2032 - A New Era - A New Athletic DirectorThe USC Trojans had a change in leadership at the Athletic Director position in mid-season of 2032. It was the 3rd time in the history of the team. GreyGhost, after 5 Pac-West titles in 6 seasons, stepped down due to personal reasons. The Trojans' helm was taken over by former Army A.D., Bryno with 6 games remaining in the season. USC split the final 6 games of the season to finish 7-9 and sit-out the post-season for the first time in 8 seasons.
Bryno served as the A.D. in West Point for 13 seasons and had just two post-season berths during that tenure. The Black Knights were Wild Card entries in both of those seasons with one appearance in the National Championship game in 2018. Army lost the game 20-17 to Tennessee.
He returns after stepping down in the middle of the 2029 season and had a 114-105-1 record with Army.
Fight On visited briefly with Bryno at the conclusion of the 2032 season to get intell on his plans for his new venture at Southern Cal.
How does it feel to be back? -
It's great! I definitely enjoyed time away to get locked up in my home for the COVID ****. But in the process relocated my family to a new home/state and even though we've all been harnessed over the past few months I've been very busy getting settled down. And now? It's time! Time to get back to one of the things I've really enjoyed in the past. (MFN)What's it like to come back to different surroundings? -
Well it's no secret that these shoes are like putting on Andre the Giant's loafers! A wonderful history of success and tradition, right? Coming in after three phenomenal Athletic Directors is daunting! I'm not gonna lie. But I'm really excited! Ambitious!Do you have a theme or style that you plan to bring to the Trojans' game? -
Still trying to figure that out. But we did get a decent feel for the team in the 6 games we've had together. I really like the guys we have and the locker room seems to have handled the transition pretty well. I would imagine that my [coaching] style will differ from Ghost's just as Ghost's differed from Bryson. I think all of the AD's in the league certainly have their own 'brand'. Will it be the West Coast version of Army? I'd imagine it would be similar play to what you saw with the Knights. Hopefully we'll see more post-season action, here though!Are there any personnel changes coming? -
Well, at QB - I thought we'd give [Richard] Kearns a shot at finishing out the season for us. There were some positives that came from that but we can't say that the QB position is one that sets our hair on fire. So we have some decisions to make with that, for sure. We really have to sort through some of the contingencies regarding academics, you know, as any club does. But we'll be tinkering on both sides of the ball.
We've met with the Dean and met with four of our guys who were in a spot where they 'could' transfer - but after meeting with the players we have them signed to finish/graduate here at SC.Who? -
Our (C) Shawn Stidham will be with us through his Senior season. Guards Joe Cook and Garrett Bradbury will do the same. And we also talked with (SS) Olaijah Griffin and he'll also graduate a Trojan.Are their any more of these "conversations" that you will be having with players and the Dean? -
Just a few more. I can say that we will have some transfers, both in and out that will happen before training camp. But I don't have any names for you at this point.Have you begun recruiting, yet? -
We have! We've gone through the entire 'pool' of potential freshmen signees and we are working on our formulas for getting some really good, new fresh talent in here.Can you tell us what areas you're looking to "freshen"? -
I'm not going to tip my hand on that.Offense or Defense? -
[laughs] Good try. You'll see soon enough!Thanks, coach! FIGHT ON! -
FIGHT ON!
