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As of Wednesday USC fans now have their answer to a long awaited question. Helton will be the head coach for the 2020 season.
I am pleased to let you know Coach Helton will continue to be our head coach.
— Mike Bohn (@USC_mikebohn) December 4, 2019
His commitment to our student-athletes and to leading with integrity is vital to restoring our championship program, which is the goal for all of our teams.
Why did Bohn decide to keep Helton?
As stated by Matt Lowry in an earlier article,
“The financial ramifications of firing Helton would have been pretty steep. The head coach has a $20 million dollar buyout and many wondered if USC would even touch that.”
Was this a main reason Bohn decided to keep Helton? Maybe.
But keeping Helton won’t make most fans happy, especially with a 2020 recruiting class that is currently ranked at No. 67 on 247Sports.
Bohn also stated that he and Helton will make “tough decisions” moving forward to ensure the football program gets back to national championship level.
Does this mean USC will see the end of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and special teams coordinator John Baxter?
That is yet to be seen.
Then there is the issue of Texas potentially poaching offensive coordinator Graham Harrell away from USC.
Per multiple reports Harrell seems to be mulling over the idea of a move back to home state Texas.
One thing is certain, Helton will be under even more fire in 2020 and Bohn will need to do some damage control sooner rather than later.