Former Oregon player, NFL lineman makes Urban Meyer to USC joke
When a head coaching position at a blue blood program in college football opens up, rest assured there will be plenty of playful fodder, especially on Twitter. Former Oregon offensive guard Geoff Schwartz got in on the USC coaching vacancy action earlier this week.
Schwartz sent the tweet Monday afternoon, just after the announcement that USC would be parting ways with Clay Helton. Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has already put down the rumors that he would leave to coach the Trojans.
“There’s no chance,” Meyer said Wednesday, per ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. “I’m here and committed to building the organization.”
Schwartz is from Southern California, and he is 6-foot-6. The three-year starter at Oregon was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection in 2007. While he was in Eugene from 2004-2007, the Ducks went 31-18. Their best season came in 2005 when they went 10-2 under head coach Mike Bellotti.
Schwartz was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers in 2008. He played in the league until 2016 for the Panthers, Vikings, Chiefs, Giants and Lions.
Star-studded lineup being mentioned for the USC job
As expected, the list of coaches USC might consider is full of very successful people, including current Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal.
In a testy interview on Thursday, Cristobal made it very clear that he is not interested in leaving Eugene.
“I’m telling you again, ‘Go Ducks,’” Cristobal said after being asked for a second time by Doug Gottlieb if he would consider the opening in Los Angeles. “I’m not sure why you brought me on this interview. I was under the impression that we were talking about the Oregon Ducks and what not. Since we go this route, I’ll reinforce it again, ‘Go Ducks.’ And so here I am, buddy. Let me know what else you got for me.”
In addition to Cristobal, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, who served as interim head coach at USC for part of the 2013 season, has said he is happy where he is. Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell, who USC athletic director Mike Bohn hired at Cincinnati in 2017, has said he would not answer a phone call should Bohn try.
Of course, initial “no” answers sometimes are not final, but these coaches seem to have, at least publicly, pulled themselves from contention for the moment.
Penn State’s James Franklin gave a non-answer when asked about the position, and there is reportedly mutual interest between the schools. Other names that have been floated include Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald.
Fox’s Bruce Feldman believes Franklin is one of the two most realistic candidates for the job along with Campbell.