Pat Haden Patrick Capper " Pat " Haden ( born January 23 , 1953 ) is the athletic director at the University of Southern California . He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981 . He is a Rhodes Scholar , was a practicing attorney from 1982 to 1987 , and was a partner at Riordan , Lewis & Haden , a private equity firm , from 1987 to 2010 . He is also known for his work as a former sportscaster , beginning with CBS Sports in 1982 , and ending his career in that field as a color commentator for NBC Sports Notre Dame football coverage . Biography . Early years . Haden was born in New York to working - class Irish parents , the fourth of five children . He had a close relationship with his mother , Helen Haden , who told her children to " Live your life so that you have standing room only at your funeral . " As a boy , Haden had a boyhood paper route , then worked at a shoe store where he also pushed accessories in order to earn an extra commission . He had the same mentality in sports , where he used smarts and toughness he gained from keeping up with his older brothers to compensate for physical shortcomings . By high school , his parents had moved to Southern California . Playing career . High school career . Haden played high school football at Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente , California , where he became starting quarterback . He became close friends with teammate J . K . McKay , son of then - USC football coach John McKay ; the two were opposites : J . K . was quick - witted and easygoing , while Haden was not . Some have attributed his introverted nature in grade school as a result of being teased for his unique middle name . Haden and McKay shared the CIF Southern Section Player of the Year award in 1970 . When Haden ' s parents had to move again , he stayed with the McKays for his senior year of high school . He was highly sought after and was recruited by many schools , including Notre Dame . Haden was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 1995 . College career . Prior to College Football Haden and McKay lost the CIF championship game to Blair High School in Pasadena , CA . The game was played at the LA Coliseum , where Haden would go on to lead the Trojans to many victories . Both Haden and J . K . McKay joined the highly regarded USC Trojans under head coach John McKay ; the two joined a group of friends in living at an apartment building just off campus . At USC , he made it to three Rose Bowl appearances and won two national championships . In the final game of his college career , the 1975 Rose Bowl , he was named co - MVP . Haden also was a recipient of the Today ' s Top V Award in 1975 , which at the time honored five ( now eight ) senior student - athletes . He was put into the GTE Academic All - American Hall of Fame in 1988 . He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1995 . An athletic and academic stand - out , he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship . In 1973 he threw for 1 , 832 yards with 13 TD vs 11 INT . In 1974 he threw for just 988 yards ( in part due to 98 fewer pass attempts ) but still threw 13 TD vs 11 INT . Professional career . Haden played one season in the World Football League for the Southern California Sun , which allowed him to attend school at Oxford University under his Rhodes Scholarship . His decision to go to the United Kingdom for schooling hurt his NFL possibilities as well as a lack of height ( he stood 5 - 10 ) and lack of arm strength ( he could barely throw the football 50 yards downfield ) and he dropped to the 7th round of the NFL Draft . Haden made the Los Angeles Rams ' roster in 1976 as the third quarterback behind James Harris and Ron Jaworski . When both Harris and Jaworski were injured , Haden was pressed into duty in the second game of the season . Running a low - risk offense to cover his limitations , he responded by playing mostly mistake - free football , letting running backs Lawrence McCutcheon and John Cappelletti shoulder the offensive load , passing only occasionally . Harris returned to the lineup as starting quarterback and Haden went back to the role of backup for games 3 - 5 and games 8 and 9 . In the last of these games , a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals , Harris played poorly in a 20 - 12 loss . Los Angeles Rams head coach Chuck Knox was ordered by team owner Carroll Rosenbloom to bench Harris , who is black , and start Haden , who is white . This is documented in Knox ' s autobiography Hard Knox : The Life of an NFL Coach and William Rhoden ' s Third and a Mile : The Trials and Triumph of the Black Quarterback . At that point , Harris was the NFC ' s top - rated passer . At the end of the 1976 regular season , James Harris finished as the NFC ' s top - rated quarterback . Haden was clearly a beneficiary of the racism facing African American quarterbacks such as Harris of that era . In spite of the change , the Rams took the NFC Western Division title and a 14 – 12 upset of the defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys in the opening round , but the Rams fell to the Minnesota Vikings in the . Because of Haden ' s limitations , the Rams wanted experience and a stronger arm at the