USC North!

Steve Sarkisian is already showing himself to be a better recruiter than Tyrone Willingham. By landing Nick Holt as Washington's defensive coordinator, UW now has USC's former offensive and defensive coordinators in the fold. And Holt might be the better get of the two.

This was Holt's third year as USC's defensive coordinator, and this season he presided over the nation's stingiest scoring defense (9 points per game) and second-best in total defense (221 yards). Granted, it's hard to know how much power assistants have under Pete Carroll, and since Carroll is a defensive coach, he probably pulled a lot of the strings. Still, Holt likely could have gone almost anywhere from USC. That he landed at UW -- and made what appears on the surface to be a lateral move, or worse -- is a coup for the Huskies.

Holt initially rebuffed Sarkisian's entreaties to come to Seattle, but a big raise certainly sweetened the deal. This hire shows UW is willing to spend money to get better; an average of $700,000 a year for a defensive coordinator is a lot of coin, and Holt is now the highest-paid assistant in Washington history. Some reports say he might have been intrigued to run a defense free and clear a head coach's interference. And if he can turn this defense around, Holt would have a good shot at a head coaching job elsewhere in a few years. (He had an unsuccessful two-year stint as head man at Idaho, where he provided Willingham with his first win at UW.)

It's hard not to like what Washington is doing to improve its football team. Getting guys from a program with the pedigree of USC can only help. Then again, there's nowhere to go but up for the Huskies.