USC should be standard-bearer, not also-ran
[Hernández from D1] a familiar feel to it, it’s because something similar was said last winter.
The speaker? Thenathletic director Lynn Swann, who, like Bohn, upset the program’s fan base by refusing to fire Helton.
Addressing the Trojan Athletic Fund Club of Orange County in February, the since-resigned Swann said, “As long as our program stays compliant, as long as our coaches are doing it to the best of their ability, working hard, as long as we recruit and treat our players with respect and help them grow and graduate and have a great college experience and we have a good culture at USC, then I’m going to give them an opportunity to do the things they need to do.”
In other words, if the football program stayed out of trouble and graduated its players, he would be satisfied.
Swann’s resignation was expected to be the start of a new era for USC’s athletics, but Folt’s ambitions for the department’s signature team appear oddly similar to Swann’s. Yikes. Why Folt would adopt such a stance is understandable — to a point.
Her job is to restore order to a university diminished by the college admission scandal as well as its recent employment of a gynecologist charged with criminal sexual assault and a medical school dean cited for illegal drug use and association with criminals. Her concerns extend far beyond the football field.
By accepting the mediocrity resulting from Helton’s inability to reduce penalties or improve the Trojans’ special teams, however, Folt is punting her most valuable asset.
There aren’t many blueblood college football programs in the nation and this is one of them. Only Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Ohio State can compare.
And the football program is the most visible part of USC. It’s a symbol for what the university aspires to be. Keeping Helton sends the message that USC views excellence as something that is nice to have rather than an expectation.
Granted, outside of Meyer, none of Helton’s possible replacements represented a sure bet. That shouldn’t have stopped the administration from making a change. So maybe the school will have to swing-and-miss on a few hires before finding the version of Pete Carroll who won’t land them on probation.
Or maybe it will never find him. That’s not the point. The striving is what matters. Striving inspires hope. Striving reinforces ideas of selfidentity.
The moment USC football abandons its pursuit of national championships is when it stops being special and becomes like any other Power Five program.
That’s what USC has become.
This isn’t permanent. Not yet. A year or two more of Helton won’t erase the program’s incredible history.
But the longer Helton is around, the more his successor will have to overcome.
USC’s 2020 recruiting class is rated 11th in the Pac-12 and 67th nationally, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings.
The Trojans’ recruiting efforts were presumably affected by the perception that their program is a dumpster fire. The same concerns will be there next year as Helton will be on the hot seat as soon as USC is blown out by Alabama in its season opener.
USC’s next coach will not only have to inherit Helton’s players, he will also likely have to win over fans alienated by this administration.
Rather than take responsibility to create the kind of football program worthy of support, Folt placed the onus on the fans to continue backing an underperforming and undercoached team.
“I’d say to the fans, you’ve been loyal for so many years,” Folt told Kartje. “That has been something the university has always really valued and still values now.”
Her comments were less offensive than Bohn’s, which blamed the fans for creating obstacles in recruiting.
He said the frustration that comes from the base “sometimes doesn’t help us particularly with that.”
Bohn also defended Helton’s next incoming class of players.
“Recruiting is going dramatically better than anybody wants to admit,” Bohn said, as if there were an anti-USC conspiracy involving multiple publications.
The absence of accountability extended to the decision on Helton. Bohn said his “recommendation” to Folt was for Helton to be retained, implying the final decision was hers, not his. Folt offered a different story of the process, saying, “I hired Mike to make this important decision.”
None of this will go over well.
And it shouldn’t. By looking at the big picture, Folt and Bohn missed something small but fundamental — the bold spirit that was the foundation of the university’s greatest triumphs, both on the football field and its rapidly improving classrooms. Years will be required to repair the damage.