Tollner Future at USC: Going, Going . . . Gone?

It’s clear that USC will play Auburn Jan. 1 in the Florida Citrus Bowl, but Coach Ted Tollner’s status is still murky.

Is he a lame duck coach based on USC’s season-ending losses to UCLA and Notre Dame? Or, is a 7-4 record and a bowl bid a substantial enough achievement for him to keep his job?

It has been speculated that the final two years of Tollner’s contract would not be honored if he lost to both the Bruins and the Irish.

USC Athletic Director Mike McGee is playing his cards close to the vest, saying only that Tollner, like other USC coaches, will be evaluated at the end of the season.

That could be this week, or after USC’s bowl game with Auburn. Tollner said Sunday night that he has no scheduled meeting with McGee, although one could obviously be arranged on short notice.

Tollner did not want to speculate on his future, saying he doesn’t make such decisions. He has also said that no one in the administration has ever told him that he had to have a specific won-loss record to keep his job.

McGee was unreachable for comment Sunday night, but left a prepared statement through the university that read:

“I’m proud of the team’s effort and feel badly for our team’s heartbreaking (38-37) loss against Notre Dame. Our primary focus now is getting ready for the Florida Citrus Bowl.

“As I’ve said all along, we’ll be reviewing the football situation with the administration and Coach Tollner.”

Tollner and his staff will be recruiting now before the team begins practice in a few weeks for its bowl game.

Will Tollner be recruiting for another coach? It wouldn’t seem feasible for McGee, or James H. Zumberge, the USC president who makes all final decisions, to terminate Tollner before the Citrus Bowl game.

It might have a negative effect on the team’s morale. Also, USC’s coaches might not be as zealous in their recruiting efforts.

Then again, the university, by announcing that Tollner is staying, or leaving, could end all speculation as to his future, which is bound to continue, if the matter is still in limbo this month.

McGee has said any evaluation process would be based not just on a few games, but the entire season and presumably on Tollner’s overall, four-year record.

Tollner was 4-6-1 in 1983, his first season after succeeding John Robinson. The Trojans then rebounded to 9-3 and a Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State in 1984.

In 1985, when USC was widely picked to win the Pacific 10 championship, it had a disappointing 6-6 season. USC, with a young team, was picked by West Coast writers to finish fifth this past season in the conference race.

The Trojans wound up with a 5-3 Pac-10 record, tying Arizona and Stanford for fourth place behind Arizona State, 5-1-1, and UCLA and Washington, each at 5-2-1.

If Tollner is fired, he will not have left the cupboard bare. USC will have eight returning starters on offense in 1986, including quarterback Rodney Peete, tailbacks Ryan Knight and Aaron Emanuel and the entire wide receiving corp. Six starters will return on defense.

Since Tollner’s job is reportedly in jeopardy, speculation has already started on who will be the next USC coach.

The Miami News last week reported that Jimmy Johnson, coach of the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes, might be interested in the USC job if it’s available.

“In this business, you always have to have an open mind,” Johnson told the newspaper. “Those are the cold, hard facts.”

Asked Sunday about the USC situation by the Associated Press, Johnson said: “They’ve got a coach.”

He then added: “I’ve not been officially contacted by anyone about any job. In the past, I’ve always said I preferred to stay where I am.”

Last year, Johnson, 43, signed a new contract through the 1990 season. He has a 29-7 record in three seasons at Miami and was 30-25-2 in his five seasons at Oklahoma State.

Other names, such as former USC assistant coaches Davy Levy and Paul Hackett, are bound to surface as they have in the past when Robinson was reportedly ready to become the New England Patriots coach at the end of the 1981 season and in 1982 before Tollner was named coach.

TED TOLLNER’S RECORD AT USC

Year Record 1983 4-6-1 1984 9-3 1985 6-6 1986 7-4 Career 26-19-1

TOLLNER VS. UCLA

1983 UCLA, 27-17 1984 UCLA, 29-10 1985 USC, 17-13 1986 UCLA, 45-25

TOLLNER VS. NOTRE DAME

1983 Notre Dame, 27-6 1984 Notre Dame, 19-7 1985 Notre Dame, 37-3 1986 Notre Dame, 38-37