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Steve Sarkisian could not have known that his life would change in a sequence of events that began almost exactly a year ago when USC fired coach Lane Kiffin.
He could never say so, anyway.
In any case, the ex-BYU quarterback ended up moving from Washington to USC, where he formerly worked as an assistant. The Trojans have some stability now, following NCAA sanctions and the coaching turnover, and Sarkisian describes the program as being "in a really good place."
The perception of USC took a big hit with a mid-September loss at Boston College, and it got worse when BC lost to Colorado State last weekend. But there's no dismissing the Trojans, as they prepare to host Arizona State — the team that triggered Kiffin's firing last September after USC's 62-41 loss.
They're in good shape in the Pac-12 South race, certainly. USC's 13-10 win over Stanford is worth a lot, and the No. 16 Trojans looked good in Saturday's 35-10 defeat of Oregon State.
USC held the Beavers to 181 total yards and three offensive points, while producing 461 yards themselves. The Trojans pressured OSU quarterback Sean Mannion and played aggressively in the secondary, never allowing the Beavers to get anything going.
So a year later, athletic director Pat Haden's move has worked well for USC, with the fallout affecting other programs. Sarkisian's move opened the Washington job for Boise State's Chris Petersen, then Bryan Harsin went from Arkansas State to Boise State.
Kiffin, meanwhile, is thriving as Alabama's offensive coordinator. The person most adversely affected is Ed Orgeron, who may have done the best interim coaching job in college football history. Sarkisian was chosen over Orgeron, who decided not to remain on the USC staff.
USC went 7-2 under Orgeron, the problem being that his losses came against rivals Notre Dame and UCLA.
Sarkisian's brief tenure has been adventurous. The drama included USC safety Josh Shaw's made-up story of how he injured himself, accusations of racism from a player who quit the team and Haden's visit to the sideline at Sarkisian's request during the Stanford game, resulting in Haden's arguing with the officiating crew and being fined by the Pac-12.
All of that preceded USC's 37-31 loss at Boston College, as the Trojans allowed 452 rushing yards.
But they bounced back with a strong performance against Oregon State, with the help a successful Hail Mary play to conclude the first half.
Now comes the rematch with ASU, followed by games with Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Washington State and California. USC skips Oregon on the schedule again this year and potentially will be on a roll and in College Football Playoff consideration before facing UCLA and Notre Dame to conclude the regular season.
The Trojans still have personnel issues as a result of the NCAA sanctions that officially ended in June. It will take them at least a couple of more recruiting classes to get closer to the scholarship limit of 85 players.
Those reductions clearly hurt Kiffin's chances of success, but that explanation fails to fully account for USC's allowing 62 points to ASU last season. The Trojans will have a chance to make a better showing Saturday, on Sarkisian's behalf.
Twitter: @tribkurt