College football hot seat: 10 head coaches feeling the heat in 2021

1. Clay Helton (USC)

Clay Helton perpetually has the sword of Tommy Trojan hanging over his head.

No coach has endured more speculation surrounding his job for longer than Helton, which is unfortunate since a lot of other schools around the country would probably welcome him as their head coach.

That said, the most wins that USC had in the previous three seasons is eight. They went 5-1 last year, but they were often never convincing before finally being stopped by Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship. USC abruptly ended their season by declining a bowl game with little to play for at that point.

Helton has been a square peg in a round hole at USC. He was declared the interim coach after Steve Sarkisian was fired, and although he has been there for several seasons, Helton has never quite felt like “their guy”. Neither is he considered to be a West Coast guy, having spent most of his life in the south and in Texas before coming to Los Angeles.

Despite the talent at USC, Helton has not been able to live up to expectations following the victory over Penn State in that all-time classic Rose Bowl at the end of the 2016 season. He has received votes of confidence from his last two athletic directors, but fan displeasure is apparent.

Helton is No. 1 on this list because anything less than a Pac-12 title and a shot at the College Football Playoff might not be good enough next season.

However, like Michigan, who is out there who could meet USC’s standards? Urban Meyer is in the NFL. Matt Campbell is staying at Iowa State for the foreseeable future. Could a guy like Bill O’Brien quickly resurrect his career and be a future candidate? Given that the last two permanent head coaches for the Trojans both became Nick Saban assistants, this possibility is too ironic to ignore.

Just one of many coaches to keep an eye on going into the 2021 season.