Branding a team with its staff...

I have been following the off season for college football very closely. One of the things that has stood out to me is the coaching carousel. I'm always interested to see where a coach lands and to see what AD is going to want a certain type of coach. The biggest and best example of this is with USC. I loved Pete Carroll. He was great, he was a big brother in a dad's body that happened to be the football coach at one of the hottest programs in the country. I have always thought of USC as the pinnacle of college football.

When Pete built the program he did a great job of branding the program and what it stood for. His whole thought process was to make USC a factory for kids to come in and enjoy their time until they made it to the NFL. And that's exactly what he did! He had an upbeat attitude, he wasn't a Zen master like Phil Jackson but he was and is a motivational guy. He had his brand down. Prestige, fun, warm, athletic, intense, personal responsibility, biggest show in town, confident and revered.

When he decided to take the Seahawks job I was taken back a bit but understood why he would want to go. He went 8-4 last season, accomplished everything that he could while there including a style of coaching that has been disseminated throughout the rest of the Pac-10. I was left wondering who they would get to fill the role of the head coach and what type of brand would that coach project onto the team? I was worried that they might pull some other well known coach from the East Coast or maybe find another NFL guy but what they did was exactly what the doctor ordered. All of the above!

When Lank Kiffin was hired I was ecstatic, he literally brought with him that same time of attitude (albeit a bit more cocky but hey, age brings wisdom and he's just a young buck) and fire that Pete Carroll has. It doesn't hurt that Kiffin was brought up under Carroll's arm and grew in the ranks of Carroll's staff. Offensive coordinator, co-play caller then off to bigger things like oh... you know coaching the Raiders in the NFL, then when Al Davis ran him off like every other coach he went to Tennessee and started building USC East. How fitting is it that he came back to the place that made him what he is.

Kiffin I'm sure will have a little different attitude, maybe do some things differently but in the end the USC brand is still the same. They have the up beat, confident coach that they need. Think about it, it fits SoCal... who wouldn't want to be there? (I still for the life of me cannot figure out why San Diego State is terrible... who wouldn't want to live there?... honestly? Think about it, you can play in South Bend Indiana or San Diego? NO Brainer!) Kiffin will keep bringing in stars and making them play for a starting position and keep the competition level at a ridiculous high.

The attitude of the coach and his values can and are portrayed through the team. There is a feeling about the team that starts with the head coach. They don't know what it is called or how to explain it but it's a brand. They create a brand that becomes the face of the program. Each kid that comes in adopts the attitude and learns about it everyday in practice. There are the tough nosed coaches who demand perfection, the kids hate 'em but play with the precision, everything is tidy and no one says much... there is just a feeling of a military type program. Then you have the laid back type of coaches... kids love to play for them, they are fun to be around and are the older brother. The program is fun and it becomes a place that buddies get together. Both have their pros and cons but in the end it's the coach who determines that. Lane Kiffin is a perfect extension of the brand that USC has established. Now the question of the success on the field will need to be answered... that is yet to be determined.