Report: USC to fire coach Clay Helton, targeting Urban Meyer as replacement

Clay Helton’s tenure as coach of the USC Trojans has reportedly come to an end.

According to Adam Maya of SI, USC has already made the decision to part ways with Helton after four and a half seasons. The decision is likely to be announced publicly by Monday.

USC’s top target to replace Helton will be Urban Meyer. According to Maya, USC has already been in talks with Meyer’s camp, and there is “optimism” that a deal can be worked out. The school has also put out feelers with other head coaching candidates in case discussions with Meyer fall through.

Hiring Meyer would immediately restore USC’s lost credibility as a program and raise championship expectations almost immediately. He’s won everywhere he’s gone, and the infrastructure at USC would likely enable that trend to continue.

Helton went 40-21 over parts of five seasons with the Trojans.

It was recently reported that USC was leaning toward keeping Helton, but something changed. Perhaps talks with Meyer progressed to a point where they were so confident they could get a deal with done, they had no need to keep Helton in the fold.

UPDATE: Yahoo national reporter Pete Thamel says the report is incorrect.

Just spoke to multiple USC sources. This isn't right. And USC people are rightfully steamed. https://t.co/8rcZD2dDDm

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 1, 2019