USC football: 5 outside the box replacements for Clay Helton

USC head coach candidates: 5 outside-the-box replacements for Clay Helton

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Head coach of the USC Trojans Clay Helton, cheers on his team during warm up before the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images /

2. USC head coach candidates: Joe Moorhead, Oregon offensive coordinator

Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal is rumored to be on USC’s radar to replace Helton. But if he turns any overtures down, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he did, could someone on his coaching staff be pried away instead?

Moorhead parlayed a nice two-year run as Penn State’s offensive coordinator into the head coaching job at Mississippi State. He was an odd fit for an SEC job right off the bat, so it wasn’t too surprising he only lasted two seasons (14-12 record).

Now into his second season as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator, fresh off a nice showing in a win over Ohio State, Moorhead is building back toward getting a head coaching job again. In his first head coaching stop, he went 38-13 over four seasons at his alma mater Fordham. It’s probably just a matter of where Moorhead lands a head coaching job for 2022.

USC needs someone who can coach offense on the cutting edge, and Moorhead showed he can do that based on his time at Fordham and Penn State. His failure at a program like Mississippi State makes it an uneasy fit on the surface, but Moorhead was not a good fit there. Some might see the second coming of Helton in Moorhead, which further makes him an outside the box candidate for USC.

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