The “Coach O” bandwagon is pretty crowded these days, and it’s not making for comfortable conversation. 

News of USC Athletic Director Pat Haden willing to spend upwards of $6 million on the Trojans’ next long-term head ball coach and Haden reaching out to Denver Broncos defensive coordinator and USC alum Jack Del Rio may unsettle some fans. The resurgence of the USC football program under interim head coach Ed Orgeron after the firing of Lane Kiffin has impressed and inspired players and fans alike, and any suggestion that Orgeron has no place in USC’s future seems non-sensical to some.

There are two options in every college coaching quandary: you can hire from within or you can hire from outside. Though after Kiffin’s firing, Haden reiterated that Orgeron would continue in an interim capacity while the athletic department does a full coaching search, it is becoming more and more likely with each coming week, and each coming win, that the Trojans are ready and willing to hire from within. 

A fellow writer at Neon Tommy wrote this week why Coach O would not return as USC head coach, citing a checkered coaching past at Ole Miss and his not being worth $6 million. His very suggestion that Orgeron may not return riled up the internet masses to feverish levels, which is intriguing, considering two to three weeks ago, Orgeron was not even considered by lax fans to be a viable solution at the helm.  

Still, there are good reasons why Orgeron will stay on, and they are generously compiled below. Be aware that these are not reasons why Coach O should stay, but why he could - or for the sake of definitiveness, will - stay. 

The Fans Love Him

This is the most basic and least viable reason why the brash Cajun will be held on. Though in professional sports, the average fan - and the fan’s wallet - rules all, college athletics, and USC athletics specifically, demands more varied loyalties. 

Most fans/students that I’ve come across in the past two weeks are 100% behind Coach O, mostly because he wins. Happily spoiled by the unfathomable success of the Pete Carroll regime and consistent excellence over the years, USC fans are rightfully used to a culture of winning, one that was fractured or otherwise missing during the last year and five games under Kiffin. 

By comparison, Orgeron is more likable, more transparent and happier, all the time - and oh yeah, he wins more. Though the sample size is small, most fans’ memories are even smaller, and last weekend’s momentous victory over Stanford still resonates vividly in their minds. When was the last time the USC student section was that loud and rowdy and was rewarded for being so with uninhibited access to the field after the game? Fans and students alike are in a honeymoon phase with Coach O…just as they were with Kiffin and the 2011 Trojans. 

Orgeron is on the fans’ good side, which means Haden and the USC athletic department are on the fans’ good side, which means less pressure on, and maybe a little more money for, the university. But for a decision this important in a program this large, the opinions of the fans may fall on deaf ears, or at least, ears guarded by noise-cancelling headphones.

The Players Love Him, and Want Him Back

“Family” is a word that’s been thrown around at USC practices and post-game pressers. QB Cody Kessler first mentioned it right after Orgeron’s first win against Arizona. But who’s to say that the Trojans are playing better and winning tough games primarily because they feel closer and more like a family with Papa Ed at the helm?

Regardless, there is no doubt that the players want him back. Just ask Twitter. 

DT Kenny Bigelow was set on starting a trending topic after Saturday’s win: 

#HireCoachO im getting this trending @FightOnTWOCKA

— Kenny Bigelow (@4_Fighton_0) November 17, 2013

His teammate on the D-line, Antwuan Woods, agreed:

Coach O for Head Coach, he got my vote a long time ago !

— The #1 Good Guy (@FightOnTWOCKA) November 17, 2013

#HireCoachO

— The #1 Good Guy (@FightOnTWOCKA) November 17, 2013

Was there ever any active and open support from players for Kiffin before or after the Washington State loss? 

Hopefully it’s not too many Double-Doubles and Roscoe’s platters going to their heads, but rather the glorious feeling of winning and brotherhood. The Trojans are fully behind their emotional, vocal and literal leader for the time being, and that will mean a lot going forward in the coaching process. It’ll be difficult to separate this team from their coach, which leads me to my next point…

Head Coach or Bust

There are only two options when it comes to Ed Orgeron: you keep him as head coach or you release him. There is no circumstance where Orgeron is demoted back to assistant head coach and defensive line coach. This move would be in no one’s interest, including Orgeron’s.

