Smith Is Expected to Get USC Football Job : School Said to Be Set on Arizona Coach, With Weekend Announcement Possible

Barring any last-second change of heart by the USC administration, Arizona Coach Larry Smith will become USC’s next football coach, it was learned Wednesday night.

Smith, getting prominent mention for the job the last few weeks, has said if a decision wasn’t reached by this weekend, he would stay at Arizona. But according to Arizona sources, a decision has been made, and, presumably, a press conference announcing his hiring will be held this weekend.

Smith was the apparent front-runner for the job until Iowa Coach Hayden Fry recently came into the picture.

Fry has indicated in the last few days that he is interested in the USC job, even though he has a long-term contract at Iowa. He said he liked the possibility at USC of being able to win a national championship.

It has been speculated that USC didn’t believe it could offer Fry an attractive enough contract package to come to the school. But that apparently wasn’t a stumbling block.

Nevertheless, Smith had reportedly been high on USC Athletic Director Mike McGee’s candidate list for some time. His stock apparently improved when Paul Hackett, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive passing coordinator and a former USC assistant coach, withdrew as a candidate Monday.

Smith has already visited with USC President James H. Zumberge on two occasions and as recently as last Monday. Smith’s wife, Cheryl, was with him on one of the visits.

It is believed that Fry has not had an opportunity to meet with Zumberge.

McGee was unavailable for comment on the latest development.

Cedric Dempsey, Arizona’s athletic director, said Tuesday night that he wasn’t certain whether Smith would take the USC job. But he added that he had a contingency plan ready in case Smith did, meaning that Dempsey was prepared to ask permission of other athletic directors to interview their coaches.

If Smith is, indeed, the next USC football coach, he will become the first person with no past connection to the school to get the job since Howard Jones was hired in 1925.

McGee’s interviewing process began after the announcement of Ted Tollner’s firing was made Dec. 8. Tollner will coach the team today in the Florida Citrus Bowl game against Auburn.

Such coaching names as the University of Miami’s Jimmy Johnson, the Washington Redskins’ Joe Gibbs and Baylor’s Grant Teaff all surfaced earlier as candidates. Only Teaff was a serious candidate, though, and he withdrew, electing to stay at Baylor.

Smith, 47, reportedly has a contract package worth at least $200,000 at Arizona. He has a 47-28-3 record in his seven years at the school and has won seven or more games in each of the last four seasons.

Moreover, his teams have beaten rival Arizona State five straight times, inflicting the only loss this season on the Sun Devils, who will play Michigan today in the Rose Bowl.

Smith’s Wildcats finished their season Saturday with a 30-21 win over North Carolina in the Aloha Bowl. Arizona has a 9-3 record this year.

Smith formerly coached at Tulane and was an assistant at Arizona and at Michigan under Bo Schembechler.