From his Q&A article today:
Help me, Obi-Wan; you're my only hope ... If you tell me that Clay Helton was the right decision, made at the right time, by the right person, I'll believe you. But I will need that kind of reassurance.
-- Ben Le, Chatsworth, Calif.
I'm afraid I can't fulfill your wish. Worse, I'm not enough of a "Star Wars" fanatic to come up with a clever reply.
Helton is an upgrade from the past two USC head coaches if for no other reason than he seems mature and grounded, but his hiring followed the same embarrassing pattern. A USC-bred AD (Pat Haden) insulated by his USC-bred cronies (J.K. McKay) opts for the familiar face right in front of him. I know Haden said he "spent weeks searching the collegiate and pro ranks," but that seemed to consist of cursory phone calls. NFL coaches are still knee-deep in their seasons, and prominent college coaches are only now beginning to look around in earnest. I find it hard to believe 17 legit candidates all turned down USC.
More likely, Haden got caught up in the Trojans' improvement under Helton, liked how the players responded to him and decided to keep it going. That's great, but you're not hiring a coach for the current team, you're hiring a coach who will recruit and lead the next five years' teams. I still believe USC needed to go outside the family and bring in someone who would blow up that whole dysfunctional program and start from scratch. But that wasn't going to happen, apparently, because the guy making the hire is the ultimate Trojan family man.
Help me, Obi-Wan; you're my only hope ... If you tell me that Clay Helton was the right decision, made at the right time, by the right person, I'll believe you. But I will need that kind of reassurance.
-- Ben Le, Chatsworth, Calif.
I'm afraid I can't fulfill your wish. Worse, I'm not enough of a "Star Wars" fanatic to come up with a clever reply.
Helton is an upgrade from the past two USC head coaches if for no other reason than he seems mature and grounded, but his hiring followed the same embarrassing pattern. A USC-bred AD (Pat Haden) insulated by his USC-bred cronies (J.K. McKay) opts for the familiar face right in front of him. I know Haden said he "spent weeks searching the collegiate and pro ranks," but that seemed to consist of cursory phone calls. NFL coaches are still knee-deep in their seasons, and prominent college coaches are only now beginning to look around in earnest. I find it hard to believe 17 legit candidates all turned down USC.
More likely, Haden got caught up in the Trojans' improvement under Helton, liked how the players responded to him and decided to keep it going. That's great, but you're not hiring a coach for the current team, you're hiring a coach who will recruit and lead the next five years' teams. I still believe USC needed to go outside the family and bring in someone who would blow up that whole dysfunctional program and start from scratch. But that wasn't going to happen, apparently, because the guy making the hire is the ultimate Trojan family man.
