Steve Sarkisian Fired by USC After Taking Leave of Absence
The USC Trojans football program moved on from head coach Steve Sarkisian a day after he was reportedly asked to take a leave of absence by athletic director Pat Haden.
Haden announced the decision in a release on the program’s website:
Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News noted on Sunday that Sarkisian is “expected to seek treatment” and that players noticed the coach was “not sober” at a special teams meeting Sunday morning. Wolf also reported “a USC source called me during practice to say Steve Sarkisian was not in ‘good shape’ this morning.”
Wolf reported “some USC assistant coaches believed Sarkisian was drunk during the Arizona State game on Sept. 26,” which the Trojans won. Assistants needed to pull Sarkisian out of a player huddle on the sideline that night because they “believed he was not sober,” per Wolf. “His eyes didn’t look right, he was too animated,” said a USC coach, according to Wolf.
While USC lost to Washington on Thursday night, 17-12, the leave of absence appeared to be about much more than any on-field struggles. Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com shared some details:
Joe Schad of ESPN added the coach “seemed ’emotional’ and ‘unusual’ at USC” on Sunday and passed along his “best thoughts for a return to health” for Sarkisian.
Wolf also reported Sarkisian drank and “passed out” on a flight after playing Washington State in 2014. Another report from Wolf stated a player on the 2014 team says Sarkisian drank a bottle of tequila after a game against Notre Dame.
Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart tweeted his support of Sarkisian on Monday morning:
Sarkisian’s struggles go back to his time as head coach at Washington, with Nathan Fenno and Lindsay Thiry of the Los Angeles Times providing insight into Sarkisian’s time with the Huskies:
The head coach also issued an apology after the annual “Salute to Troy” banquet that was held before the season started when he was less than professional when given the chance to speak.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times said Sarkisian was “apparently intoxicated, slurring his words, uttering an expletive and acting so unsteady that he left the stage before his remarks were complete” during that banquet.
In addition to the apology, Sarkisian was scolded by Haden in the aftermath of the incident.
Plaschke added “this is not the first time Haden has been faced with something like this. Four years ago, then-USC basketball coach Kevin O’Neill was involved in an alcohol-related confrontation with an Arizona booster at the Pac-12 Conference tournament.”