(OT) Coaching Carousel, Premature Edition: USC - Does Clay Helton survive?
We all know the glory that is James Franklin's in game coaching, but Clay Helton is making Franklin look... oh, wait, Helton beat Franklin. HAAA!!! Okay, let me start over...
USC currently has no school President, employs Lynn Swan as AD (no previous experience managing anything, let alone an AD as big as USC's), and looks every bit the part of their 4-4 record. They've been blown out by Texas and Stanford, and just got beat (at home) by Herm Edwards. HERM Fucking EDWARDS (who also vanquished Mick Dontanio)!!! Also, Booby Petrino has got to be on his way out, right? I mean, Louisville is the worst team in the ACC, if not in all of CFB. Surely, UL ponies up the $14M buyout...
Enter Jeff Brohm. If Swanny pulls his head out of USC's ass, I think Brohm would be a legit candidate to take over at USC. His offense fits LA - high octane, big plays all over the field, sort of like Showtime on Grass. But UL is where Brohm is from - its his alma mater, where he grew up, where he still donates. It's his version of what Michigan is to Harbaugh.
For Brohm, USC has a lower floor, but also a MUCH higher ceiling. He'd be running the only Blue Blood in the entire West, the one place out west that is - without fail - mentioned with the big boys back east. If he fails, he can't run with the big dogs; but if he wins, whoo boy what USC can do with CA recruiting in his pocket! At UL, if he fails will anyone notice? Is it a place where he can win on a consistent basis? Either way, he's got a path out of UL; but failure at USC gets him nothing.
Who else would USC look at? You know, providing they can actually make a good decision for once...
October 29th, 2018 at 8:21 AM ^
Clay Helton can expect the 'USC Treatment" on a future team flight
![photo-screen-capture-from-twitter-videojayse-d-anspach-jaysedavid_1263873[1].jpg](/sites/default/files/users/user96084/photo-screen-capture-from-twitter-videojayse-d-anspach-jaysedavid_1263873%5B1%5D.jpg)
October 29th, 2018 at 8:24 AM ^
You, sir, are rambling.
I doubt Helton survives. If you can't win 9 or 10 games with USC's talent, you're not a good coach.
October 29th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Especially in the downy soft confines of the Pac 12 - specifically the Pac 12 south. USC is competing against UCLA, Utah, Arizona, ASU, and Colorado. If you aren't winning the south every year as USC's head coach, you're wasting talent.
October 29th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
I don't know, isn't he down to his 3rd string QB? USC is definitely underperforming, but it's not without causes.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:25 AM ^
October 29th, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^
I don't think that is a guarantee. It depends on what job opens up. There aren't going to be that many high profile job openings this offseason compared to that last couple years. Why make a lateral move? I am not even sure Louisville is a better job. Purdue can compete in the Big Ten West. He has already shown with this current recruiting class that he can get some players to come there.
Would you rather compete against Nebraska, Wisconsin, or Iowa? Or make the move to Louisville where you will be competing against Clemson and FSU every year? Purdue might even have deeper pockets than Louisville with the new B1G contract. The only difference is it is alma mater and hometown so it is hard to know what weight that will carry.
But I don't even think he is a fit at USC so I am not sure he would consider it or be considered.
October 29th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
Louisville is home for Brohm though, and it's certainly easier to recruit Louisville than West Lafayette. Being in the ACC, he can at least promise kids from Florida that they'll be in Atlanta, Tallahassee, or Miami frequently.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:25 AM ^
Wait isn't Jim Harbaugh available?
I thought for sure many pundits assured everyone that Michigan "would tire tire of his antics" by year 4 and he'd on the open market?
Also, his wife hates the midwest and loves California so there is that.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:28 AM ^
Don't forget that he prefers the NFL.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:30 AM ^
I don't see Jim Harbaugh as having enough glitzy showmanship for LA. He runs what most consider a boring offense, doesn't put up with crap from reporters, and doesn't make news just to be in the news. I don't think he'd fit into LA very well. Which is probably why USC would hire him if his antics had been tiring...
