USC football coach Clay Helton could be on pins and needles for the remainder of the 2019 season after athletic director Lynn Swann resigned.
Right when it looked like Clay Helton’s job was safe, beating Stanford by 25 points, the athletic director who doubled down on him, Lynn Swann, decided to resign, effective immediately.
BREAKNG: USC athletic director Lynn Swann has officially resigned.
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) September 9, 2019
While this doesn’t have a direct impact on Helton immediately and depending on who the Trojans hire as the next AD, it may not affect him at all. But there’s reason for concern if you’re the head ball coach heading into an uncertain time.
Swann was the athletic director after Pat Haden who extended Helton, placing trust in the unproven coach even when the fanbase was calling for his job. It was a questionable decision that some believed warranted a “fire Swann” movement. Now that he’s out, no one’s job is safe under a new athletic director.
Let’s face it, USC has not been USC under Helton. They’ve won a Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl under his reign, but the Trojans have also missed a bowl game.
If USC can turn things around this season under the head coach, which was formerly an interim tag in 2015, and win 10-11 games with a Pac-12 crown, we can expect him to be firmly in place as the Trojans’ man for years to come. If not, the new AD is going to have no issue sending bags of money Urban Meyer’s way.
Swann may have been the only one keeping Helton safe and now that he’s gone, the head coach might be sweating it out for the rest of the 2019 season.