Todd Helton is the right man for the job

Mosster47

Discuss.

UWerentThereMan

You have no idea the damage Pete Carroll did

Pitchfork51

Tee Martin and Clancy Pendergast are their coordinators. Let that sink in.

PurpleJ

Can still win the conference. Not bad for a year one coach coming off sanctions IMO.

2001400ex

USC fans thought Sark was the right man for the UW job.

BearsWiin

Trojan Half Brain

I really liked Clay Helton. It was so refreshing to have someone at the top who wasn't a complete egotist for once. I thought maybe he might be the one to turn around the jockish image of the football program and win through hard work and humility. Instill some of those southern values in our hotheaded kids who are always getting in trouble off the field. After all, what's better than a winning program? A winning program that isn't hated on by everyone.

All the preseason pressers and PR pieces really made me optimistic for this season. Helton from every angle was just such a pleasant and likeable guy. I couldn't help but want to root for him to have a long and successful career at this school. Even if he didn’t win us championships, I just wanted him to be a beacon of stability and optimism for the players that had to go through hell these past few years.

So... Alabama and Stanford were games we were expected to lose. To me, a loss is a loss; 52-6 or 7-6. It's just one integer increment in the L column regardless.

But losing to Utah pulled the plug on the season before I even realized what was happening. There's nothing to gain in the season anymore. USC is already out of contention for the Pac 12 South. They went from a possible 10-2, to "it doesn't even matter anymore." No comeback story. No rematch against Stanford. No second chance at the Pac 12 Championship like last year. No rose bowl. 3 weeks into a season and it's literally over.

I could make a million more excuses for this game like I did with Alabama and Stanford. It was an away game. It was Darnold's first start. It was raining and cold and slippery. 3 turnovers is just unlucky. Refs were shitty. Random possession-ending penalties. Adoree losing his shoe at the end. But man, this was a #21 team. How did it comes to this? From Lane Kiffin's 10 win season justifying being fired on the tarmac, to now getting all excited just because our offense could score at all against a #21 team.

I started off again rooting for Helton this time. Darnold looked like the best quarterback we’ve had in years and he obviously fit the playstyle of this offense better. I was willing to forgive everything if USC beat Utah by at least as much as they did last year.

But by the time Utah got within 10 pts again in the second half, I found myself just hoping for USC to tank it. Better to lose than to win by 3. Rub it in the face of everyone. Other teams need to know that USC shouldn’t be taken seriously anymore. Players need to transfer. Coaches need to feel guilty. Boosters need to stop donating. Just burn this all down and start from scratch.

It wasn’t the sanctions that killed USC football, it was the half-assed attempts to keep it alive. The program was a lame horse whose owners didn’t have the guts to put it out of its misery and start over. Helton and Tee Martin are the last relics of Haden’s era. He brought them in and he promoted them, and as a result the program still stinks of his legacy.

My heart breaks when I see the looks on the faces of Justin Davis, Juju, Max, and Adoree on the field. These kids deserve so much more. I can only imagine their optimism going into their final seasons at USC after years of turmoil hoping to at least rack up some highlights for their draft reel, only for it to be the most painful year yet.

If Helton is as kind of a man as I believe him to be, he’ll see what's happening to these kids, some of whom he says he loves and calls family. After all, he spent all pre-season talking about how he would always do what he believes is best for the team. About how when you come to USC, you have to always compete to earn your job. About family and football. Well Clay, we've seen it with Max. It's your turn.

dnc

BearsWiin said:

I really liked Clay Helton. It was so refreshing to have someone at the top who wasn't a complete egotist for once. I thought maybe he might be the one to turn around the jockish image of the football program and win through hard work and humility. Instill some of those southern values in our hotheaded kids who are always getting in trouble off the field. After all, what's better than a winning program? A winning program that isn't hated on by everyone.

Not a halfbrain

priapism

@SC_Haden_Fruede

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907946-7-years-2-divorces-4-fired-hcs-1-alcohol-addiction-3-ads-dozens-of-ruined-drafts

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907475-one-play-epitomizes-this-embarrassing-season

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907284-when-is-this-team-not-going-to-collapse

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907648-all-time-failure-ad

SC_Haden_Fruede

priapism said:

@SC_Haden_Fruede

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907946-7-years-2-divorces-4-fired-hcs-1-alcohol-addiction-3-ads-dozens-of-ruined-drafts

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907475-one-play-epitomizes-this-embarrassing-season

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907284-when-is-this-team-not-going-to-collapse

http://www.wearesc.com/forums/forum/main-category/main-forum/907648-all-time-failure-ad

@priapism Sorry it took me so long to reply...I'm still on the first link.

RaceBannon

disagree. Sanctions destroyed USC football. They altered the talent level, the coaching staff, the depth and the culture.

The direct affect is ending, but the aftermath is no where near being over. and could last many more years.

24 and counting up here

doogsinparadise

RaceBannon said:

disagree. Sanctions destroyed USC football. They altered the talent level, the coaching staff, the depth and the culture.

The direct affect is ending, but the aftermath is no where near being over. and could last many more years.

24 and counting up here

You know this gets dismissed as a Doogism and whatnot, but there does seem to be something that happens to the attitude around a program when it goes on sanctions. The boosters lose influence, the players stop working harder than ever, upper campus gets the upper hand, etc.

RaceBannon

doogsinparadise said:

RaceBannon said:

disagree. Sanctions destroyed USC football. They altered the talent level, the coaching staff, the depth and the culture.

The direct affect is ending, but the aftermath is no where near being over. and could last many more years.

24 and counting up here

You know this gets dismissed as a Doogism and whatnot, but there does seem to be something that happens to the attitude around a program when it goes on sanctions. The boosters lose influence, the players stop working harder than ever, upper campus gets the upper hand, etc.

I agree. UW did not want to be a football school and the sanctions gave them cover. They do need the revenue which leads to the dance of mediocrity for years and years.

doogsinparadise

Takes a transformational coach like Butch Davis, Saban, or Harbaugh to reverse the rot.

doogsinparadise

People forget that Alabama was very mediocre in the early 2000s.