OT - Lynn Swann to be named AD at USC

Submitted by Rickett88 on

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Seeing what we just went through here at Michigan, I look at this hire as ... unique. Seems like a university like USC would be able to have someone that has done the job before and worked their way up through smaller schools, ala Warde Manuel. 

Am I missing something in his history that would make him qualified, or is this as interesting to you as it is to me?

Truthbtold

April 13th, 2016 at 6:11 PM ^

NFL HOF Alums to be AD's to help get great recruits, others hire a recruits stepdad or h.s. coach to take newly created assistant to the assistant jobs. Guess which one UM is ? Another words, if their is a joke here, it's with the way things are done at UM, not USC. UM is number 1 in head coach and AD firings over the past 6 years. One would think UM fans would keep their mouths shut on this subject...cause they sure as hell should.

SAMgO

April 13th, 2016 at 1:43 PM ^

Nothing like the good ol' bad coach bad AD combo that we know and love all too well. Murky days ahead for the Trojans.

Chip Kelly in 3-4 years is their only hope.

PM

April 13th, 2016 at 8:09 PM ^

Socal for many years and a former UCLA season ticket holder I can assure you that USC fans/grads would never root for UCLA. And even though I don't like USC at all I have to say their (rather obnoxious) fans actually care more than other Pac12 schools. Think about it, they're the only traditional power out there - at least they used to be. In sum, get a clue. 

In the meantime, I am rather enjoying their ongoing run of crappy hires.  

MGoFoam

April 13th, 2016 at 1:45 PM ^

Aside from our recent experience, seeing what USC went through with their last two ADs, it seems like they might have tried something different.

julesh

April 13th, 2016 at 1:50 PM ^

So other than being a football player, what has he done in his career? The fact that they don't even mention anything after his pro career was over seems suspicious.

LSAClassOf2000

April 13th, 2016 at 1:58 PM ^

Let's not be too harsh in our assessment of Swann's qualifications here. I mean, being the chair of the President's Council On Physical Fitness And Sports is a bonus, right? I mean, you are ostensibly charged with mentoring a lot of kids in ways of self-improvement through forms of exercise, right? It's the same thing, right? There's plenty of basis on which to judge Swann's ability to run a major athletic department based on that and two failed political campaigns.

*calms down*

Yeah, this is a hilarious hire and maybe not in a good way. Very USC to announce it on the same day as another major event in the Los Angeles area too - Kobe's last game.

 

 

1974

April 13th, 2016 at 2:05 PM ^

Without knowing much about Swann's background (other than his years as a useless sideline reporter, which involves some redundancy because they're all useless to some significant degree), this seems roughly like Michigan hiring Jon Jansen to be their AD. No slight to Jansen intended! He's a bright guy, a "Michigan Man," and seems to be good at what he currently does. He just doesn't have a career path that immediately suggests "AD."

rjc

April 13th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

Pretty good analogy in terms of quailifications though Jansen has always struck me as a bright, thoughtful guy.  Lynn Swann, not so much.  He's been on my TV screen for most of my life and I can't think of one insightful or relevant contribution to a broadcast. 

He's not a Hall of Fame player (IMO) and thought his comments about Calvin Johnson's HOF worthiness were ridiculous.  Good luck SC!

Gentleman Squirrels

April 13th, 2016 at 2:14 PM ^

He could do a good job. I mean, Hackett was never an athletic director and he seemed to do fine. It's all about making smart decisions and listening to the students and your advisors around you.