quarterback position for the 1977 NFL season . Harris and Jaworski were traded , and the Rams decided to give creaky veteran Joe Namath a chance . Namath started the first four games , but it was evident his knees couldn ' t take it anymore , so the Rams went back to Haden . With Knox constricting the offense to hide Haden ' s flaws , the Rams took eight victories in the last 10 games , winning the NFC West and making the playoffs once again . Their first - round opponent was the Vikings at home , but the Rams lost 14 – 7 in the . Haden ' s hands were too small to grip the soggy ball , leading to a dismal passing performance ( 14 - 32 for 130 yards , 3 interceptions ) . Haden was rewarded with the starting position from day one in 1978 . The Rams started fast , going 8 - 0 , but tailed off to 12 - 4 , still winning their third straight NFC West Division title . Haden threw a pair of touchdown passes and led the Rams to a 34 - 10 victory against the Vikings in the first round of the playoffs . The Dallas Cowboys , however , walloped the Rams 28 - 0 in the on their way to the Super Bowl . Haden was voted the Washington D . C . Touchdown Club NFC Player of the Year of the 1978 season . Haden began the 1979 season as the starter , but a broken finger midway through the season sidelined him in favor of Vince Ferragamo . Ferragamo ended up leading the Rams to Super Bowl XIV . Because of Rams ' coach Ray Malavasi ' s policy of giving an injured starter his job back , Haden began the 1980 season as the starter with Ferragamo as the backup . Haden was largely ineffective in the first two games and was benched while Ferragamo passed for a then Rams - record 30 touchdown passes . Ferragamo , however , bolted the Rams for the Canadian Football League . Haden once again went into the 1981 season as starter , but was injured midway through the season . After the season , while recovering from knee surgery and contemplating retirement , he got a call from CBS about a broadcast job and decided to take the job . Broadcasting career . After spending a few years at CBS , Haden was hired to do color commentator for NBC Sports ' coverage of Notre Dame college football , and held similar duties for their Arena Football coverage from 2003 through 2006 and Fox Sports ' Bowl Championship Series coverage in 2008 . His position as the Notre Dame color commentator is ironic in that he , as USC ' s quarterback in 1974 , helped orchestrate one of Notre Dame ' s greatest losses ( and , conversely , one of USC ' s greatest wins , known as " The Comeback " ) . The Trojans won 55 – 24 despite trailing 24 – 0 at one point and 24 – 6 at halftime . Haden admits that his mother wanted him to go to Notre Dame and always lights a candle in her memory at the grotto whenever he is on campus . Haden is also a member of the USC Board of Trustees . Haden also previously was a color man for CBS Sports ' college football coverage ( being one of a three - man booth with former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian and play - by - play man Brent Musburger , and later working with Jim Nantz ) , and provided color commentary for TNT ' s Sunday night football coverage and Westwood One ' s radiocasts , primarily working the Sunday night schedule which immediately followed his TV commitments ( at the time , TNT and ESPN split the Sunday night games between them , with TNT broadcasting the first half of the season and ESPN the second half ) . Private equity career . In 1987 , he joined Riordan , Lewis & Haden , a private equity firm based in Los Angeles that focuses on making investments in growing , profitable businesses with $ 20 – 200 million in revenue . He has served as a director of a number of RLH portfolio companies including TetraTech , Systems Management Specialists , Data Processing Resources Corporation ( formerly NASDAQ : DPRC ) , The Apothecary Shops , and Adohr Farms . Haden remained a partner at RLH until assuming the position of Athletic Director for the University of Southern California . Athletic director . Haden replaced Mike Garrett as the USC Trojans athletic director on Aug . 3 , 2010 . Education . Haden received a B . A . , magna cum laude , Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California , a J . D . from Loyola Law School and a B . A . in economics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar . Community activities . Haden has served on numerous nonprofit boards . He sits on the boards of the Rose Hills Foundation and the Fletcher Jones Foundation , and has also served on the boards of non - profit organizations including the University of Southern California , the Good Samaritan Hospital , Boys Town of Southern California , the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Los Angeles , and the Crippled Children ' s Society of Los Angeles . He is former chair of the March of Dimes Reading Olympics in Los Angeles and the Boys Life National Illiteracy Campaign . Haden is a Board Member for the Lott IMPACT Trophy , which is named after Ronnie Lott and is awarded annually to college football ' s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year . Haden was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission in 2003 for his community involvement .