To change or not to change, that is the question facing the USC administration when it comes to its head football coach. If they were to ask a growing segment of the fanbase, though, the answer would be resounding “yes!” to change.
In the days leading into this past Saturday’s rivalry game with UCLA, Clay Helton outwardly expressed confidence that he would return as head coach next season. After coughing up a fourth-quarter lead in the loss to a Bruins team that came in at 2-8, Helton stated “that’s a great question for [athletic director Lynn] Swann” when asked if he thought he’d be returning in 2019.
The fanbase, on the other hand, is making its feelings loud and clear.
A petition appeared on Change.org earlier this week calling for the firing of Helton, although that one hasn’t gotten much traction. Another, this one a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com, has started to take off as fans are looking to fly a banner over the USC campus before the Notre Dame game this weekend calling for the firing of Helton. Additionally, the same group is seeking to take out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times calling for the same thing.
The $2,000 needed for the airplane and banner has easily been raised already; the newspaper ad will cost the group $20,000 and, as of this posting, they have raised just over $8,000 toward that goal.
“This is not designed to publicly humiliate Clay Helton,” the fundraising page stated. “The vast majority of USC fans like him as a person and wish it had worked out for him here and we will be rooting for him enthusiastically at his next destination. However, this job is beyond his capabilities at this point in his career and we are not doing anyone any favors by retaining him, including Clay himself. This is about bringing the USC administration’s attention to that fact.”
With the loss that dropped them to 5-6, USC now needs to beat third-ranked Notre Dame next week to become bowl-eligible. The last time the Trojans failed to qualify for a bowl, outside of the NCAA-administered two-year bowl ban in 2010-11, was in 2000. Following that 5-7 season, Paul Hackett was fired and Pete Carroll ultimately hired to replace him.
Prior to this year, Helton had won 10 and 11 games in his first two full seasons with the Trojans.
It remains unclear in which direction Swann and other USC administrators -- and big-money boosters -- will head, but one report has them keeping the status quo.
BREAKING: A source close to the situation is telling me that #USC head coach Clay Helton is coming back next season. #Trojans #FightOn #USCfootball @USCScoop #Pac12FB
— Pete Ghersen (@Pete_Ghersen) November 20, 2018
Should USC ultimately move on from Helton, James Franklin has already been mentioned as a possible replacement. Tuesday, the current Penn State coach was asked about the potential opening.
“It’s that time of year where all this stuff happens,” Franklin said. “It’s that time of year. It’s the crazy, mad time of the year when these types of things happen. ...
“As you guys know, like always, we’re focused on Maryland completely, 100 percent. I don’t think it’s even fair or right to be even talking about that job from everything I understand about it, but we’re completely focused on Maryland.”