Report: USC president does not want to hire Urban Meyer
Very few people believe we have seen the last of Urban Meyer coaching college football, and the one school the three-time national champion has been consistently linked to is USC. But even if Meyer is interested in that job, the feeling may not be mutual.
According to a report from Sports by Brooks, USC President Carol Folt is not in favor of hiring Meyer to replace Clay Helton. As a result, the school’s trustees are facing pressure to look elsewhere for a head football coach.
Sources: SportsbyBrooks has learned USC President Carol Folt does not want to hire Urban Meyer and pressure is mounting on old guard USC Trustees to stand down on pushing Meyer. New info on my @Fancred show at noon ET. From your phone/tablet, DL app here: https://t.co/5XZwt85xyc.
— Sports by Brooks (@SportsbyBrooks) September 18, 2019
Folt just became president at USC back in March, and she is probably concerned about all of the past scandals Meyer has been involved in. 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.
As Jim Harbaugh recently said, controversy seems to follow Meyer everywhere he goes. More than two dozen players were arrested during his six seasons as the head coach at Florida, and he left Ohio State in the wake of allegations that he ignored domestic violence allegations against a member of his coaching staff.
If USC’s priority is getting its football team back to national prominence, there are few arguments to be made against bringing Meyer in. But if hiring a guy with a clean reputation who won’t bring more scandal to the university is the main goal, looking elsewhere makes sense.