Is the USC coaching job a better job today than it was six years ago?

[Troy Dad 2016]

The athletic department is finally led by an experienced AD, not some former player who basically serves as a fundraiser. And, according to Bohn, they have spent a lot of money on resources to assist the coaching staff. So the foundation is set. I also think that with the new NIL rules, this gives USC an enormous advantage over every college program in the country. The university sits in the nation’s second-largest media market and entertainment capital of the world, and that should be exploited to the fullest.

So I say yes. How do others feel?

 

[TrojanFireHorse12]

It has everything but can whomever is named, handle the spotlight? can they produce? of course that comes with any high profile job. But a USC coach is going to have to live or die on being able to consistently be well above 500.

 

[uscvball]

No. Folt still around? Check. Caruso and the rest of the Board? Check. Alumni still being purposely estranged? Check. Fanbase put off? Check. California (LA County) covid restrictions? Check. Donations slowed down? Check. CA talent leaving the state to play? Check.

What difference does NIL make when USC is playing a conference rival at 7:30PM.....and gets blown out? What difference does NIL make when our most significant post-season bowl game and win was the Rose Bowl vs Penn St. We won but didn't dominate and it's the only significant bowl game in a dozen years. There will be far more NIL beneficiaries from programs that are being talked about in the rankings, who are on TV during the day and prime time on the East Coast, who are playing in the big bowl games. Right now, that is NOT USC.

Much of the rest of the country sees this program as dead. They don't care to remember PC's glory days. Heck, most of them still believe we flat out paid Reggie lots of money and that we got what we deserved.

USC has got a very long, very uphill battle to be a top 5 coaching location.

 

[CSC96]

Yes. And with the right coach, it can be quick turnaround.

 

[Pudly76]

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This wasn’t a popular position when Pete took the job. It hasn’t changed any since. It takes a special personality to make a go of it here.

 

[GoSC27!]

Full Control or not, that is going to determine whether it is a desirable job or not!
Fight On!

 

[uscvball]

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This wasn’t a popular position when Pete took the job. It hasn’t changed any since. It takes a special personality to make a go of it here.

It's a good point. Even if it's a top 5 job, the pool of willing and hearty is limited.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Every media outlet that I’ve read from since Helton’s release says it’s that USC is one of the truly premiere HC destinations, with some saying specifically top 5. They cite USC’s football history and tradition, 11 NC’s, top football school on the west coast, training facilities, top 3 recruiting area in the country, top 3 NIL area for recruits, etc.

I guess the important thing is how prospective HC candidates see it, but the media seems to see it as a top destination.

 

[Jt71]

No it’s not. The longer SC goes without real success the more people focus on the negatives rather than the inherent advantages ( basically location to ocean, beautiful women and recruiting). With every program in America now poaching players out of Southern California and with social media allowing the reach for any program to communicate with kids daily those inherent advantages are no longer a strong as they once were. USC needs not just a coaching change but a culture change. They need to get back to a more physical style of football. All of the top programs in America play physical brand of football that USC once played. If we don’t have a coach that exemplifies that mindset then we might as well stay where were at with our current coaching situation.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Absolutely. SC brand, location, conference, recruiting, local exposure etc allow it to go from crap to gold in a shorter time frame than most places.
Don Clark to McKay….Hackett to Pete
The right guy wins quicker at SC than almost all places out there.

If it’s not a top destination, I’m curious as to which schools would be considered better. There’s a few in contention that I can think of, but not very many.

 

[Pudly76]

Absolutely. SC brand, location, conference, recruiting, local exposure etc allow it to go from crap to gold in a shorter time frame than most places.
Don Clark to McKay….Hackett to Pete
The right guy wins quicker at SC than almost all places out there.

Wasn’t Pete an “accidental” hire, and at the time we’d been turned down a number of times?

 

[Pudly76]

Yup. Which proves my point even further.

The right hire can flip SC quicker than most.

My point being that the LA lifestyle doesn’t suit nearly as many as you’d think. Money doesn’t go nearly as far, traffic is a bother, etc.

I agree it has professional advantages, but at personal costs some tend to reject.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Exactly. ND comes to mind. Bama is right there.

ND was one I was thinking of. If you look at Alabama, they went through quite a stretch of mediocre coaches prior to them breaking out the checkbook to lure Saban from the NFL with a record salary at the time.

