I want to start off today’s notes with an appreciation of Paul Westphal. Westphal was on the 1971 USC men’s basketball team that had a 24-2 record. He was a first-team All-American the following season. He averaged 16.9 points a game in his career with a high of 20.3 in 1971-72. Westphal scored 12,397 points during his 12-year NBA career and averaged 15.6 points and … Continue reading USC Saturday Notes: Paul Westphal Appreciation

Texas is doing what USC refuses to do: Pay off the coach. The Longhorns are spending $24 million to buy out Tom Herman and his coaching staff. But Texas is not alone: Auburn paid Gus Malzahn $15 million. South Carolina paid Will Muschamp $13 million. Arizona paid Kevin Sumlin $8 million. USC? Crickets. It is determined to keep Clay Helton and not pay him off. … Continue reading Texas Does What USC Refuses To Do

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown became the latest player to escape Clay Helton when he announced he would turn pro today. This was the least surprising departure and I could not see St. Brown enduring another season of nonsense that defines the USC football program. USC legend Paul Westphal, who has been battling brain cancer, passed away today according to New York Daily News columnist … Continue reading Amon-Ra St. Brown Turns Pro

How many times can you fire assistant coaches, get no significant improvement, and think it is the solution? What amazes me is there are even a few USC fans who think firing Tim Drevno is a solution. I’ve criticized Drevno since he was first coached at USC in 2014. Go back to 2018 and read the comments from USC homer media/over-the-hill pundits who championed Drevno’s … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Can Firing An Assistant Make Difference?

USC defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu announced today he would turn pro. He won’t be the last either. How will the defense be better next season? No Talanoa Hufanga. No Tuipulotu. No Olaijah Griffin. Clay Helton will fix it by firing Tim Drevno and Aaron Ausmus. That’s not going to quell some of the dissension that has existed within the program and surfaced since the season … Continue reading Marlon Tuipulotu Turns Pro

Sources tell me USC coach Clay Helton fired offensive line coach Tim Drevno and strength coach Aaron Ausmus. That means Helton has fired an astounding 14 assistant coaches at USC. Now I was not a fan of the hiring of Drevno or Ausmus. But you know who was a fan of those hires? HELTON! When does Helton hold himself accountable? When does Mike Bohn hold … Continue reading Breaking: Clay Helton Shakes Up Staff (Again)!