Twenty-two months ago, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush could do no wrong.
USC had won 34 games in a row thanks to an offensive machine powered by Leinart’s left arm and Bush’s lightning speed and ankle-breaking cuts.
Their collegiate success was, in a word, astonishing.
And that’s what makes their professional failures so hard to ignore.
Leinart’s Hollywood bravado off the field was bearable when he was a superstar on the gridiron. But he’s fizzled as the signal-caller for the Arizona Cardinals, throwing 16 interceptions in his 17 NFL appearances.
After the Cardinals’ coaching staff decided to go in a different direction ““ benching the former college standout in favor of veteran Kurt Warner ““ the rumors of Leinart’s questionable work ethic and overall immaturity gained credibility. He maintained that it was “his team” even though the coach who had drafted him, Dennis Green, had been fired, and the new coach, Ken Whisenhunt, had repeatedly asked him to work harder in practice.
It gets worse. Last week, Leinart broke his collarbone and was placed on injured reserve, a move that officially ended his second season. All indications are that the organization is wavering in its faith in Leinart as its quarterback of the future.
And those questions of immaturity? Recent stories on Leinart’s questionable parenting, in regard to the son he fathered while at USC, certainly haven’t helped.
Leinart’s former teammate can empathize.
Bush has just two touchdowns this season. He is averaging a measly 3.9 yards per carry and his team is 1-4.
A lot of Bush’s struggles have been linked to his lack of focus on football. He didn’t have time to make the Saints’ month of summer workouts. But he found a way to appear in nine national advertisement campaigns, eat dinner at the White House, and travel to Spain for a commercial shoot. He’s got a $5 million pad in Hollywood, and, predictably, sees no problem with living the life of an A-list celebrity.
Amazingly, that’s not the worst part of the Reggie Bush story.
Yahoo! Sports has reported that a businessman named Lloyd Lake is turning over documents that indicate that Bush and his family were given $280,000 while he was at USC, money that came from Lake’s failed sports marketing business, New Era Sports & Entertainment.
Another financier of the company is planning a lawsuit against Bush and his family.
So the golden boys of USC’s dynasty are suddenly anything but. Bush’s Heisman Trophy and USC’s national titles could soon be in jeopardy.
Leinart and Bush weren’t living the normal life of student athletes at USC. And it’s no surprise that coaches and administrators on campus didn’t notice. After all, they were busy cashing checks and accepting awards.
Whether that makes them cheaters, makes the football team’s success invalid or makes coach Pete Carroll inept is for the NCAA to decide in the coming weeks.
But the life these two lived in college begins to explain the tribulations they have faced in the NFL. While they were living the life of L.A. hotshots, Bush and Leinart forgot about being football players. They forgot that rookies simply don’t succeed in the NFL without a lot of hard work and an intense focus on improvement.
At USC, these two had everything handed to them, and they got by on talent.
In the NFL that just doesn’t happen, period.
And, as if things couldn’t get any worse, USC’s current team is actually looking mortal, falling to Stanford and nearly slipping up against Arizona. The Trojan offense, which was one of the greatest in the history of the sport when Bush and Leinart were around, suddenly looks mediocre.
It certainly reads like a Hollywood script. You’ve heard it before: Two kids who have it all and are destined for greatness watch it all slip away.
The worst part for Carroll is that this movie might not have a happy ending for his Trojans.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
E-mail Allen at sallen@media.ucla.edu.