I’m just curious how many HC’s really want to be the follow up to Saban when he retires, and have to deal with those expectations. I heard Dabo may be interested, but mainly because of his history at Bama.

I really don’t think that there’s more than a handful of colleges that are as attractive as USC for potential HC’s. This doesn’t mean that every HC will be interested, no school can say that. But Bohn can reel in a top level HC if he wants to.

 

[DaFireMedic]

My point being that the LA lifestyle doesn’t suit nearly as many as you’d think. Money doesn’t go nearly as far, traffic is a bother, etc.

No place is perfect, and I would venture to guess that this is the single biggest deterrent for USC.

 

[ScottSchrader]

Light years better

 

[HRPickenstuff]

Nope!!!

When Petersen, Meyer straight out tell you NO. and Fickell, Matt Campbell, Franklin and Cristobal say they would rather stay in Cincinnati, Eugene, Ames IA, Pennsylvania you know you lost your shine.

We’ll know by the Coach they hire. If they can convince a top Coach to give up a great job to take the USC job then maybe I was wrong here.

I really think the University blew it when they endorsed 10 years of sub standard coaching and allowing learning on the job leadership. Support quickly turned to frustration then to anger then to abandoning ship. Since fans like me found other places to get their football fix. I’m following K-State and Georgia now. I didn’t watch 1 whole USC game last year. Haven’t seen a game this year either. I watched every Georgia and KState games the last 2 years. So if Mike Bohn blows this hire and it becomes a disaster. I already have one foot out the door I’m good.

They are going to have to win the fans back. I don’t see people wearing USC gear in OC the way I did when Pete Carroll was dominant. That’s marketing for the program.

What’s it going to take? 3 straight 10+win season and a Coach people believe in.

 

[HRPickenstuff]

Nope!!!

When Petersen, Meyer straight out tell you NO. and Fickell, Matt Campbell, Franklin and Cristobal say they would rather stay in Cincinnati, Eugene, Ames IA, Pennsylvania you know you lost your shine.

We’ll know by the Coach they hire. If they can convince a top Coach to give up a great job to take the USC job then maybe I was wrong here.

I really think the University blew it when they endorsed 10 years of sub standard coaching and allowing learning on the job leadership. Support quickly turned to frustration then to anger then to abandoning ship. Since fans like me found other places to get their football fix. I’m following K-State and Georgia now. I didn’t watch 1 whole USC game last year. Haven’t seen a game this year either. I watched every Georgia and KState games the last 2 years. So if Mike Bohn blows this hire and it becomes a disaster. I already have one foot out the door I’m good.

They are going to have to win the fans back. I don’t see people wearing USC gear in OC the way I did when Pete Carroll was dominant. That’s marketing for the program.

What’s it going to take? 3 straight 10+winning seasons and a Coach people believe in.

 

[DaFireMedic]

When Petersen, Meyer straight out tell you NO. and Fickell, Matt Campbell, Franklin and Cristobal say they would rather stay in Cincinnati, Eugene, Ames IA, Pennsylvania you know you lost your shine.

We really have to wait till the end of the season to find out if they really would rather stay where they are. I fully expect that Cristobal and possibly others will stay in their current schools, but we won’t know for a few months yet.

Meyer wasn’t going to leave Jacksonville for USC. At least not right now. He was just making that clear.

 

[TrojanFireHorse12]

Nope!!!

When Petersen, Meyer straight out tell you NO. and Fickell, Matt Campbell, Franklin and Cristobal say they would rather stay in Cincinnati, Eugene, Ames IA, Pennsylvania you know you lost your shine.

chill

 

[tagteampkt]

-Talented Roster
-Immediately Eligible Transfers
-Players’ Ability to Legally Make $ in the 2nd Largest Media Market
-A competent Athletic Director
-A Beefed up Support/Recruiting Staff
-A new Pac12 Commissioner who knows how the business of sports works
-A weakened PAC12 that’s easier to win than yesteryear

I’d say it’s a better job now than 6 years ago

 

[Realitycheck.usc]

My point being that the LA lifestyle doesn’t suit nearly as many as you’d think. Money doesn’t go nearly as far, traffic is a bother, etc.

I agree it has professional advantages, but at personal costs some tend to reject.

