USC fans, remember the good ol days? Back when we had Pete Carroll at the helm, dominating the Pac-10 and winning bowl games? Or even making bowl games? It was just a few short years ago that USC played in one of the greatest Rose Bowl games ever against Penn State. USC Football used to be must-see tv, always fun to watch. But this program has fallen off a cliff since then, and there are plenty of reasons why.
To start off with, let’s address the elephant in the room. Clay Helton was never the right man for this job. He was never the guy USC fans wanted as the next man to lead this program. That job should have gone to the at the time offensive line coach Ed Orgeron. While the interim head coach back in 2013, he went 6-2 and had USC lined up for a bowl game, only had they not been on a ban from years back. He had it all: the demeanor of a coach not to be messed with, the down south voice everyone could get behind and a general swagger he carried about himself and it showed on the field. I firmly believe he would have carried this program to that next level and brought this team closer to a playoff birth.
Does anyone want to be the Athletic Director at USC? They have not been able to keep someone at this job for longer than 3 years at one time since Pat Haden at the job from 2010-2016. After Haden came an embarrassment in Lynn Swann who only got the job I’m convinced because he was a USC alum, and he only had the job for 3 years. USC currently has an interim Athletic Director in place in Dave Roberts, who is only a special advisor to USC President Carol L. Folt. Who will they bring in to right the ship as Athletic Director? A few names come to mind: Rick George at Colorado, Washington State’s Pat Chum or if we really want to get creative Gene Smith at Ohio State. I know that is a reach, but he paired up with Urban Meyer would be a nice reunion on the West Coast.
USC this offseason turned into a bit of a laughing stock when Kliff Kingsbury originally signed on to be the offensive coordinator, before turning the job down to take the Head Coach in Arizona for the Cardinals. His offensive style fits perfectly for the college game, and USC Football has always been known to let the ball fly in an air raid type offensive system. Once Kingsbury went back on his word and fled for the NFL, there really as no hope for this upcoming season.
There are a lot of problems in the USC program, and right now there are no obvious or quick fixes. This will take time. But as most of us know, fans in California do not show much patience, especially in southern California. USC is arguably the biggest school the state of California has, and when the football team does not perform well, it a sign that things need to change, fast.
