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Since "resigning" from USC on Dec. 2, interim Ed Orgeron has been pursuing a full-time head coaching gig for more than a month-and-a-half. Not surprisingly, he remains a spark plug without an outlet.

"I want to be the head coach at USC," Orgeron declared two weeks before Pat Haden hired Steve Sarkisian away from Washington, according to ESPN Los Angeles' Garry Paskwietz. The way it's played out, that claim appears to be all-or-nothing in truth.

Upon resurrecting Lane Kiffin's Trojans from 3-2 irrelevancy to 9-4 rebirth, Orgeron and the fanbase alike believed he proved himself worthy of that permanent opportunity, either at USC or elsewhere.

He instilled confidence in a shaky offense that scored 26 points per game in its first five contests of 2013 and 30.2 points during his brief tenure. Inspiring a talented yet unfulfilled roster, he whipped his charisma as a recruiting guru into a batch of culture-changing cookies in the Los Angeles spotlight.

Still, while momentum favored him, future scouting reports provided mixed outlooks. Following the momentous upset of Stanford, ESPN Los Angeles' Arash Markazi felt Orgeron performed well enough to secure the position. Conversely, David Tobia of Neon Tommy envisioned the adrenaline subsiding in the end.

The latter prevailed. USC welcomed Sarkisian immediately proceeding Coach O's Victory Bell defeat. Orgeron's next landing spot hasn't surfaced as suddenly, as he bakes in solitude.

So why doesn't he have a job yet? Does his feel-good campaign fail to mask the shortcomings of his resume? Did a competent coaching staff secretly carry him through an inferior schedule?

Were the opportunities he anticipated simply nonexistent this offseason? Or worst of all, did Orgeron already decline his best offer?