Carson Palmer Dropped a Bombshell About USC’s Coaching Search Without Realizing It

In Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: a very juicy college football rumor, a pair of poster dunks and more.

He probably wasn’t supposed to say that

The college football and NFL coaching carousels got a lot more interesting on Monday when Carson Palmer threw an unexpected name into the USC search.

Palmer was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show and was asked if he has been consulted at all in his alma mater’s search for a new football coach.

“I’ve been talking to a bunch of folks and giving input here and there,” Palmer said. “I’ve been as involved as they’ll let me be.”

So Palmer has a pretty good idea of who the Trojans are looking to hire. Pressed by Patrick to name some names, he carefully referred to James Franklin, Matt Campbell and Luke Fickell, without actually saying their names.

“You’ve got Penn State, you’ve got Iowa State, you’ve got Cincinnati,” Palmer said. “You’ve got a wild card like a Mike Tomlin, if Mike Tomlin wants out.”

Wait, what?

It’s no secret that USC is interested in those three college coaches but Tomlin’s name hadn’t come up in connection with the job before. Patrick realized he might have gotten a pretty big scoop.

“That’s pretty spicy with Tomlin, there,” Patrick said. “I like it.”

“Is that the first you’ve heard of that?” Palmer replied, realizing he might have said something he shouldn’t have. “Uh oh.”

Carson Palmer has been included in conversations surrounding #USC next Head Football Coach and he says #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is a name that could be in the mix. pic.twitter.com/GJpar0cZUy

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 25, 2021

The NFL’s third longest-tenured head coach leaving for a college job is the spiciest possible rumor. There’s nothing to indicate that Tomlin, who hasn’t coached in college since he was in charge of defensive backs at Cincinnati in 2000, wants to go to USC, or even that the school has approached him to gauge his interest. But it sure is a fascinating possibility.

It’s a farfetched possibility but it makes just enough sense to get people’s attention. Ben Roethlisberger is probably done after this year, which means Tomlin will be faced with the task of starting over next season with a new quarterback. The Steelers have Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins and Joshua Dobbs on the roster—none of whom look like franchise QBs—and there isn’t a standout quarterback in the upcoming draft class.

Whoever consulted Palmer about Tomlin’s potential candidacy surely isn’t thrilled to have word leak out, but sports commentators will be thankful to have been gifted something juicy to talk about. 

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Around the sports world

After Henry Aaron died in January, Dusty Baker said he wanted to win the World Series this year in his honor. Now he’s just four wins away. ... Justin Fields has been sacked more than any other quarterback in the NFL, even though he’s 30th in pass attempts. ... Former South African cricket captain Quinton De Kock was benched for Tuesday’s Twenty20 World Cup match after refusing to take a knee as a gesture against racism with the rest of the team.

There were some great posters in the NBA on Monday

THROW IT DOWN JAYLEN BROWN pic.twitter.com/xoLNna3Awv

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 26, 2021

LAURI MARKKANEN YAMMED ON JOKIC 🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/tQWHJSebIK

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 26, 2021

He made it look so effortless

oh my god lamelo pic.twitter.com/6PCjrxgyQk

— jack maloney (@jackmaloneycbs) October 26, 2021

Iman Shumpert got a perfect score on Dancing with the Stars for this routine

He’s obviously a stud because you know exactly which team this tweet is about

Ty Johnson on Mike White: “He’s a stud. Come on, now. That’s Mike White.”

— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) October 25, 2021

Tom Brady never passes up a branding opportunity

Obviously becoming obscenely wealthy (thanks in part to some sketchy things!) means you’ll hire the right GM for your baseball team

Cohen is worth roughly $17,000,000,000. He has built an empire of an organization in his hedge fund business. he’s a winner.

— ramsey (@jwr020819) October 25, 2021

Not sports

A hiker lost on a mountain in Colorado ignored calls from rescuers because they didn’t recognize the phone number. ... Astronomers may have discovered the first planet outside of our galaxy. ... The city of Winnipeg fixed a curb outside a man’s house 28 years after it was damaged but 16 years earlier than they told him it would be repaired.

A good song

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