Carroll Begins to Rebuild Staff

Within hours of Norm Chow’s introduction as the offensive coordinator of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans on Wednesday, USC took the first -- if slightly uncertain -- steps toward replacing the top assistant.

Lane Kiffin, the current receivers coach and passing game coordinator, will assume an expanded role, Coach Pete Carroll said.

The team also announced that former assistant Steve Sarkisian had been hired from the Oakland Raiders as quarterbacks coach and, as Carroll put it, a “high-level contributor” to the offense.

Whether Kiffin or Sarkisian will ultimately be appointed offensive coordinator, or share the title, remained to be determined.

“Just give me another day to arrange it all,” Carroll said.

So who will call the plays?

Kiffin will be in the press box, where most coordinators sit. Sarkisian will walk the sideline, though Carroll made a point of saying that the assistant is comfortable calling plays from that vantage point.

Carroll, who doubles as defensive coordinator, also vowed to call “as many offensive plays as I need to.”

The situation could be clarified in meetings beginning today. “When [Sarkisian] gets here, we’re going to sit down with [Carroll],” Kiffin said.

Six staff members have left for other jobs in the month since USC defeated Oklahoma, 55-19, to win the Orange Bowl and its second consecutive national championship.

Among several spots still open, the offensive line position could be filled as soon as today, Carroll said.

On Wednesday, USC interviewed Pat Ruel, offensive line coach for the New York Giants last season and a former college assistant at Miami, Arkansas, Washington State and Texas A&M.; Carroll said he is close to making an announcement.

In the meantime, Chow spoke to reporters Wednesday after officially joining the Titans. The team will pay him $1 million annually plus incentives, or about twice what he earned at USC.

He talked about his initial trepidation at switching to the NFL, fears that were eased after he watched film and realized “it made sense to me ... it’s a ballgame.” Still, it is a game that differs from college in ways ranging from the sophistication of defense to the width of the hash marks.

“That’s the exciting part of getting an opportunity like this,” he said. “It’s to try to learn, improve, grow.”

He reiterated that he had not been driven away from USC by a rift with Carroll.

“All of that is exaggerated,” he said. “I owe a lot to Pete Carroll. He knows that. He knows how I feel; I know how he feels.”

Chow ranks among the most respected offensive minds in the college game and has nurtured three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, two at USC.

Only a few weeks ago, quarterback Matt Leinart decided to stay in school and forgo an early entry into the NFL. On Wednesday, the junior said he had been “looking forward to [Chow’s] being here for my senior year.” He added, however, “Life goes on. We’ll be fine.”

Even if Leinart were to change his mind about staying at USC, the NFL said that its rules would prevent him from being chosen in a supplemental draft this year.

Chow didn’t foresee problems.

“We spoke the other day, spending time out on the patio just visiting,” Chow said. “He understands. He knows.”

If nothing else, the loss of Chow and his considerable salary frees up money for USC to fill the gaps on its staff.

But while Carroll goes about rebuilding, most of the attention will be focused on the men who would replace Chow.

Kiffin, 29, has been at USC for four seasons, working his way up the coaching ladder. He is the son of Monte Kiffin, a longtime mentor to Carroll and the man who gave Carroll his first coordinator’s job at North Carolina State in 1980.

“Being under Coach Chow the last four years has been great experience,” Lane Kiffin said. “This is something I’ve been preparing for.”

Having led the effort to attract out-of-state high school players such as Mike Williams and LenDale White in recent years, Kiffin has also been appointed recruiting coordinator, a role previously held by departed defensive line coach Ed Orgeron.

Sarkisian played quarterback for Chow at Brigham Young in the mid-1990s. He spent 2001 to 2003 as a USC assistant before leaving for Oakland.

His return could help soften the blow for Leinart if only because he was the quarterbacks coach during Leinart’s freshman and sophomore seasons.

“Coming back to Sark is like coming back to home base, at least for Matt,” Carroll said. “He grew up here with Sark.”

And, for all the changes in his staff, Carroll predicted that fans might not see much difference in next season’s team.

“System, structure, philosophy -- everything will be the same,” he said.

His players, though disappointed at some of the departures, tended to agree.

“You can’t change the talent we have,” tailback White said. “You can’t change that we still have all these guys coming back.”