After sitting out college football's head coaching carousel while in rehab for alcoholism, Steve Sarkisian seems ready to get back to work.
Citing unnamed sources, ESPN's Adam Schefter learned Sarkisian is interested in joining an NFL coaching staff as quarterback coach or as an offensive coordinator. USC athletic director Pat Haden fired Sarkisian in Oct. just one day after placing him on a leave of absence, indicating it was in the coach's best interest.
Sarkisian since filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the University of Southern California, The Los Angeles Times reported at the time. Sarkisian's complaint alleges the school did not help him address his drinking problem, which he pointed out is a disability, and fired him when he most needed support.
Sarkisian's lawsuit also claimed the coach's stay at rehab was successful and that he would have been able to return to his job next season.
If Schefter's report is true, there could plenty of teams and head coaches currently assembling their staffs with a need for an assistant like Sarkisian. He served as the Oakland Raiders' quarterback coach under Norv Turner in 2004 and was an assistant on Pete Carroll's staff at USC from 2001 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2008. He then took over Washington as the head coach from 2009 to 2013 before spending the next two seasons at USC.
Teams willing to entertain hiring Sarkisian would also have to consider reports, compiled here by Deadspin, that his alcoholism allegedly stretches back to his tenure at Washington.
