After Lane Kiffin’s firing following an embarrassing loss to Arizona State on Saturday, the USC football program is on the verge of hitting rock bottom.

Since former USC head football coach Pete Carroll left the program in 2010, USC has not attained that level of leadership prestige. The mindset of winning Pac-12 championships every year and playing in the Rose Bowl is no longer there for the Trojans.

One man can put this football program back on the map, though: Jack Del Rio, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator. According to Tom Fornelli from cbssports.com, Del Rio is the favorite to land the USC gig.

Del Rio was a former linebacker at USC and was the 1985 Rose Bowl MVP. The Broncos defensive coordinator knows what it means to be a USC Trojan and understands what the football program is all about.

The amount of experience Del Rio has with coaching in the NFL can translate to the college game as well. He has coached in the NFL for 12 seasons, and despite getting fired as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach in 2011, he has had his success in the business. When Del Rio was the coach for the Jaguars from 2003 to 2011, the USC alumnus made the playoffs twice. After he was fired, Del Rio turned the Denver Broncos defense into one of the top defenses in the league.

His first season last year in Denver, he led a Broncos defense to a No. 4 ranking in the NFL. This season the Denver defense, led by Del Rio again, is dominating. In four weeks, the Broncos defense has allowed a league-best of 74 rushing yards per game, according to espn.com. Del Rio has achieved this ranking without their leading pass rusher, Von Miller, who’s suspended for the first six games of this season.

Given Del Rio’s past success with turning the Denver defense around, he can do same for a USC defense that gave up 61 points against Arizona State on Saturday.

By hiring a former NFL coach, USC can attract future recruits. The team is in the heart of Southern California, which breeds high school talent. High school football players are not only looking at college football programs with a winning mentality, but are searching for an opportunity that can prepare them for the NFL. Del Rio knows what it takes to make it to the NFL and can help players get to that next level, making USC even more attractive.

According to the Denver Post, Del Rio will remain with the Denver Broncos until the end of the 2013 season.

The biglead.com reported that Jack Del Rio flew into LAX International Airport over the weekend. There is no indication to whether Del Rio was in Los Angeles to discuss the job opening with USC, but given his success it’s likely the Trojans athletic department is in pursuit of the head coach.