1. Clay Helton, USC
How does a head coach with a conference title and a Rose Bowl end up No. 1 on this list? Well, if you’re Clay Helton it isn’t difficult. He was never fully embraced by Trojan Nation.
After disastrous stints by both Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, Helton was named head coach. Although he struck out on Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, Graham Harrell is a good offensive mind from the tree of Mike Leach.
Sophomore quarterback JT Daniels has a talented group of receivers coming back which include Amon-Ra St. Brown (best name in college football, FYI) but this season is not going to be easy for the Trojans. He didn’t bring in a top recruit class — at least by USC standards.
According to Ben Kercheval of CBSSports.com, his first six games will be critical. He has Fresno State, Stanford, BYU, Utah and Washington right out of the gate and the Trojans travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame.
In addition to the killer schedule, he has to break in new assistants and a lot of young players. He could get off to a hot start, or he could be fired five games into the season. One thing is for sure: Helton is coaching for his job this season — but it’s a shame that he is. People in Los Angeles have short memories.
Granted, he wasn’t the hire that most people wanted, but what he’s done after the scholarship restrictions due to the Pete Carroll era, Lane Kiffin debacle and Steve Sarkisian dumpster fire has been admirable, but he isn’t a self-promoter or necessarily a fit for Los Angeles.
Short and sweet, if Clay doesn’t at least play for the Pac-12 title or beat UCLA, or both, he’s going to get fired. Lynn Swann might not survive either.