USC Football: Mario Cristobal buyout clause could limit interest

Following the news that USC fired Clay Helton on Monday afternoon, the college football world exploded with a list of potential replacements. One name featured on many of those lists is Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal, who recently knocked off a Top-5 Ohio State team on the road. Despite the potential rumors, USA Today’s Dan Wolken believes there are too many obstacles in the way of that hire.

“Cristobal’s buyout from Oregon is in the $9 million range,” Wolken posted. “On top of the estimated $10 million for whatever it is for Helton. Plus what they’d have to play Cristobal. Don’t see that happening.”

Adding Cristobal’s buyout and a new contract on top of Helton’s $10 million buyout would take USC’s budget well over $20 million for just the hiring process. In addition, Cristobal currently makes $4.55 million at Oregon, according to the terms of his most recent extension, via OregonLive.com.

Bringing in Cristobal would be an expensive project with the buyout, but that does not completely rule it out. College football is a big money business and school’s are willing to pay anything for the right guy.

The 50-year-old Miami native is 27-10 as the head coach at Oregon, taking over full-time in 2018. In 2019, Cristobal was named the AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year for leading his team to a 12-2 record and a Rose Bowl win.

Perhaps the most impressive area of Cristobal’s resume so far has come on the recruiting trail. He has provided Oregon with a top 15 recruiting class each season, recruiting the west coast as well as the southeast. The Ducks have landed four five-star recruits under his tenure and has one more committed in 2022.

The end of the Clay Helton era

The Clay Helton era at USC is officially over. The Trojans announced Monday night that Helton has been let go and will not finish his seventh season at the helm of the program. In addition, athletic director Mike Bohn has tabbed Donte Williams as interim head coach.

This comes just days after Stanford walked into the Coliseum and handed USC a 48-28 loss. Helton was also booed off the field at the half. The loss dropped USC to 1-1 on the season and out of national polls.

Helton finishes with a 46-24 record. But the Trojans are 19-15 since 2018 and have not won the Pac-12 since 2017. They went 2-3 in bowl games and have struggled to stay relevant on the national stage. USC has never made the College Football Playoff; the highest a Trojans team was ever ranked under Helton was No. 3 in the 2016 season.

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.