Clay Helton named USC HC

[trojanfan12]

Fair enough. Stability also very important for recruiting. Also it is easier to stay with a coach that has been successful since taking over after crazy circumstances.

Yep. I honestly don't even think the win over UCLA was the deciding factor (although I'm sure it helped), there were recruits who were on twitter saying they wanted Helton. So this should help stabilize what appears to be shaping up to be a real nice recruiting class.

 

[Agent Orange]

USC just hired who!? This is hilarious. Remember when a school could hire the right guy and nobody gave a damn if it was a "splash" hire? That's not how Bo was hired and that's not how Don James was hired.

Remember when Washington made a name hire who ended up being the human death penalty? Remember when Michigan made a splash hire that resulted in seven years of darkness? Herbstreit fucked up the Miles deal, and instead of hiring, hell even interviewing, Jim Harbaugh (who had yet to build Stanford) they make a splash and hire "offensive guru" Rich Fraudriguez.

Quick question, how many times has USC beaten, let alone handle, UCLA in the Jim Mora Era? Good hire USC, hopefully Helton is the guy to bring you back. I'll be rooting for your success unless you're playing Michigan, Washington, or UNLV (lol)

 

[mrwallace2ku]

When I think of USC Trojan football I think of two guys...John McKay and John Robinson.

Both disciples of UO coach Len Casanova, both alums of the University of Oregon...who the hell said one has to hire within at USC?

 

[trojanfight]

Kind of a 50-50 hire for me. What kind of schemes arethey going to run. Thought they got back to power football in the ucla game. Let's end the spread offense I'm hoping it's the end of Justin Wilcox as well.

 

[trojanfan12]

Remember when a school could hire the right guy and nobody gave a damn if it was a "splash" hire? That's not how Bo was hired and that's not how Don James was hired.

It's also not how John McKay, John Robinson or Pete Carroll were hired.

 

[trojanfight]

 

[trojanfan12]

Kind of a 50-50 hire for me. What kind of schemes arethey going to run. Thought they got back to power football in the ucla game. Let's end the spread offense I'm hoping it's the end of Justin Wilcox as well.

I think we've seen what the scheme will be. Helton said he wanted to commit to the run and he has. I was watching the UCLA game with a couple of friends who are Bruins and in the 4th quarter, they just kept saying "that looks like the old USC."

I would expect that the current staff will be retained for at least another season or 2 for continuity if nothing else.

I don't have a problem if he keeps Wilcox around. When USC hired him, he was considered an up and coming young coach. Husky fans were a lot more upset about losing him than Sark. I doubt he suddenly forgot how to coach. Let's give him a couple of seasons with a full roster, an offense that burns clock so the defense can rest a little and see how he develops the current young guys before deciding he can't coach anymore.

One concern that I do have about Wilcox is that the defense has seemed to start slow and then adjusts and plays better as the game progresses. Would like to see them start as strong as they've finished. Don't know if that's a scheme thing or a youth thing.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

Heard this on SiriusXM just now.

Saw that earlier I'm kind of surprised. I was figuring they would make that decision after the stanford game

 

[TheRobotDevil]

I think we've seen what the scheme will be. Helton said he wanted to commit to the run and he has. I was watching the UCLA game with a couple of friends who are Bruins and in the 4th quarter, they just kept saying "that looks like the old USC."

I would expect that the current staff will be retained for at least another season or 2 for continuity if nothing else.

I don't have a problem if he keeps Wilcox around. When USC hired him, he was considered an up and coming young coach. Husky fans were a lot more upset about losing him than Sark. I doubt he suddenly forgot how to coach. Let's give him a couple of seasons with a full roster, an offense that burns clock so the defense can rest a little and see how he develops the current young guys before deciding he can't coach anymore.

One concern that I do have about Wilcox is that the defense has seemed to start slow and then adjusts and plays better as the game progresses. Would like to see them start as strong as they've finished. Don't know if that's a scheme thing or a youth thing.

I liked the man coverage adjustment. But that tackling...... Im fine with helton but i would like to see wilcox go

 

[tducey]

Yeah, USC's a top school they should be hiring a few better people than Clay Helton.

 

[trojanfan12]

I liked the man coverage adjustment. But that tackling...... Im fine with helton but i would like to see wilcox go

I didn't see too much of a tackling issue. Certainly no worse than I've seen with other teams. I mean, we held UCLA to 11 yards in the 4th quarter and had a 40 minute to 20 minute time of possession advantage. So, somebody on defense was doing some tackling.

For some of those broken and missed tackles, you have to give some credit to the guy running the football.

 

[trojanfan12]

Yeah, USC's a top school they should be hiring a few better people than Clay Helton.

You gonna say why it's a bad hire, who they could have gotten that's supposedly better? Or do you really have no idea?

 

[Smart]

I think Helton will do a solid job, but he's not a home run hire. I can't help but feel his hiring was a response to their ideal coach not being out there.

 

[Wild Turkey]

It may work out great. In the end every coach is a gamble. Just seems like they did not go through all the proper vetting. I thought the offense has been a bit of disappointment this year for USC

To be fair this guy has stepped up not once but twice when USC needed him to when the chips were down and did an outstanding job both times. He has been around the program enough that people know he is both a quality person and can coach football.

I think this is a good hire and quite honestly while it was an easy hire the guy won the job on the field through performance and the team, fans and administration know exactly what they are getting. This is a smart move and one that should pay off in the future.

Besides the Helton is an Auburn guy and you can't do better than that.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Besides the Helton is an Auburn guy and you can't do better than that.

 

[Jekku]

What the hell is wrong with USC's leadership??

You are god damn USC.

At least roll out the interview process. The names will answer the phone at least.
Get some bigger names to tell you "no" before you settle.

All these interim coach guys fail.
Never ever fall in love with an interim guy. It is literally the first mistake in hiring a new coach.

makes little sense

Dabo Swinney ring a bell?

 

[The Derski]

Good decision. Everyone overreacting right now doesn't no jack squat.

 

[nddulac]

I don't understand the backlash here. Helton took a shit-show of a situation, and is taking his team to the conference title game. obviously, he knows a thing or two about what he is doing. Also, with all of the openings, getting it settled quickly helps to maintain continuity that will enable them to maintain the recruit list a little more easily.

But in a more generic sense, I think it is good that the school hired a coach the players want. This program is, after all, for the players - not for the boosters. That isn't really true just about USC either. When you see the ridiculousness that was the Les Miles rumor mill . . or the firing of Mark Richt . . It's pretty damned clear that a few programs need to get their heads out of their asses and realize what college football should be about. Kudos to Southern Cal for keeping it for the players.

 

[RegentDenali]

Good move for them. Chip Kelly is a total douschbag and they would of been under NCAA investigation by the 3rd year of his tenure.

All the recruits that committed to these coaches since Sark arrived have to be relieved as well.

 

[LASports96]

This is such a huge risk... We know Helton is a good leader of men and brings a lot more stability than Kiffin or Sark's 3 year old mentality's ever did. And I like Helton more than those 2 guys as head coach. But I question if Helton is a National Championship level coach, cause that's all that matters. Obviously we don't know yet, there lies the risk.

I'm not worried about recruiting, but I do hope big changes are made to the coaching staff with the exception of guys like Tee Martin. New DC and OC (if Helton continues to be main play caller I'm gonna be kinda pissed) are gonna be crucial.

The thing that irritates me most is just how lazy Pat Haden seems as AD. Although I will say Hubbs as baseball coach (I think he made that hire?) and Enfield as basketball coach are looking ok. We can only pray.....

Overall I'm fine with him getting the chance.