Ten potential head coach candidates for the USC Trojans

Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel offered ten names that could be considered as the next head coach at USC following the news that the Clay Helton era is over.

“Early list for USC: James Franklin, Matt Campbell, Bill O’Brien, Luke Fickell, P.J. Fleck, Mario Cristobal, Greg Schiano and Tony Elliott,” Thamel tweeted. “Former coaches who could be sought include Chris Petersen and Bob Stoops.”

Franklin, Campbell, Fleck, Cristobal, Fickell and Schiano all currently hold head coaching roles at Penn State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Oregon, Cincinnati and Rutgers, respectively.

Franklin is in his eighth season at Penn State and holds a 62-28 record in his time there. Campbell is in his sixth season at Iowa State after a previous stint at Toledo. He holds a 36-29 record as the head coach for the Cyclones.

Fleck is in his fifth season as the head coach for Minnesota and holds a 27-20 record in his time. Cristobal is in his fourth full season as the head coach for Oregon and is coming off a statement win against No. 3 Ohio State. Cristobal holds a 27-10 record in 37 games at the helm.

Fickell is in his fifth season at Cincinnati and holds a 37-14 record. Prior to his time at Cincinnati, Fickell held a multitude of roles at Ohio State from 2002-2016.

Schiano is in his second year of his second stint at Rutgers and holds a 5-6 record through two seasons, though the Scarlet Knights have started the 2021 season 2-0. In his first stint at Rutgers from 2001-2011, Schiano posted a 68-67 record.

Bill O’Brien is in his first season as the offensive coordinator at Alabama after stints as the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014-2020 and Penn State from 2012-2013. Tony Elliott is the offensive coordinator at Clemson and has held a number of roles with the Tigers since 2011.

Chris Petersen and Bob Stoops are both retired. Petersen most recently was the head coach at Washington until his retirement in 2019. Bob Stoops retired in 2016 after 18 seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma. Stoops returned to coaching briefly in 2020 as the head coach of the XFL’s Dallas Renegades.

Thamel, notably did not mention Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer among candidates, despite speculation surrounding the former Ohio State and Florida head coach.

Whoever lands the USC job, will inherit a talented roster and commit list. Defensive end Korey Foreman and quarterback Jackson Dart are two true freshmen with star potential. Cornerback Domani Jackson and defensive linemen Mykel Williams are two five-stars committed to the Trojans in the 2022 recruiting class, though other programs are surely trying to flip their pledges.

Clay Helton fired as USC head coach

The Trojans announced Monday night that Helton has been let go and will not finish his seventh season at the helm of the program. Athletic director Mike Bohn has tabbed Donte Williams as interim head coach.

The firing comes just days after Stanford walked into the Coliseum and handed USC a 48-28 loss. Helton finishes with a 46-24 record at USC. But the Trojans are 19-15 since 2018 and have not won the Pac-12 since 2017. 

Helton had two full years remaining on his deal after this season. Helton is expected to be owed more than $10 million in buyout money.

For more coverage from our team of USC Insiders at WeAreSC CLICK HERE