October 29th, 2018 at 9:29 AM ^
Yeah, he wouldn't be a big enough name.
/s
October 29th, 2018 at 8:30 AM ^
I would be interested to see what this place looks like if we were 4-4 this year.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^
Just multiply Maizen posts by 10,000
October 29th, 2018 at 8:38 AM ^
I am dead. I'm very new to this blog so i'm sure there are 100's of jokes that go over my head, but i can at least pick up on this one.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^
Your username causes me a sense of foreboding....
October 29th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^
Why would you want to see that?
October 29th, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^
Never said i wanted to see it, but i'm sure people would be calling for Harbaugh's head unless everyone in here is level headed.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
Some called for his head after Notre Dame.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:56 AM ^
It would look a lot like the end of 2017 season
October 29th, 2018 at 9:30 AM ^
Do you know when we lost to ND, that was four in a row?
October 29th, 2018 at 9:44 AM ^
And we were 0-17 against ranked teams on the road.
October 29th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
Harbaugh wasn't 0-17. Of course, a lot of fans failed to tell the difference.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:15 AM ^
Look at one of the game threads after an offensive three and out.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Or after the defense gives up a 3rd down conversion. Or, worse yet, a touchdown.
October 29th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
Expect the "HARBAUGH TO NFL??" rumors to start flying hard if we run the table.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:26 AM ^
Let us hope we beat the crap out of OSU and they drop another one plus the bowl game. Then, I can see Meyer available for USC to discuss. By the way, I am ok with USC being down forever.
USC will be a tough choice for Brohm but if available, he should take it. UL job will be available in the future also.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:02 AM ^
That would be a strange way for d coordinator Holt to get back to USC. He was there with Pete Carrol and left for Washington with Sarkisian.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:45 AM ^
USC one of the best jobs, Louisville not sure except that they will throw money at you. But Brohm does not look today as good as he did last week, and may not be good at all in three weeks
October 29th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
That was my thinking..Meyer to USC. He's seemingly not thrilled with that's going on at OSU...and USC is less stressful than Ohio State..where the Buckeyes are the only think Ohio residents have to cling to. The pressure to win at USC isn't as obsessive as it is in Columbus and he could get something of a fresh start in a weak conference. He could easily succeed in the Pac 12 for the first few years the same way he did in the B1G when he arrived.
October 29th, 2018 at 10:35 AM ^
an annual matchup featuring Urban Meyer and Chip Kelly would b fun, I will admit
October 29th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
First of all, the pressure to win at usc is intense. Second, usc has had plenty of scandal and isn’t about to hire a scandal-plagued coach. That shit won’t fly there.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
USC's solution to the scandal infested Carroll era was to hire Lane Kiffin, one of the architects of the scandals under Carroll.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
But it's a much different era now, especially in LA, especially amid #MeToo.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^
Urban Meyer to USC.
Jeff Brohm to Ohio State.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:59 AM ^
My initial reaction: DO NOT WANT. Though I'm not 100% sure why, just an instinctual response.
October 29th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^
Fickell has turned U of Cincinatti into a winning team quickly.
OSU has to hire him. In state recruiting ties. OSU grad. "Proven" winner. Meyer coaching tree. What's not to like?
October 29th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
His record when he was head coach at OSU last time?
October 29th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
I'm sure many OSU fans would say the same, however in fairness to Fickell, that was a bad situation to walk into and I'm sure he is a different coach now than he was then.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
Pete Carrol will be back at USC assuming Seattle misses the playoffs. It's been enough time now that the stench of their infractions under his watch have been swept aside, and Seattle isn't getting any better/younger. He already climbed the mountain top in the NFL. Pete the Cheat will return back to sunny California to a hero's welcome.
Brohm will probably end up at UL,but the ceiling there is obviously much lower. I can't think of any blue blood programs off the top of my head besides USC that may look for a change this year.
