BREAKING NEWS: O'Neill Fires Assistants Arnold and Johnson
by Joey Kaufman on Mar 8, 2010 6:24 PM PST
in USC Basketball
24 comments
As ParagonSC speculated last week, Kevin O'Neill has in fact decided to fire two holdovers from Tim Floyd's coaching staff, Gib Arnold and Phil Johnson, just two days after the Trojans finished their 2009-2010 season on the road in Tucson. From CBSSports.com:
Southern California coach Kevin O'Neill has decided against retaining assistants Gib Arnold and Phil Johnson, leaving Bob Cantu as the only recruiting assistant from Tim Floyd's staff who is still at the school, a west coast source told CBSSports.com on Monday.
An official announcement is expected later this week.
It's unclear how O'Neill will fill the openings, though it's possible Tony Miller could be promoted into one of them. Miller played for O'Neill at Marquette in the 1990s. He is currently USC's strength and conditioning manager.
The Trojans finished 14-16 in O'Neill's first season.
Arnold and Johnson both spent five years at Southern California.
I don't think anybody out there is surprised by this at all. O'Neill said that he would evaluate the staff upon the completion of the season, and it was incredibly unlikely that he was going to keep all of Floyd's guys on staff. Some people were going to have to go.
Cantu is important for recruiting purposes, as he has a good relationship with a lot of the area's high school coaches. O'Neill isn't a west coast guy, and if the Trojans are going to be able to recruit effectively in Los Angeles from here on out, they had no choice but to keep him on staff.
Before he is sent packing or decides to leave on his own terms, O'Neill is going to do his best to leave his stamp on this program, and that first starts with bringing in his own guys to join him on the bench.
We'll keep you updated on this, as it progresses into the night.
Well, it looks as if O'Neill got rid of these guys based on their relationship with Floyd, not necessarily their coaching abilities.
"This is a decision I wrestled with for a while. It had nothing to do with their coaching ability or performance, or with any issues related to the current status of the Trojan program. It simply has to do with the vision I have for how I want to structure this program. I want to move in a different direction."
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Is it merely because it's Floyd's guys that they were axed?
Or simply because they sucked bolas at their job?
Well if they had anything to do with the offense then we know why
LA Sports is what keep me off the streets and out of trouble, thanks to all the teams Rams, Dodgers, Lakers, USC sports and the Love of Tennis.
by so.cal.native1952 on Mar 8, 2010 6:39 PM PST reply actions
Don't say I didn't warn you...
Psycho Killer Qu’est-ce que c’est?
STILL LOCO AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
NOW CELEBRATING THE DAWN OF THE AGE OF AUGUSTUS
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT
Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better... Run run run run run run run away!!!!!
STILL LOCO AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
NOW CELEBRATING THE DAWN OF THE AGE OF AUGUSTUS
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT
Johnson and Arnold were loyal to Floyd...
their testimony at the hearings showed that.
Not sure the AD was happy about that and it may have sealed their fate.
"Mention USC to a Bruin and they get angry; mention UCLA to a Trojan and they laugh."
That’s hearsay Para, and who the hell cares what MG thinks? Phil Johnson would be likely to cover for xCTF and may know more about the game than KO, so I can see why he would fire him; but whytf fire Gib Arnold? He was our best recruiter for chrissakes.
STILL LOCO AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
NOW CELEBRATING THE DAWN OF THE AGE OF AUGUSTUS
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT
Agree Para
bet the admin weighed in on this firing too, heavily in favor. Arnold and Johnson are very good and should be coveted in the marketplace.
Was it Cantu or Arnold who testified
I thought Cantu was at the hearings and Arnold wasn’t. I could be wrong though.
You know, I think you're right
Cantu is the recruiter, so I do believe it was Cantu and Johnson at the hearings. Kind of puts a damper on the AD called this firing hypothesis.
That may be right...
regardless, Arnold and Johnson are both Floyd allies so you knew they were on borrowed time
"Mention USC to a Bruin and they get angry; mention UCLA to a Trojan and they laugh."
Well I knew he would make some changes it is just human nature.
LA Sports is what keep me off the streets and out of trouble, thanks to all the teams Rams, Dodgers, Lakers, USC sports and the Love of Tennis.
by so.cal.native1952 on Mar 9, 2010 11:04 AM PST reply actions
How often does a head coach in any sport take over a program and not bring some of his own guys?
O’Neil has passed the audition and is really the coach of the team now, not a caretaker. Sure people can fantasize about high-profile coaches but the instability of changing head coaches usually hurts a program. Doing so now would be a massive mistake for USC and I just can’t see it happening.
Los Angeles is like Manchester. There is a red team that wins championships and a blue team that doesn't.
The only reason why Cantu was kept
Was because of his recruiting abilities and the fact he wasn’t hired by Floyd. He was hired by Henry Bibby and has stayed on ever since. Cantu is very loyal to the USC program, not the coach, and will leave only for a head coaching job or being fired. Glad they kept him, he has great recruiting abilities.
by eaglezuke on Mar 9, 2010 5:14 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Good Lord!
“This is a decision I wrestled with for a while. It had nothing to do with their coaching ability or performance, or with any issues related to the current status of the Trojan program. It simply has to do with the vision I have for how I want to structure this program. I want to move in a different direction.”
Here’s a little suggestion for a different direction KO: How about practicing a little offense? It sure didn’t take long for the Pac-10 to figure you out. Were Phil and Gib offering a little too much constructive criticism? Maybe you knew they were going to leave you anyway. These two will come back to bite you in the ass. Oy!
STILL LOCO AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
NOW CELEBRATING THE DAWN OF THE AGE OF AUGUSTUS
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT
by M. AGRIPPA on Mar 9, 2010 11:45 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Thanks for the vote of confidence Para
While I can do nothing but hope KO will get it right, the end of season meltdown left a horribly sour taste. The Pac-10 was indeed horrible and we arguable had one of the best starting lineups in the conference. What happened?
I think we can agree it’s a bit early to start believing that KO is going to take us back to where we were just 12 months ago. If MG had grown a pair and trusted xCTF there’s no doubt in my mind that USC would have won the Pac-10 and it wouldn’t have made any difference vis a vis any potential sanctions. Next season we would have been on top again.
MG drove a stake through the heart of USC basketball. Sorry, but I just can’t get over it.
STILL LOCO AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
NOW CELEBRATING THE DAWN OF THE AGE OF AUGUSTUS
M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT
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