The CEO has been in the USC football program for eleven nonconsecutive years, separated by forays at Ole Miss, the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee. He has been a fixture on the coaching staff and in recruiting. Even during fall camp, it was evident that he was the loudest voice in the room, motivating players to work their hardest. Don’t be fooled by his Bayou demeanor; he’s as SoCal as it gets. 

But all of these examples support the notion that Orgeron would no longer be able to stay on in any capacity lower than head coach. He has come this far, rose through the ranks after more than a decade on the staff and achieved a noticeable level of success, albeit in a small sample size. There is no going back.

Demoting Orgeron in place of another outside head coach would be bedlam. How would players reconcile the fact that a paid stranger from, say, the SEC is replacing their beloved Coach O, subjecting him to his previous less-authoritative role? How would players reassess their loyalties? 

How would fans react? With Coach O still on staff, any hiccup from the new skipper would spur calls from Orange County for Orgeron’s seamless return. That puts Haden and USC’s PR department in an impossibly uncomfortable position.

So Orgeron can only stay as HC or go. By limiting Haden’s options and taking into account the players’ loyalty to Orgeron, this supports the case of Coach O to be held on. 

He’s Not Worth $6 Million

The rumored $6 million yearly salary that has been floating around the interwebs is certainly reserved for a major proven hire, like Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, Boise State’s Chris Peterson or Del Rio. Heck, Kiffin wasn’t even given $6 mil to coach at USC.

Though Orgeron’s current salary is not readily available, his salary as an assistant to Kiffin is. This Tennessee football blog found Orgeron’s salary at Tennessee to be $650,000 during his one year there.

A USA Today report from 2012 claimed that Monte Kiffin, USC’s assistant coach at the time, was being paid $1.5 million, the most for any assistant in the country. 

It’s fair to say that Orgeron’s salary, starting this year as an assistant coach, is somewhere in between these large figures. Increasing that number six fold, as the rumor suggests, seems a tad excessive, but increasing it three fold doesn’t seem too bad at all, at least in comparison to Kiffin’s $2.5 million salary. 

He May Just Be The Guy

Sometimes when you know, you know. That’s what my parents and other couples have told me. Of course, I don’t know what love is; I’m a college student. But a long marriage between Ed Orgeron, Pat Haden, the "Trojan Family" and USC fans everywhere is not far fetched, and may be a desirable outcome.

College coaches aren’t disposable commodities like they are in the NFL; they are community fixtures and figureheads, symbols and ambassadors of the university. Athletic directors would prefer to build their football program around a loyal coach who plans to stay and develop a consistent winning culture. USC’s most legendary coaches have been those who’ve stayed more than six years: Howard Jones (1925-40), John McKay (1960-75), John Robinson (1976-82, 1993-97) and Pete Caroll (2001-09). 

If Haden brings Orgeron back to helm the Trojans, he will be bringing him back for the long term. It means he is ready to build around Coach O and develop a winning identity. This is Haden’s first opportunity to put his impressive stamp on the USC football program and make a big coaching hire; the Rhode Scholar that he is, he will pick the right one. 

Feverish fans should be reminded that a coach, a season, or a program is not made or defined by one game; if the Trojans get embarrassed by UCLA and in their bowl game, then will Orgeron be as highly regarded as he is right now in the aftermath of a euphoric victory, one that the Coliseum hasn’t seen since B.K. (Before Kiffin)?

It’s important to keep in mind that the new head coach of the USC Trojans will be evaluated by more than what he has done in the past or the present; he will be judged on his plans for the future. 

So live in the now, Trojan fans. Drink it in, literally. But if Ed Orgeron is retained as USC’s next head coach, it won’t be because you got to storm the field once on a perfect November evening; it’ll be because he is the right man, out of all the men, for the job - now, and for years to come.

Reach Senior Sports Editor Jeremy Bergman via e-mail. Follow him on Twitter.