Pac-12 Media Days 2012: Head Coaches Who Will Steal Spotlight

The Pac-12 invades Universal Studios on Tuesday to bring its much-anticipated kickoff of the 2012 season to the City of Angels.

And after the way the 2011 season ended for some of the most competitive teams, there will certainly be plenty to talk about at the conference's media days.

Last season, Oregon won the North after dropping just two games all season—one to LSU and one to USC—before taking down Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans, meanwhile, won the South, but their season ended with 50-0 drubbing of UCLA on November 26 because of their postseason ban.

The fact that the ban has finally been lifted, and USC is back in postseason contention is just one of many Pac-12 storylines to follow this week. Here are the coaches to pay special attention to as the festivities begin.

Chip Kelly, Oregon

The coach who led the Ducks to the best overall record in the Pac-12 will have a lot of questions to answer over the next couple of days, the most important of which will most likely be whether he can do it again?

Kelly has been one of the Pac-12's most successful coaches in his three years at the helm of the Ducks, leading them to a 34-6 record and a big Rose Bowl win last season.

The coach certainly made an impression last season that transcended the NCAA world: In January, he was reportedly deep in talks to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching staff, according to ESPN.com, but he turned down the bright lights of the NFL because he felt like he had more work to do with Oregon.

And with one of the most experienced coaching staffs in college football, he should be able to get that work done. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kelly has been at Oregon for five years (he spent two as offensive coordinator), three of his assistant coaches have been there for three years and six of his assistants have been there for 10 or more years.

Abundant experience and a history of success will make for an exciting year for Kelly at Oregon in 2012. Hopefully, he won't regret turning down the Bucs' offer. 

Lane Kiffin, USC

Kiffin's career at USC hasn't been easy. Just after he accepted the head coaching job back in 2010, the Trojans were slapped with a two-year postseason ban stemming from unethical benefits offered to Reggie Bush back in 2004. In addition to the postseason ban, the program also lost 30 scholarships over three years.

And now, entering the 2012 season, Kiffin's Trojans will be bowl-eligible for the first time since he's been the head coach. Quarterback Matt Barkley decided to forego the 2012 NFL draft so he could be a part of the upcoming season, where the expectations for USC will undoubtedly be very, very high.

Last season, USC lost just two games to Arizona State and Stanford and finished 10-2 overall. The year before that—when the sanctions first hit and when Kiffin was still learning the ropes—was much more difficult, and USC went 8-5.

This is the Trojans' chance to get back on the horse and fight for a bowl game for the first time since beating Boston College in the Emerald Bowl in 2009. It's also Barkley's last chance to make it to a BCS bowl. If there's anyone under pressure this season, it's the two of them.

Rich Rodriguez, Arizona

Among the four new coaches in the Pac-12 this season—which also include Jim Mora (UCLA), Todd Graham (ASU) and Mike Leach (WSU)—Rodriguez is one of the most intriguing hires.

The brand-new Arizona head coach hasn't had much glory since 2007, when he made a name for himself by leading West Virginia to a Fiesta Bowl berth. Ever since then, though, it's been downhill.

He agreed to replace Lloyd Carr at Michigan just before the Fiesta Bowl that year and left his team hanging in its most important game of the season, instead deferring to his assistant coach.

He clearly didn't leave the Mountaineers on the best of notes, and he didn't do much impressing in three years at Michigan either. Players transferred because they didn't agree with his coaching style, and he led his team to more than seven wins just once in those three years.

In 2010, the program was accused of NCAA rule violations, all of which occurred after Rodriguez's arrival, and it then endured self-imposed sanctions. 

It was, therefore, no surprise when Rodriguez was let go at the end of the 2010 season, and now he has the opportunity to start all over again with the Wildcats. It's his first shot at redemption after failing by all accounts at Michigan and taking a year off from coaching to be an analyst for CBS Sports Network.

This could he his last chance at coaching, so he has no choice but to improve on the Wildcats' 2-7 record in 2011 and make magic happen.