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Kessler has experience guiding USC past distractions
On Tuesday morning, USC coach Steve Sarkisian apologized again for his behavior Saturday night at the Trojans Salute to Troy event. It was sad to see the 41-year-old address the media and answer questions, looking so beaten down. He talked about mixing meds and alcohol the other night. He also said he opened up to his team and "disclosed everything" to his players.
"He came to us as a man and looked us in the face and apologized," said quarterback Cody Kessler. The senior Heisman candidate mentioned that the head coach asked the USC team and its leadership committee what his punishment should be. They had him do "up-downs" Monday, and the coach came back "drenched," Kessler said.
"I think this brought us closer together," said Kessler.
Sarkisian was asked whether he thinks he has a problem, and he replied that he does not have a drinking problem but added that he is going to treatment: "I don't know if I even need rehab, but that's sort of the process."
What this all means for a coach who seems like he has bigger challenges than just on the football field is hard to say at this point. How exactly does a head football coach go through a treatment program on the eve of a season?
Beyond that, this is just the latest hurdle for the USC players to overcome. The upperclassmen have faced the constant reality of a roster reeling from a lack of depth due to NCAA scholarship reductions as well as the chaotic Lane Kiffin era and the awkward transition of 2013, which saw the team win 10 games despite playing for three different head coaches.
If there is a reason for optimism amid this latest jolt for the projected Pac-12 champs and their fans heading into 2015, it's this: No top 25 program has battled through more in the past few seasons than USC. And in Kessler, the Trojans have a rock-solid leader, who in 2013 -- despite being a young and still somewhat unproven quarterback -- became the glue of a locker room forced to navigate a roller-coaster ride from the Kiffin circus to interim Ed Orgeron and the highs of beating a top-five Stanford team to Orgeron's stormy exit and a bowl game win.
I know from having been around that 2013 team a lot that Kessler seemed to say and do all the right things every step of the way then, and I suspect he will do the same for this team and his teammates now.
