Did Graham Harrell stay at USC to be Clay Helton’s replacement?

Graham Harrell was a candidate to be the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, but with him returning to the USC Trojans, could he replace Clay Helton?

After losing in the NFC Wild Card round at home to the Seattle Seahawks, the Philadelphia Eagles decided to move on from offensive coordinator Mike Groh. He had been with the Eagles for three years, serving as offensive coordinator for the last two. One candidate to replace Groh was none other than USC Trojans offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, but he’s no longer in the mix for it.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Harrell is expected to remain with the Trojans for 2020, even though he was a serious candidate for the Eagles gig. One would think a move to the NFL would be something Harrell would jump at like former LSU Tigers passing game coordinator Joe Brady did with the Carolina Panthers this January. What are we missing here?

It’s not all that crazy, but should USC head coach Clay Helton get off to a rocky start, guess who could be in line to be his successor in Los Angeles? That would be Harrell, one of the most sought-after offensive minds in the college game today. Though he’s only 34-years-old, Harrell could be the Trojans’ version of Kliff Kingsbury (who left USC about 10 seconds after taking the OC job to be the Cardinals head coach and was replaced by Harrell) or Sean McVay to put some spark into this bland team.

Harrell played his college ball at Texas Tech for the iconic Air Raid aficionado that is Mike Leach. Younger and younger offensive-minded coaches are getting huge coaching opportunities at the college and professional levels. With USC needing something to catalyze positive momentum heading into the 2020s, Harrell might end up being that guy this program needs.

Ultimately, Helton feels like he’s been on the hot seat his entire time at USC. He will continue to feel the heat until he either leads the Trojans to the College Football Playoff or USC finally decides to pursue a head-coaching candidate who can get them over the top and make the Pac-12 relevant again. Harrell might get a head-coaching gig in 2021 and it just might be at USC.

Sure, going to a team like the Eagles to coach under a Super Bowl champion in Doug Pederson seems like a tremendous opportunity. But the NFL is short for Not For Long. If Pederson’s team misses the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, he could be on his way out. This is how the NFL works. By going back to USC, Harrell positions himself favorably should Helton falter.

Harrell could at least be the interim coach if Helton is fired during the season and audition for the full-time role if USC is unable to coax Urban Meyer out of retirement and away from his FOX broadcasting.

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