November 30th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
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November 30th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
Don't forget about Oral Roberts or Morehead State.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
Not Cocks
November 30th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
Not that he would have been considered for this job, but I'm on Brady Hoke watch and thus far have not seen his name associated with any job opening at all, much less from a Power 5 school. Will he end up in Greg Schiano limboland? Anybody heard any buzz about The Clapper?
November 30th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
I think we'll have to see how everything shakes out before he gets hired. My guess is that when someone gets called up from the MAC (like Matt Campbell did, Dino Babers, etc.), he'll get a job. Or he could pop up as a DL coach at a Power 5 school.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
What was Hoke's buyout again?
If I were him, I'd sit on those millions for the rest of my life. I'd get shitfaced every day and never get out of bed.
In other news, I will never be a big time college football coach.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
I honestly don't see why Hoke would get a P5 offer. He was moderately successful at a non-P5 school, then notably unsuccessful at a P5 school. He's not young and I think the closer you look at his record, the worse it looks. I've heard of falling upwards, but this seems like an odd situation for it to happen in.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
ULTIMATE FAIL HAHAHHAHAHA
On a serious note, shouldn't Haden wait to see if Helton can beat Stanford first next week?
November 30th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
Ed Orgeron is shaking his fist at the sky while muttering obscenties to himself.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
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November 30th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^
Would Miami, Georgia, Va. Tech, or any of the other open programs even consider hiring Helton?
Nope.
Why should USC?
Everybody seems to like Clay personally and you have to feel good for him, but this is a weak move. And making it permanent before the Pac-12 title game and a bowl game seems like jumping the gun.
November 30th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
Who would have thought that Virginia Tech would have the best hire of the season so far...
Kinda crazy.
Miami and Georgia are gonna be interesting...
I think Mizzou is gonna get shafted this year. That school is a mess.
November 30th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^
They guy was 5-2 and is in the Pac12 title game with a team that does not have that much depth.
Oh and as for when was the last time a coach made his first HC at a major program and had success was. Have you watched college football at all this year? Both Dabo Sweeney and Bob Stoops were not head coaches before Clemson and Oklahoma.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
This isn't like Lloyd Carr. I don't know if promoting from within in a program in disarray will provide stability. It's not like Clay Helton has been at USC for a long time like Lloyd Carr when he got promoted from interim. He's only been there for 5 years which happened to be a complete mess with Kiffin and Sark. I think they needed to clean house there. I will be interested to see what kind of contract they give him and if they put their money behind their words. I have a feeling this is going to be like Illinois & Minnesota where he may get a contract with a lot of outs for USC after 2 years.
I don't know what USC's other options were, but I think a top 10 job would attract some decent candidates even if you had to settle for a second choice. My question to you: do you think Helton will still be the coach at USC in 2020?
November 30th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
If he's on his way out, it makes sense to wait to make a new coaching hire.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
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November 30th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:04 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
I think USC didn't want to make the same mistake they made with Orgeron. Helton has done decently as an interim and it's good for consistency. I think this is best for them
November 30th, 2015 at 11:15 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
It seems obvious and appropriate. Helton knows some guys who know Pete Carroll. Therefore, Helton's the best possible coach for USC.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
Haden is desperate to prove all of his coaching hires haven't been completely stupid. He needs stability and, to be fair, Helton ended the season on a nice little run for the ketchup and mustard.
Frankly, it's a decent move on their part as a big issue with USC is hiring a coach that will keep that "Pro-style" offense intact. USC's two most realisitc candidates for the job are in the pro's and while Fisher MIGHT be available at the end of the season, I doubt Del Rio is going anywhere. I think Haden didn;t want to go through having that long of a wait and so decided to play it safe.
Trust me, as a UCLA fan, I really wanted them to screw this up, but I don't think they did.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
Looks like USC is just throwing in the towel. Never thought I'd see the day. I guess the boosters are no longer running that program.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
Which sucks for Eagles fans... or Titans fans if Chip wants to re-unite with Mariota.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
1. Helton isn't a USC guy in that he didn't go to USC as a player and never coached there prior to being hired by Kiffin (in other words, this breaks a bit from the Pete Carroll coaching tree and trying to replicate that)
2. I think for the most part he's done well with coordinating his side of the ball (offense) and coaching his position (QB). While Kessler didn't take the next step a lot expected him to, I still think he's a solid mid-round QB option (FWIW, while the draft is pretty weak in top end QB talent, the middle of the pack is pretty strong with guys like Kiel, Brissett, Hogan, and Kessler; I personally don't see a huge separation between them and the top five or so QBs on most boards).
