Few opportunities in life allow a person to feel absolute, unbridled joy.
There’s Christmas morning when you’re a 9-year-old kid who is waiting anxiously to rip open a slew of presents sitting under the tree. That’s pure joy and anticipation. And then there’s the fan of a blue-blood organization who has faded out of the limelight over the years, waking up the morning after their head coach has finally been fired.
Wildly different circumstances, but similar feelings of ecstasy.
That’s how fans of the USC Trojans are likely feeling this morning, now free of head coach Clay Helton, who might have overstayed his welcome in Los Angeles by a couple of years. Following a brutal loss to the Stanford Cardinal, the Trojans finally cut ties with Helton, starting fresh and embarking on a head coaching search.
What is fun about this is the gravitas of it all. USC, one of the preeminent schools in college football, has to be considered as one of the most coveted coaching positions in all of football, not just the college level. Being as such, when we are searching for potential candidates, it’s easy to consider guys that would leave a good situation just to better their level of exposure. A head coach who is already successful at a B-level school might consider jumping to LA because finding success at USC could make him a legend.
Before we get too far, though, keep your hands off of Mario Cristobal. The Oregon Ducks head coach has found loads of success in Eugene, but he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would shine under the bright lights of Hollywood. An opening at Alabama, where he used to coach under Nick Saban, would be much more concerning for Oregon fans than a vacancy at USC.
Without further ado, though, let’s get into it. Here are our 11 candidates to potentially take over at USC:
James Franklin — Penn State Head Coach
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James Franklin has found some great success with the Penn State Nittany Lions, and turned that program into one that is competing for the Big 10 Championship each and every year, often in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Taking a step up to the USC level of coaching would be a great move for one of the more talented coaches in college football.
Urban Meyer — Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach
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There seems to be a general feeling that Urban Meyer may not be long for the NFL. After a series of hiccups that followed his hiring with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it wouldn’t seem like a shock to see him eventually decide to head back into retirement after giving it his “best effort” in the NFL. Might a cushy job like USC better suit him? We saw Urban find great success with both Ohio State and Florida at the college ranks, so it should be considered that he could do the same with USC as well.
Chris Petersen — Former Washington Huskies Head Coach
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Chris Petersen has to be the top candidate for the job, in my opinion. A former coach of both Washington and Boise State, Peterson found some great success, leading the Huskies to their first College Football Playoff birth. You see where they are now without him. Petersen has reportedly flirted with the USC job in the past, so it may be enough to bring him out of retirement.
Joe Moorhead — Oregon Offensive Coordinator
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Joe Moorhead may not be the most glamorous coach to take over at USC, but he certainly is qualified for the position. After making his rounds as an offensive coordinator at Penn State and Oregon, stopping as a head coaching job at Mississippi State in the middle, Moorhead has proved that he is good enough with the X’s and O’s to get the job done. Oregon fans would be sad to part with him, especially if he were to stay in the Pac-12, but they knew going into this marriage that his stay would be short, with aspirations to get back to the head-coaching ranks.
Bob Stoops — Former Oklahoma Sooners Head Coach
Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
While at Oklahoma, Bob Stoops had some incredible fire and passion for the game, which may have left him now that he has a nice desk job with Fox Sports. However, he is still a big name with a great history of coaching accumen.
Matt Campbell — Iowa State Head Coach
Matt Campbell is the perfect example of a coach who took a B-level school and turned them into a contender. With Iowa State now competitive with some of the best schools in the nation, Campbell’s ability to coach is obvious, and he is a guy who could potentially turn around a program like USC as well.
PJ Fleck — Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Coach
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PJ Fleck is a lot like Matt Campbell, in the sense that he’s taken a middling program and given them some name recognition. Fleck was reportedly considered for the Oregon Ducks head coaching job before Mario Cristobal was named, so it’s easy to believe that his name is being floated for USC as well.
Kyle Whittingham — Utah Utes Head Coach
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It may be hard to think that Kyle Whittingham would jump from one Pac-12 school to another, but it has to be considered with a job as prestigious as USC. Whittingham is out of the limelight with Utah, and he is too good of a coach to be ignored. If you put him at USC, it would be a major win for the Trojans.
Greg Schiano — Rutgers Head Coach
Greg Schiano has experience working under Urban Meyer at Ohio State, and his ability to turn things around this year at Rutgers is certainly impressive. He isn’t the most appealing choice for Trojan fans, but we’ve seen him have success at the college level.
Eric Bieniemy — Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator
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Year in and year out, Eric Bieniemy is one of the top candidates for open head coaching jobs in the NFL, but he continues to get passed over. Might it be time to come to the college ranks and prove that he can succeed as the top man in the program? USC AD Mike Bohn hired Bieniemy as the Colorado offensive coordinator back in 2010, so it’s not crazy that he might get a look here as well.
Bill O’Brien — Alabama Crimson Tide Offensive Coordinator
[Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]
Bill O’Brien has had a load of experience as a head coach both at the college level and the NFL level, with Penn State and then the Houston Texans. After getting fired in Houston, he is working his way back up the ladder as the OC with Alabama, and it’s easy to believe that he will be in line for one of these top jobs in college soon enough.
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