Thats why for one of the prime three the deal has to be 150m over 10 years

 

[Realitycheck.usc]

chill

Its a control issue.. look at Oregon. You dont think that Mario calls all the shots with the backing of Phil? He is the big man on csmpus, not the chancellor. That isnt the case at Sc Even bohn doesnt have complete authority. If she is gone then that changes things. Nobody wants their performanceb evaluated when they dont have complete control . They dont want someone elses blunders to reflect on their performance. Only a desperate lesser talent will accept less control.

 

[TrojanFireHorse12]

-Talented Roster
-Immediately Eligible Transfers
-Players’ Ability to Legally Make $ in the 2nd Largest Media Market
-A competent Athletic Director
-A Beefed up Support/Recruiting Staff
-A new Pac12 Commissioner who knows how the business of sports works
-A weakened PAC12 that’s easier to win than yesteryear

I’d say it’s a better job now than 6 years ago

Agreed

 

[Realitycheck.usc]

How much sc offers and to whom depends on how desperate sc is, if Sc believes it has hit rock bottom and will do anything to right the ship. That was the situation at Bama before Saban was hired. For a dozen years Bama was a doormat, their fan base beleievd it was all over for the Tide . . Thats when Regions bank stepped in and presented Saban with a blank check. Saban bit because he knew the Capstone meant business. And the rest is of course as they say is history.. will sc do that? I dont think so, but we can hope.

 

[big_pete]

It's a big time job, but I don't think it's quite as big as we like to think it is. Engagement and eyeballs, we just don't have either. The program is lucky if they can get a couple dozen people to engage with their social media posts. There are high schools out there right now with more reach.

 

[big_pete]

Nope!!!

When Petersen, Meyer straight out tell you NO. and Fickell, Matt Campbell, Franklin and Cristobal say they would rather stay in Cincinnati, Eugene, Ames IA, Pennsylvania you know you lost your shine.

We’ll know by the Coach they hire. If they can convince a top Coach to give up a great job to take the USC job then maybe I was wrong here.

I really think the University blew it when they endorsed 10 years of sub standard coaching and allowing learning on the job leadership. Support quickly turned to frustration then to anger then to abandoning ship. Since fans like me found other places to get their football fix. I’m following K-State and Georgia now. I didn’t watch 1 whole USC game last year. Haven’t seen a game this year either. I watched every Georgia and KState games the last 2 years. So if Mike Bohn blows this hire and it becomes a disaster. I already have one foot out the door I’m good.

They are going to have to win the fans back. I don’t see people wearing USC gear in OC the way I did when Pete Carroll was dominant. That’s marketing for the program.

What’s it going to take? 3 straight 10+winning seasons and a Coach people believe in.

I think there's a lot more truth to this than a lot of want to admit.

 

[Garfield28]

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This wasn’t a popular position when Pete took the job. It hasn’t changed any since. It takes a special personality to make a go of it here.

High income tax - check

 

[uscvball]

But the money a top coach will want will be plenty to live well in Southern California.

On Gameday, Reese Davis just commented that USC has a reputation out there of being "thrifty". Ouch. They touched on the difficulties of that paradigm and the cost of living in Southern California.

They also brought up the point that during Pete Carroll's success, USC was the only game in town. The Dodgers were not in national contention and we didn't have a pro football team. The Dodgers are now contenders and there are 2 pro football teams.

USC has to find a way to recruit beyond the concept that we have great weather and beaches and mountains. I can't recall any stories or pictures of players heading up to big bear or mammoth. Sure they go to the beach. But when recruits, as Gameday said, "leave skid marks out of the state" to head to places like Clemson and Alabama, then nice weather, girls, and the beach may not be enough.

 

[sc69er]

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This wasn’t a popular position when Pete took the job. It hasn’t changed any since. It takes a special personality to make a go of it here.

you forgot 13% state income tax on salary.

 

[Moon4Cimoli]

I think being a media center might work against USC in terms of valuing NIL. There are lots of high Q rating athletic and entertainment personalties in which to invest ad dollars. The top player at Clemson/Alabama is a top personality across the South, along with Nashville musicians and Tom Brady.

 

[Pudly76]

But the money a top coach will want will be plenty to live well in Southern California.

Well? Yes of course. As well as other “college towns”? Not even close.

 

[usc88]

Bohn has been a huge improvement.
But since the days of PC the program has been in decline.
But the direction can change with a good hire.