John Morton to replace Sarkisian?

With yesterday’s confirmation that Steve Sarkisian is the new head football coach for the University of Washington, it’s time to set sights on a replacement. To hear it from the horse’s mouth, Pete Carroll told the Los Angeles Daily news that receiver's coach John Morton is in line for the job, in an effort to maintain continuity. Before joining the Trojans' staff in 2007, Morton worked 8 years in the Oakland Raiders organization, and was an offensive assistant for the 2006 New Orleans Saints.

Former Trojan Brandon Hancock, now a local college football analyst for abc7 Los Angeles, threw the name Carl Smith on the table, representing another option. Smith was a member of the 2004 USC staff, before being hired as the offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005, and fired in January of 2007. He was replaced in Jacksonville by former Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter. Pete Carroll also gave reference to Smith, who has visited USC in the past two weeks, and attended the final home game against Notre Dame.

It may be Smith’s job to accept or decline, if the choice is experience over an in-house hire. But it’s still early, so it will be interesting to see other names that may appear on the list of likely candidates, as the end of the college and NFL seasons will send more bodies to the unemployment line.