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USC Trojans: One big change Clay Helton has to make

By Lamarr Fields

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: USC Trojans athletic director Lynn Swann (L) and USC Trojans head coach Clay Helton (R) pose with the 2017 Rose Bowl trophy after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 52-49 to win the 2017 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: USC Trojans athletic director Lynn Swann (L) and USC Trojans head coach Clay Helton (R) pose with the 2017 Rose Bowl trophy after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 52-49 to win the 2017 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Clay Helton is going to remain the coach of the USC Trojans despite the fan outrage. Here is one big change Helton needs to make moving forward.

After fishing the season with a 5-7 record, USC Trojans athletic director Lynn Swann announced that head coach Clay Helton would return for his fourth season. The move was shocking considering it was USC’s first losing season since the year 2000.

Helton started coaching the USC Trojans in 2015; he guided the Trojans to the Pac-12 Championship game that season, then a Rose Bowl win in 2016 and Pac-12 title in 2017. This year was a colossal disappointment; myself, and others had USC retaking the Pac-12 title.

Since Helton is coming back, there will have to be some changes made.

The Trojans need to hire an offensive coordinator. Early this season, Tee Martin was the play caller for the Trojans and the offense looked terrible. The offense was predictable with no creativity.

The final three games of the season Helton took over play-calling duties and the offense did not fare much better. USC went 0-3 and averaged only 19 points a game.

USC will need to hire an offensive coordinator that has experience calling plays and has an offensive philosophy he will stick to. The Trojans need to move from the old school student body right and left offense and get with the new aged offenses.

They need to hire somebody that will spread the field out and run some RPO’s (run-pass option). The USC offense, as constructed now, does not put many points on the board. It would be wise to change it up to put points on the board.

I think JT Daniels could thrive in a spread offense, he has good arm talent and is good at spreading the ball around to different receivers.

One prominent candidate for the OC position could be former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, who was just fired recently.

Kingsbury’s offenses are known for scoring a lot of points, he runs a spread offense and throws the ball all over the field. This hire would be a clutch hire for USC — if he accepts. The thing is, I think Kingsbury could very well go to the NFL and be an offensive coordinator.

I think his name will come up a lot because of the success of the Rams and Chiefs. NFL teams will look to run more of a spread offense. But the USC Trojans still need to give him a call and pursue him.

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It is vital that the Trojans hire an OC, they need to score points and not to be so boring on offense. If they do not make a good hire, it will be another long season next year.

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