USC confirms hiring of Steve Sarkisian, departure of Ed Orgeron

After reports surfaced stating that Steve Sarkisian was hired as USC's head coach and Ed Orgeron resigned from the Trojans, athletic director Pat Haden confirmed both accounts on Monday. 

Haden released a statement on the school's official website, announcing the arrival of Sarkisian from Washington. 

"He are delighted to welcome Steve Sarkisian back to the Trojan Family. We conducted a very exhaustive and thorough search, pinpointing about 20 candidates and interviewing five of them. We kept coming back to Sark. He is the only one who was offered the job. I believe in my gut that he is the right coach for USC at this time," Haden said in his statement. 

After announcing the return of Sarkisian, Haden immediately addressed the departure of Orgeron and complimented his efforts during his tenure as head coach. 

"Ed is one of the greatest Trojans ever and we thank him for all he has done for the program. He and I had a very open and frank discussion. He understandably was disappointed when I told him we were going in a different direction. We talked about the possibility of him remaining at USC, but Ed wants to be a head coach and I am supportive of that. I told him I will do whatever I can to help him in that pursuit."

Sarkisian returns to USC after five seasons as head coach of Washington. The 39-year-old was a part of the Trojans coaching during three different stints (2001-2003, 2005-2008). 

You can read the full statement here.