Pete Carroll the HC of USC helped out your boys from Ole Miss beat Memphis. :mj07: I highlighted it in BOLD, but thought you might enjoy the article. You would have lost your bet without Pete Carroll. 
I bet you did not know that! "ARE YOU KIDDING ME"
Orgeron focuses on details, boosts energy
By Marlon W. Morgan
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September 9, 2005
Play by play, Ole Miss football coach Ed Orgeron dissects the Rebels' performance. They are congratulated for their quality work after each workout.
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron had been telling his players all week to spend time visualizing the season opener against Memphis in their minds.
He wanted them to picture positive things that were going to happen, while he did the same.
Orgeron could see Micheal Spurlock remaining calm, being a leader, and using his arm and legs to guide the offense.
He could see Mario Hill and Taye Biddle getting open and hauling in passes.
He could see linebacker Patrick Willis and company knocking the block off UofM tailback DeAngelo Williams.
His thoughts always ended with the Rebels walking off the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium field with a season-opening win.
''Let's create an atmosphere in our minds, before we go into the game, of how we're going to play,'' Orgeron said. ''I think that goes a long way. I want them to think positive things.''
Orgeron was able to have such thoughts because of Ole Miss's intense, month-long preparations. By the end of last week, all that was left for the rookie head coach was a little fine tuning.
Orgeron spent Saturday and Sunday making sure he, his staff, and his players went over every detail that would help the Rebels end their two-game losing skid to the Tigers and start the Orgeron Era off successfully.
Here's how it went:
Saturday
Orgeron and his assistants begin filing into the Indoor Practice Facility at 6 a.m., where they go over the day's agenda. At 7 a.m., they meet with the players in the team meeting room.
Orgeron likes to keep the mood light. Too much seriousness makes the players uptight, he says. Each day, Orgeron shows a clip of something from practice during a ''You Make The Call'' segment in which the players decide whether the play is good or bad.
He also names a Coach of the Day. Today's winner is offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. They discuss Mazzone's likeness to Tom Selleck in "Magnum P.I.," a name some players don't recognize.
''I like hearing laughter," Orgeron said. "It opens it up and makes it enjoyable.''
Orgeron also puts together a ''Highlight of the Day'' from the previous day's practice, something he got from his mentor at Southern California, Pete Carroll.
''I like to choose it because if you let the offensive guys choose it, all of them will be offensive plays,'' Orgeron said. ''I take one offense, one defense and make it equal.''
The players then meet with their position coaches for more instruction. Orgeron used to try to sit in on all of those meetings.
''That's one adjustment I've made,'' he said. ''I stay out of the meetings unless I have to go in there, especially the defensive line meeting. I'd like to be in there every day. But I'll make sure before they go in the meeting, there's specific things they have to cover. I let them do it because I think it gives them more power in the meeting.''
Orgeron uses that time to watch more film from Friday's walk-through. He points out something he discovered Friday evening while watching the film.
It was a four-receiver set employed by the UofM in which two receivers are lined up on each side. On this particular play, the quarterback threw a deep pass to the far left receiver along the sideline.
Orgeron noticed that the slot receiver on the left had beaten safety Charles Clark on an inside route. Something doesn't look right, but neither Orgeron nor defensive backs coach Chris Rippon can figure the solution.
So Orgeron phones Carroll, who is on the team bus in Hawaii headed to USC's final walk-through before Saturday's game against the Rainbows. After ribbing Orgeron for not figuring it out himself, Carroll spent 15 minutes on the speaker phone with Orgeron and his coaches, correcting the problem.
After the correction was made in Saturday morning's walk-through, Clark picks off two passes against that play.
''That's part of coaching, it's always fixing things,'' Orgeron says. ''You can never relax.''
The main emphasis on defense has been to stop all-American running back Williams. Orgeron is confident the Rebels are prepared for the numerous ways the Tigers like to get Williams the ball.
Take for instance one set where Williams lines up alongside the quarterback, who is in the shotgun. The ball is snapped directly to Williams, who heads for his hole. The Tigers run this play so well, Orgeron spares no detail in preparations.
''In practices, if there's a shotgun snap, we don't let the center snap the ball," Orgeron said. "That guy (imitating Williams) has never taken a snap. (We) put the ball in the guy's hand, so we don't snap the ball and he drops it. As little as that may seem, that prevents bad plays.''
Orgeron is looking for energy and hustle in everything the Rebels do. That goes for the coaches, too. Like the players, the coaches are required to run at all times from drill to drill.
''You see the coaches running,'' says Orgeron, pointing to a play on the screen. ''If we run, the players are going to run. The minute they see us not running, they think they don't have to run. I have to stay on top of things.
''Carroll required it. He demanded it. This program is about energy and doing things right. If we run 30 plays, run 30 plays exact, with a lot of energy. It's not about running 70 plays half-heartedly. I really feel this is as close to an NFL system that you can get.''
At 8:20 a.m., Orgeron heads down the hallway.
''Let's get these boys on the field,'' he barks.
He's banging on doors.
He's clapping.
''C'mon, P. Willie.''
Orgeron, then, runs onto the practice fields. The Rebels go through a 40-minute walk-through. Orgeron is ecstatic when Clark comes away with his two interceptions.
Practice concludes with special teams work. As the Rebels work on their kickoff return, the ball is kicked to Mike Espy. Orgeron tries to grab Espy, after bragging all preseason about how he was going to get him. But Biddle comes through with a surprise block, putting Orgeron on his back. The players circle Orgeron, with the kickoff-return team talking trash.
After huddling, the players are free to leave, getting a full day to enjoy to themselves. At 9:50 a.m., Orgeron and his defensive coaches break down the film of the morning workout.
Orgeron likes what he sees from the linebackers.
''Ain't no way they're running the freakin' sweep on you,'' he tells linebackers coach Shawn Slocum.
By now, Orgeron has kicked off his Nikes. He quizzes each coach on every play, seeking their comments and input. He has graduate assistant Dave Corrao write some thoughts on the dry-erase board, leading to more adjustments.
Overall, Orgeron is pleased with the workout.
''I may get me a big ol' thing of ribs and sleep good tonight,'' he said.
He reminds his coaches to take the phone numbers of their recruits so they can call them over the weekend, and volunteers to talk to recruits. Moments later, defensive line coach Ryan Nielson hands him a cell phone with a recruit on the other end. At the end of the call, Orgeron tells the recruit, ''We'd love to have you at Ole Miss.''
At 10:30 a.m, the assistants are free to go. But before they do, Orgeron asks where they were when Biddle knocked him on his butt.
''I had your back,'' Slocum said.
''You know, I'm a cheap shot artist,'' Rippon added. ''As a 5-9, 165-pound defensive back at Southern Connecticut State, I had to be a cheap shot artist."
Half an hour later, Orgeron heads home, where he plans to sit by the pool, spend time with his three sons, and watch the Trojans.
''I think it's going to be a special time Sunday, getting on the bus, our first time traveling,'' Orgeron says.
