USC sent out a press release (below) announcing that Clay Helton would call plays the rest of the season and offensive line coach Neil Callaway was fired.
Callaway was doing a horrible job and clashed for offensive tackle Chuma Edoga, among others. But the timing is crazy. The offensive line stunk for several years and Helton suddenly makes a change with four games left?
This all reeks of desperation and probably was spurred by with athletic director Lynn Swann or administrator Steve Lopes.
Helton is now a man who will probably do anything to save his job.
Martin has no option now but to leave after the season. He has been angry for two seasons that Helton (and his brother) helped call plays but Clay Helton would neve admit, which made Martin the scapegoat when the offense struggled.
Only naive Internet writers clung to the belief Martin called all the plays. Now Helton finally made it official that he will call the plays.
At the end of the day, these are not significant moves. Callaway was expected to retire anyways.
It bears all the characteristics of a clueless coach who doesn’t know how to exist without Sam Darnold.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
Helton is a true A$$hole! Lets put all the blame on Martin and Calloway! Why dont you man up and RESIGN!!
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Bite your tongue. Clay has done a great job and he won a rosebowl!
Sounds like clay is making changes, he knows what he’s doing… he just needs a couple more years.
He’s been snake bit this year, can’t buy a break. Not his fault.
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Thanks Bucket. How does it feel to be 2-6? Oregon will kill u this weekend. Won’t even be bowl eligible. Hey, the Queen wants in for 2020. Who are you going with? How about the Bern?
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When was the last time ucla won a Rose Bowl? You know, the game played in January. ROTFLMAO!!!
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What has he won without Sam Darnold!!
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What has he won without Sam Darnold!! Bite that!!
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Yeah, as if that’s gonna make the team perform like worldbeaters. lol. Can you say too little too late? Good luck, Helton. I’m sure you’ll be SC’s head coach into the next century!!!
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“Only naive Internet writers clung to the belief Martin called all the plays”
Only Wolfie could describe himself and try to belittle others in the same sentence…
Let’s see, you don’t write for anyone, you’re not allowed at practice for your ‘inside’ information, you get information from an equipment guy or some other useless, disgruntled source like yourself, and you barely can be classified as a journalist…. yet you’re going to try to put someone else down because they are actually allowed to cover the team… truly a work of garbage wolf
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Give it rest, Helen!
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Come on Scott, you can’t come up with a new come back?
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Hey Helen, what’s Ricky Townes up to these days.
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Gomer is canned .. he is a miserable play caller, see Sarks final moments at SC. Gomer was calling the plays then. So bad it drove Sark into his mental breakdown. Until then he was just a lazy dumb drunk.
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He’s damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. O-Line sucks, and he fires the O-Line coach – “too late”! Scottie says. Tee Martin’s plays suck, so he takes over, “Cluless coach!” I’m sorry, Scottie, but you’re as off your game as the Trojans are right now. Take a few hours and really process some of these news items before blurting out these rudimentary, knee-jerk takes. We’ll still be with you when you’re ready. We love you!
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Very strange moves by Helton for this point in the season. And now Helton is exposed: if the offense fails – it’s all directly on him.
No matter what happens the rest of the way as the Trojans pursue a bowl-eligibile record (50/50, imho), Helton won’t resign. He will be fired. It’s just a matter of when.
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He’d be crazy to resign – he has guaranteed money and a hefty % of the outstanding if he were sacked. This is his dream job and he knows it – he fell into a bucket of career elevation he never even thought possible until Sarkisian was tossed 3 years ago this month.
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Its all about the buyout.
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Helton was presented with a deal that he could not afford to refuse: imo Swann told him in no uncertain terms to get rid of these two coaches or it would be Helton being fired on Tuesday. Helton saw the light.
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Let’s hear it for self-preservation Rah-Rah’s
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This actin should have happened the day after the cotton bowl. Then Helton could have truly evaluated the qb’s in the fall. Only for Drevino’s sake do I hope the Team rebounds.
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Helton should never have been offered the position. Everyone needs to remember that he didn’t hire himself – this is just the final phase of the disastrous Haden AD regime burning itself out (am I the only one picturing him “fiddling while Rome burned”?). All of you who hated Mike Garrett got what you deserved – no matter what you think of him, he would never have let this happen. His hire (Kiffin) was actually the correct one, since it brought a talented young coach with the potential for success (alas, not realized) back west, along with, most importantly, the critical component of the PC regime, Coach O (and for all of you who thought Haden made the right move in bypassing him, when he was a whisker away from nearly running the table as an interim coach at the height of the sanctions biting…), who was not only arguably the best recruiter in the country, but a top notch defensive line coach who provided the snarling temperament that has been so sadly lacking since he left (remember how hard that team played to beat Stanford with only 12 bodies available? wonder why there haven’t been any Mike Pattersons in the trenches in the past few years?)…but all of this is now hindsight…what matters is going forward…and interestingly…events in Cleveland today potentially set the stage for USC to recreate the greatness of the Carroll years – Todd Haley is available…Lynn
Swann should do whatever is necessary to sign him to take over at season’s end…and as a bonus, just imagine not only how exciting it could be for the Trojans to return to the summit of the college football world (not just winning the Pac-12 South!), but doing so with a sarcastic, acerbic, ambitious coach motivated to prove his former employers wrong…and watching the likes of Wolfie having to ask him questions (the Left Coast equivalent of what the newsies in the northeast have endured under Parcells and Belichick)!
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Todd Haley? Ridiculous lol….
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Feel bad for the Seniors. I’d expect more decommitments.
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Thanks a bunch for keep using this picture. It’s an absolute masterpiece!!! LOL!
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How is this for a scenario? Helton is setting things up for the next SC hire. He’s taking responsibility for the offense and most people realize the defense can only take so many 3 and outs before they start to crumble. So Helton knows he’s gone why not set things up for Clancy to take over. Clancy will keep Tee for recruiting. Watch for Swann to make Clancy interim coach after another blow out loss. Boggles the mind but that’s the way they think.
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See what you’re saying, but I don’t think Pendergast will prove himself to be head coach material through the remaining games to stay with the program, especially with the almost certain slaughter by Notre Dame and possible 2 to 3 losses. The way I see it is Helton clinging to the last straw here trying to save his bacon.
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Why are all you southern cal rah rahs harping on Helton when he is just following the tradition at southern cal??!!
You can’t blame not playing the best QB since southern cal didn’t play the bet QB at QB (Curtis Conway)!
#ExtensionforClay
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