deja vu.

If Mark Schlabach's preview is any indication, a bunch of opiners and analysts will be looking at USC in most Top 5's for next year's college ball season. Makes sense, even if WRs Dwayne Jarrett (already declared) and Steve Smith are on their way out. Where the problem comes in is if all these rumors about Wayne Huizenga being stupid-dumb as well as stupid-rich pan out and he really is chasing after Pete Carroll, so much so as to possibly offer another college coach some really stupid amount of money, even after getting burned badly by the Nick Saban mess.

Carroll is at least handling this the right way, as opposed to Saban's bald-faced lying or Bobby Petrino's sneaking out of Louisville with not much in the way of comment:

"This was the one instance I've come in contact with that has all the elements I have talked about," Carroll said at a news conference on campus. "[Huizenga] has structured a program where the head coach has the entire say, from top to bottom. It's a one-voice program. I don't think there are any other situations like that in the NFL."

Carroll said he was not offered the Miami coaching job, and stressed that he has never thought about leaving USC since arriving after the 2000 season. "I'm thrilled to be here," he said. "As I've been the whole time, I haven't wavered. I know that being curious about it has helped me appreciate what we have here. I absolutely expect to be here."

This is better than flat-out denial; admit you are curious and intrigued, but you like what you do and what you have. Good on Carroll; bad on Huizenga, as he's clearly learned nothing from the last couple of years. The era of offering a coach complete control of an NFL program is over and done; Mike Shanahan is the last of that trend from the 90s, I believe. Most coaches don't have that kind of time to deal with signing players on top of the usual duties; get a personnel man who knows how to work with a coaching staff, and maybe, find your organization a coach he can work with.