3. The USC situation was in chaos, and Helton righted the ship.
4. Helton not only settled the situation, he lead USC to a division title and has a chance on Saturday to win the conference; a bit weird to fire a guy after doing that when he personally didn't really mess anything up.
I think this may have been a pre-mature hire perhaps, but I don't think it's necessarily bad. If they like what he's done, if the players will follow him, if the team is improving (I haven't watched a ton of USC football this year, so I can't say too much in that regard), and if he brings stability to the program for a couple years, that may be what is best for USC in the long run, even if eventually it leads to them making a coaching change in a few years. The program needs stability like the Michigan basketball program needed stability with Amaker. It didn't work out, but it made it so the next coaching hire could and did, and at worst, it looks like Helton can provide that.
November 30th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^
Talk about settling....
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November 30th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
Is this THAT bad? The guy has gone 5-2 after Sark including blowouts of #3 Utah and #21 UCLA. The two losses were @ ND (in the first game following Sark's dismissal) and @ Oregon losing by a field goal. Dude seems like a sharp guy during interviews and reportedly his players love him. If they beat Stanford next week they win the Pac 12 and are in the Rose Bowl. USC recruits itself so that's not a concern. Seriously, what's so bad about this?
November 30th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^
Don't know about OP's memory, but the loss to Oregon was by 20 points, not a field goal. SC looked clueless on defense the entire game, and that was just last week. Other wins came against Arizona (by 8), Cal (by 6), and Colorado (by 3). UCLA is not that good this year and dealt with quite a few injuries on D. The game swung on a punt return and a defensive TD, then a true freshman QB had trouble trying to orchestrate a big comeback. It wasn't exactly a dominating win or a victory over a great opponent (Bruins lost 4 league games, didn't have to play Oregon, and just squeaked by BYU in their only OOC test).
Not exactly murderer's row or great performances. At least make him prove something against Stanford and a bowl opponent.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
It's not like he went 5-2 with Colorado's roster. USC is littered with future NFL players, and Helton is working with more than most coaches in college football right now. Their roster is young, but they returned a bunch of starters from last year.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
This is potentially a great hire! Reminds me of when Michigan hired Hoke a few years ago and look how that turned out...
November 30th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
I think this is a fine move. Give him a pass for not winning at ND the week of the Sark firing and he went 5-1, including 2-1 against ranked opponents. If the team likes him, they play for him, and he has proven success (albeit not pro-longed), I'm not sure you can do better by bringing in a hot name to start over.
Sort of reminds me of Clemson retaining Dabo Swinney after his interim half season replacing the fired Tommy Bowden. That seems to have worked for them.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
November 30th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^
You have some pretty high standards for success given the circumstances. They went toe-to-toe with ND on the road in the wake of everything that happened when the team probably should have folded. Utah wasn't beat up yet, USC beat them because they forced four interceptions. They also didn't slip-up after Helton took over. They won at Cal. They beat Arizona. They put the hammer down when they had to against UCLA. Those could have easily been loses. They weren't. That's success in my book (and I would assume most others' books too).
Yes, they lost to Oregon, but that is defensible after Oregon finally got it going.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
I mean he lead his team to a PAC 12 South title as an interim HC. I know he's loaded with talent, but that's still pretty impressive.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
Especially given that the program has been a tire fire for a while now. Maybe hiring a coach who is a raging narcissist or a fraud might make for a charming change of pace
November 30th, 2015 at 1:08 PM ^
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November 30th, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
I think Pat Haden is spending all of his bandwidth trying to save his job right now. That being said, I don't mind an internal unflashy hire. He managed to get them to a conference title game despite all that happened this season. It's also not as though his two big swings before this hire worked out.
Time will tell, but he will likely benefit from the university of spoiled children remaining the most consistently over hyped football program in college football