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USC Football: Top 10 coaches in program history

By Quinn Douglas

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: Coach Pete Carroll of the USC Trojans leads his team to the field prior to the start of the NCAA college football game against Arizona Wildcats at the Los Angeles Coliseum on December 5, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: Coach Pete Carroll of the USC Trojans leads his team to the field prior to the start of the NCAA college football game against Arizona Wildcats at the Los Angeles Coliseum on December 5, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Marvell Tell III #7 of the USC Trojans runs back his interception during the third quarter in a 28-25 win over the UCLA Bruins t Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Marvell Tell III #7 of the USC Trojans runs back his interception during the third quarter in a 28-25 win over the UCLA Bruins t Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

6. Gus Henderson: 1919-1924

Career Record: 45-7

Awards and Accolades: 1922 Rose Bowl Champions

The man who laid down the first bricks of the USC foundation was Gus Henderson. Henderson played college football at Oberlin College and then coached at Broadway High School in Seattle following graduation. He was all of 30 years old when he was hired to lead the USC football program in 1919.

Henderson had great success in his five years in Los Angeles, compiling a 45-7 overall record and never losing less than two games in a single season. Henderson was also notable for being the first head coach to lead USC to the Rose Bowl. In 1922, he led USC to a 14-3 win over Penn State in “The Grandaddy of ‘Em All”. Following back-to-back losses late in the 1924 season, USC bought out Henderson’s contract and relieved him at the end of the season.

After his days at USC, he became coach at Tulsa for 11 seasons, turning the Golden Hurricane program into a regional powerhouse. He also held stints with pro football’s Los Angeles Bulldogs and Detroit Lions along with Occidental College before retiring from coaching in 1943.

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