When Athletic Director Pat Haden handed Lane Kiffin his pink slip last week, the easiest part of the task was complete. After Arizona State hung 62 points on the Trojans, it was time for Kiffin to go. He ended his tenure with seven losses in his final 11 games. In 2012, his program was the first since 1964 to go from preseason number 1 in the polls to unranked. The two-year post-season ban and 30 scholarship penalties had taken their toll. The bad news is in the forefront at USC, but soon enough the college football off-season will be upon us and they boast one of the most attractive positions in all the NCAA. Not only are they one of the top five coaching gigs in the country, but the next head coach will take over at the perfect time. After all, you dont want to be the guy after the guy. Lane Kiffin followed Pete Carroll, a daunting task even for the best of coaches. In seven straight seasons, Carrolls USC team finished in the top four of the polls. The next bench boss to roam the sidelines of the Coliseum will have a much easier task bettering the Kiffins results. With that in mind, the following are five options USC should consider. It includes four that will most certainly be called and one that is a dark horse that would be a great option, but may not even receive a phone call. The favourite: Jack Del Rio. The former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and current offensive coordinator may have what it takes to turn the program around in Southern California. He was a former All-American linebacker at the school and boasts the perfect blend of NFL and NCAA connections. There is also speculation he really wants the job. The contenders: Steve Sarkisian. The head coach behind a re-tooled Washington program that is now competitive in the ultra-tough Pac-12. He was an assistant at USC under Carroll and took over as offensive coordinator when Kiffin left for the Oakland Raiders head coaching gig. Two things are working against Sarkisian - his connections to the university may be too recent for Haden if hes looking for a fresh face to lead the program - and he seemingly loves his job in Washington. The new facilities there and the Huskies recent success would be tough to turn back on. Mike Riley - The 60-year-old mastermind at Oregon State has been linked to big school jobs in the past and will certainly get consideration by USC. The Beavers are an up-tempo exciting football program which is essentially the exact opposite of the 2013 Trojans. Riley is known as one of the best pure coaches in the NCAA. One downside is leading a program is much more than just teaching. Riley is not the strongest recruiter on the list, but given the advantages of being at USC, hed be able to get enough great athletes to return the program to prominence. Tom Herman - The offensive coordinator at Ohio State, Herman will be a head coach somewhere next year. He would have been a prime candidate this year if not for a two-year commitment he made to Urban Meyer. An offensive wizard might be exactly what Haden is looking for. Watch for Herman to gain steam as a trendy option if the Buckeyes are able to keep their undefeated season going. A national championship in Columbus may boost Herman to the top of this, and any other head coaching list. The dark horse: Kliff Kingsbury is doing a great job at Texas Tech. The problem is he may be too much like Kiffin for Hadens liking. The 34-year-old is smart, successful and a smash hit with the young players hes chasing on the recruiting trails. Wearing his RayBan sunglasses as he roams the sidelines, Kingsbury is the new Kiffin. He may not be as established as some of the other names on USCs radar, but if they could look past some obvious similarities to Kiffin, they may have their new coach for years to come. In naming Ed Orgeron the interim coach for the remainder of the season, USC ensured well be able to debate who should be the new coach for the coming months. Jeff Fisher of the St. Louis Rams, Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern and Chris Petersen of Boise State will also garner consideration. If Haden is smart, hell take a long hard look at all of these names when making a decision that will shape the program for years to come. Cristiano Ronaldo Jersey . She was 30. The former British No. 1 died peacefully surrounded by family and friends, the Womens Tennis Association said on its website. The Kyiv-born Baltacha, who represented Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, was diagnosed with the illness in January, two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her long-time coach Nino Severino. Stefano Sturaro Jersey . -- Louisville backup quarterback Reggie Bonnafon ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and the No. tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. Giorgio Chiellini Jersey . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight. Mario Mandzukic Jersey .Y. - Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby captured his second career Art Ross trophy on Sunday after leading the NHL in scoring this season.On Wednesday night, the man who put the Toronto Raptors on the map returns to the Air Canada Centre for what could be the final time. Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. Carter is also no longer the petulant man-child who fans feel gave up on his team and his city and forced a move away from the franchise that he legitimized. At almost 37, Vince Carter is an NBA veteran, perhaps not grizzled, but a far cry from the two sides of the one man that Toronto Raptors fans remember with both fondness and disdain. In Torontos case, the latter greatly outweighs the former. Carter first returned to Toronto after his acrimonious exit as a member of the then-New Jersey Nets in April, 2005. To say that the reception he received was unwelcome would be kind. Few things stir up anger in sports fans like being jilted by a player they once idolized. The torrent of abuse directed Carters way didnt seem to faze him as he ended up dropping 39 on his former mates in a Nets win. When Carters Dallas Mavericks take on the Raptors on Wednesday night, Carter is likely to once again be met by vociferous boos as he always has been since the first time he came back to the ACC as a member of the enemy, but, of course, with each subsequent visit, the jeers have gotten quieter. The anger that once consumed Raptors fans just isnt there anymore for the most part. When Vince Carter is booed again tonight, it will be more out of habit than anything else. Much like the case with his cousin, the now-retired Tracy McGrady, the booing is just what you do. All of this, then, begs the question: Should time heal all wounds? In what might be the last time Toronto Raptors fans see Vince Carter at the Air Canada Centre, is it time for Raptors fans to let the good outweigh the bad and welcome the prodigal son back into the fold? Lets not kid ourselves. The break-up was bad and Carter had more than a big hand in it. On the morning of the biggest game in franchise history - Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Philadelphia 76ers - Carter decided to fly to Raleigh to collect his degree from the University of North Carolina. Its anybodys guess as to why he chose to go then and not in the summer, but unrelatedly or not, Carter missed the game-winning shot that evening with only two seconds left on the clock. And then there was the meddling with the front office. Obviously, most franchises try to jibe with their best players wishes, but many felt Carter overstepped his bounds. The impetus to bring in a broken-down Hakeem Olajuwon and offer him a pricey extension appeared to come from Carter. It was a spectacular failure. Carter was constantly in managements ear and attemptingg to mold the club in ways that he wanted.dddddddddddd Outside of a brief stint in the Orlando Magic front office as vice-president, Julius Erving had no managerial experience, yet this was the man who Carter championed to almost the point of insistence for the Raptors general manager job in 2004. When the team went with Rob Babcock, Carter took this as an affront. When the situation became untenable that season, Babcocks hands were tied to the point that all he could fetch from the Nets in exchange for Carter were bench pieces Eric Williams and Aaron Williams, a past-his-prime Alonzo Mourning - who never played a game for the team and was almost immediately released, but not before receiving a $9 million buyout package – and a pair of first-round draft picks. The cruelest blow, though, came the month after he was traded when he sat down with legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson, then working as an analyst for TNT, and told him that he had begun to coast in his last years in Toronto. "I was just fortunate enough to have the talent," Carter said. "You know, you get spoiled when youre able to do a lot of things and you see that, and you really dont have to work at it. But now, I think with all the injuries and the things that have gone on, I have to work a little harder and Im a little hungrier. Thats why getting the opportunity to have a fresh start with New Jersey has made me want to attack the basket for a lot of reasons." To hear your franchise player admit to dogging it is beyond the pale and probably reason enough alone for the idea of some sort of reconciliation to be out of the question. Recently, though, Carter has claimed that he never wanted to leave the Raptors and told as much to Babcock, but was informed that a deal had already been agreed upon with the Nets. Former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell corroborated Carters account, but considering this information became public almost 10 years after the fact, it came across as little more than damage control for what is seemingly an irreparable image in this city. Still, as the spectre of Carters exit still casts a shadow over what he did as a Raptor, is it time that the two arent mutually exclusive? It was Carter who led the team to its first ever playoff spot. It was Carter who led the team to its first ever series win. It was Carter who got the Raptors onto national American television broadcasts and into the larger basketball consciousness as something other than just that team that plays in Canada. To say nothing of the fact that Carter remains the franchise leader in points per game and second in total points. Is it time Raptors fans let Carters legacy outshine the acrimony of his exit? Or is the exit his legacy with the Toronto Raptors? As always, its Your! Call. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Mets Jerseys Cheap Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Brewers Jerseys Cheap Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Padres Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys ' ' '