USC seeks change, relieves Helton of head coach duties

For a school that takes pride in their championships and traditions, USC has been living in mediocre territory for almost a decade. It began with the departure of Pete Carroll(2000-2009) leaving for the Seattle Seahawks just before the NCAA hit the school with sanctions that centered on trojan star running back Reggie Bush. It was proven that Bush accepted improper gifts, including a home in San Diego for members of his family. The fallout was that USC was stripped of thirty football scholarships, a two-year bowl ban, and forfeiture of some games between 2005-2006. It wasn’t the death penalty, but the men of Troy have not been the same team since.

Clay Helton is the third coach since Pete Carroll left-Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian were the last two. Helton had a 46-24 record at USC. When you look at that you realize that’s not awful, the man had a winning record. However, what might be good for West Virginia or Iowa State, is not the same “good” for USC. The expectation is National Championship or bust- that’s USC. Yes, he won a Rose Bowl back in 2016 but that’s child’s play compared to winning a national championship.

One of the areas Helton failed at was not putting up a gate in California. Carroll, Kiffin, even Sarkisian had no issue locking down their home state from other schools poaching. For example, in 2005, USC had the #1 recruiting class in the nation. In 2020 they were ranked 64th! How did that happen? Also, how do you let players like D.J. Uiagalelei and Bryce Young leave the state when they’re in your own backyard? These are highly recruited Quarterbacks and they are playing in the ACC/SEC conference. That’s a recruiting issue, and that tells me Helton either can’t seal the deal or he loathes recruiting.

If Helton isn’t winning recruiting battles, didn’t it shouldn’t been a shock that his team was not winning on the field. Losing to Oregon or Ohio State is one thing, but to consistently lose to Stanford, UCLA, or Washington State(no offense guys) is inexcusable when your program is supposed to be getting some of the best players in the nation. There have been too many of these losses under Helton and AD Mike Bohn finally realized it was time to pull the plug. Honestly, it should have happened two years ago but given the pandemic, everyone got a get-out-of-jail free card.

Now that the school is looking for it’s fourth coach in 11 years, I have some suggestions/names of coaches that should be at the top of the schools coaching search:

1. Urban Meyer– It’s not a stretch to think about. Proven winner in college(National Championships at Florida and Ohio State). Who is to say that he was in over his head getting in the NFL and see’s USC as one last opportunity to get back in college football coaching? Meyer should be someone USC takes a hard look at.
2. Mario Cristobal– Cristobal has been making a lot of noise in Eugene, Oregon. His Ducks have been the top team in the PAC-12 for the past few seasons and he has poached many players from California. He is a relentless recruiter and that is exactly what USC needs.
3. James Franklin– Another good offensive minded coach. Franklin wins everywhere he goes. He made Vanderbilt a respected program and has made Penn St a contender and brought them back from the ashes after the NCAA threw the hammer at the program a decade ago.
4. Luke Fickell– The Cincy coach has turned the bearcats into one of the best programs in the group five. They have been first in the AAC the past two seasons, including two bowl victories. Fickell has a great track record of putting players in the NFL i.e. DL Elijah Ponder(Tampa Bay) and TE Bruno Labelle(Arizona) As a former player and head coach at Ohio State, Fickell knows the expectations of big time football programs.

Those are my top four.

It will be interesting to see where USC goes from here. If the program wants to get back to greatness, they need to hire a great coach. That’s the USC way.