’s family background as much as his preferred style of basketball.

Hyman also has given every indication that the next coach will be an up-and-comer, likely from a mid-major program. Hyman wants a long-term fix to USC’s basketball misfortunes, and that means hiring someone who can take his time to build a program brick by brick.

USC has seen its share of quick fixes — OK, retreads — and very few have worked over the years. That generally was the modus operandi of the world of USC athletics when McGee ruled, and I do mean ruled.

McGee’s idea of seeking input on a decision was to get a “yes sir” response after telling underlings that he knew what was best for his athletics department. More often than not, a coach’s hiring had little to do with who best fit at USC. Rather, it had to do with McGee being able to boast he could bring in the biggest names in the business.

If you judge him by that criteria alone, McGee was wildly successful. The hires of Lou Holtz, Dave Odom and Steve Spurrier brought more attention to USC athletics than perhaps at any other time in the school’s history.

Unfortunately, Holtz fizzled after a fast start. His act wore thin quickly and he left the football program in shambles and facing NCAA probation. Odom achieved moderate success but never could elevate the men’s basketball program to the point of consistently competing in the SEC.

The jury is still out on Spurrier, although I would argue that he was not McGee’s hire. Spurrier hand-picked USC, and it would not have mattered who was athletics director at the time. Also, it appears that Spurrier is building a program that can sustain long-term success.

To better understand how coaching searches worked under McGee, it is worth examining those he sought following the departure of Eddie Fogler as USC’s basketball coach in 2001. In order, McGee at least made inquiries about hiring Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, Bob Knight, Kelvin Sampson, Quin Snyder and Jim Calhoun.

Only Snyder among the group was a relative newcomer to the coaching ranks. The others were well on their way to establishing Hall of Fame coaching credentials. Smith used his talks with McGee to leverage a better contract with Kentucky. Calhoun was a convenient interview since USC was playing an NIT game at Connecticut where he coached.

Thankfully, Hyman is taking a different approach. He is much more interested in hiring a coach who can return USC basketball to the glory days of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hyman’s ego will be soothed and his legacy established by making a solid hire who brings championship basketball to USC, not for his ability to hire a name that gets recognition nationally.

If McGee were still running the USC show, you can bet that Knight, Calhoun, Eddie Sutton and, heck, maybe even John Wooden would be a candidate for the job. Instead, we are talking about the likes of Anthony Grant, Scott Drew and Sean Miller as possible hires.

How refreshing.