USC supposedly has a deal in place with Cincinnati athletic director Mike Bohn to make him their next AD, but many expected an official announcement on Monday. While the Trojans could make the move official at some point this week, speculation is increasing that Bohn may be having second thoughts.
According to a report from Scott Wolf of the LA Daily News, Bohn is considering backing out of his agreement with USC after university president Carol Folt informed him that he will not be able to hire Urban Meyer as the school’s next football coach. Several other athletic director candidates are said to have turned down the USC job because they were told Meyer was not an option, but Wolf reports that Bohn was not informed of this until after he agreed to take the position.
Meyer has been repeatedly linked to USC, but a recent report claimed Folt, who became USC’s president earlier this year, does not want to hire Meyer because of all the controversy that surrounds him. USC has enough problems to deal with, as the admissions scandal that rocked the school is still playing out. The Trojans were also one of the teams involved in the FBI’s investigation into corruption within college basketball. Folt likely played a role in former athletic director Lynn Swann recently stepping down, as Swann was heavily criticized for the way he handled a lot of the issues at USC during his three-plus years there.
There was some belief that Bohn’s impending hire at USC meant the Trojans were not going to pursue Meyer, as Meyer has a history of forging deep ties with athletic directors and does not have that type of relationship with Bohn. However, the two do have some ties — Meyer is a University of Cincinnati alumni who played football at the school. He and Bohn worked together at Colorado State in the ’90s, and Meyer’s son plays baseball at Cincinnati. Bohn was also complimentary of Meyer a few years back.
Thank you, coach! Prominent alumni like you make us proud! https://t.co/ehSn5JwXQZ
— Mike Bohn (@mikebohn_uc) December 10, 2016
USC’s football program is at a level of mediocrity unaccepted by their fans, and no one really knows what their plan is with Meyer. We have heard of at least one other top coach they could pursue, but Trojan fans are probably going to be disappointed with anyone other than Meyer. If they lose Bohn because of an unwillingness to pursue Meyer, things could get even uglier.
