Former USC Assistant Coach Levy Will Discuss Trojan Job With McGee

Dave Levy, the San Diego Chargers’ offensive line coach and a former USC assistant coach under John McKay, said Wednesday night that he plans to meet with Athletic Director Mike McGee concerning the Trojan coaching job.

“I have talked to Dr. McGee, and we are going to have a get-acquainted meeting just to discuss the situation,” Levy said. “There’s definitely an interest on my part, and hopefully it’s mutual.”

Levy, who was on McKay’s staff for 16 years, has been a candidate for the USC job in the past--before John Robinson was hired in 1976 and again when it seemed that Robinson was going to become the New England Patriots’ coach just before the Fiesta Bowl game in 1981.

Levy was an assistant athletic director at USC from 1975 through 1980 before joining the Chargers.

Sources close to USC believe that McGee will hire a so-called big-name coach, or one that has close ties with the school, such as a former assistant coach.

It was learned that Mike Garrett, a former USC Heisman Trophy winner, is scheduled to meet with President James H. Zumberge to endorse Levy for the job. McKay has already suggested to McGee that the school should hire Levy.

Other names that have surfaced for the position in the last few days include Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs; Arizona Coach Larry Smith; Louisville Coach Howard Schnellenberger; Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney; Baylor Coach Grant Teaff; Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson; Dick Vermeil, former UCLA and Philadelphia Eagles’ coach, and Paul Hackett, offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and a former USC assistant coach.