USC legends Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush want Urban Meyer to coach Trojans

Things have gotten so bad at USC, that Trojan legends Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush will actively recruit Urban Meyer to the program in 2020.

How bad has it gotten for USC Trojans football coach Clay Helton? Two of the program’s legends are publicly announcing their intentions to recruit Urban Meyer to replace him in 2020.

Former Heisman winners, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush will be doing everything they can do get their new FOX colleague to coach their alma mater. The three will work together as part of FOX’s college football coverage this season.

Asked if he was really serious, Bush didn’t mince words:

“We’ll definitely be recruiting him,” he told Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times, adding; “What makes you think we won’t be recruiters? Nothing is off the table.”

Helton has been a lightning rod for criticism at USC despite a Rose Bowl win and Pac-12 championship in his first full two seasons in 2016 and 2017. However, after a 5-7 season last year, Helton finds himself coaching for his job, according to Bush.

“They have to win the division,” Bush told the Times. “This is a put-up-or-shut-up season for them, especially for Clay Helton. I’m looking to see drastic improvements. People have to be held accountable and players have to be held accountable. They have to create an environment there where players really understand the tradition of winning that came before them.”

If Bush says it, everyone within the program should stand up and take notice.

Helton has been with the Trojan football program since 2010 when he first started as a quarterbacks coach. When prior head coach Steve Sarkisian took a leave of absence in 2015, he was fired, and Helton replaced him as the interim head coach, his second since he joined the program.

USC is measured by national championships, something Meyer has three of during his time at Florida and Ohio State. After retiring after last season, if USC comes calling, Meyer’s second retirement could be as brief as his first.