I don't think Brohm to OSU makes any sense, culturally and style of play, -much more likely they go with "head coach in waiting" Ryan Day if Urban's "health issues" continue.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:09 AM ^
In terms of other blue bloods, Gus Malzahn's probably safe ($32.1 million buyout!?!?!?), but it would be very Auburn to give Malzahn a big retention contract and then fire him the following year.
October 29th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
Pete Carroll will be 68 next season. USC is not doing that and neither is Carroll.
October 29th, 2018 at 8:54 AM ^
Urban to USC. The only job he’d be willing to take that will be open
October 29th, 2018 at 9:02 AM ^
Just my opinion, but I think it would be a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction to fire him this year. If he lost out, I could see it, but if he goes 7-5 or 8-4, he should be given another year to turn things around. Let's not forget he's coming off two consecutive ten-win seasons, where he's produced a Pac-12 championship, a Rose Bowl win, and a third overall NFL draft pick at QB.
Let's say he went 7-5 this year, and he got fired for it: if I'm a coach looking to interview for the job, how do I know that they're not going to get rid of me after one year if I don't win at least ten games and make an NY6 bowl? That puts an enormous, largely unjustified amount of pressure on me to start winning right away, and I wouldn't be sure I want to deal with that.
Truthfully, USC got absolutely spoiled by Pete Carroll, and now they think that's the standard that any and all USC football coaches should meet as a minimum job requirement. But Pete Carroll is an all-time great, and there is so much more parity in the game now than there was when Carroll coached there. Unless USC ends this season w/o a bowl game, I think they need to ride this year out and give Helton a chance to right the ship next Fall.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:18 AM ^
It's USC - getting fired for a 7-5 season should be on the table. As it should be at Alabama, OSU, Michigan, and PSU, among a handful of others... We like to say "the best players in Michigan play at Michigan". They should say the same thing about California at USC - it's the premier program in all the West. But maybe he has enough goodwill from the previous three years? There's something to be said for allowing leeway for 7-5 after a run of national success like he had (somewhat why Harbaugh wasn't considered in jeopardy last year). I just don't know that he'll have that leeway because he still took a lot of heat about some decisions/games during those seasons. Nobody has called him a 'good coach'.
Personally, if USC plays in a bowl game, I think Helton sticks around for another go next year. But that would only delay the inevitable...
October 29th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
If you fired a guy for a 5 loss season after he won 10 games or more the previous 2 years you might miss out on a CFP season the next year.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:40 AM ^
What is a 10 win season really worth if you go into the year expected to win 11-13 games? Its not like with USC thats just what delusional fans expect, thats what the analysts and pundits say based on the available talent. It reminds me of Florida St during Bowdens last several years. Paper tiger.
One also should consider that the Pac-12 has been wide open the last few years, so its not like USC is playing the SEC West or even the Big Ten East there. I think its pretty fair for USC fans to expect to do better than Wazzu.
Helton was somewhat of a silly hire to begin with, and felt like a symptom of somewhat feckless management in their athletics department. By no means has Helton done enough to prove the doubters wrong. If you watch the games its like you see the same sort of ‘in over his head’ look you saw with Hoke.
October 29th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^
I agree with this whole post. USC has so much more talent than the rest of their league it isn't funny. Yes, Helton managed to win it, but that's when he had Sam Darnold who he inherited (and didn't even want to start originally). I was always interested to see what the Helton era would look like at SC post-Darnold, and it's not looking great both from an on-field standpoint and from a recruiting standpoint. It's getting late early for USC recruiting in 2018, and their record isn't helping that at all.
October 29th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Pete Carroll was an all time great and USC is also out of the business of buying houses for their players. (I think.) They still get the talent, but not quite at the paid-off level.
People were calling for Brian Kelley's head after the 4-8 season, but they are looking pretty good with him right now. D'antonio had a 3-9 season and rebounded the next year.
Immediately firing coaches is silly if there are reasons why their team is bad. The other thing is that winning games is hard. USC should win all of their games, but Texas is pretty good this year and so is Stanford. Herm has shown that he can beat people. Maybe not every week, but he plays to win the game.