Report: Favorite emerging as backup plan to Luke Fickell for USC football job
The USC football job could be filled in the coming days with a new report suggesting there’s a new favorite for the Trojans.
After weeks of waiting to find out who their new head coach might be, USC football fans can start keying in on one name in particular.
With the regular season wrapping up around the country, Matt Campbell is the hottest name connected to the Trojans.
That’s according to a new report from Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports.
The favorite for the USC football head coach job might be Matt Campbell
Thamel opened his report by saying that USC has “coveted” Luke Fickell of Cincinnati, who Trojan athletic director Mike Bohn hired in his previous role with the Bearcats. However, pulling Fickell out of the Midwest would “take some gymnastics.”
With Fickell looking likely to sign an extension to stay with Cincinnati, the Trojans are expected to look at Campbell instead.
“Campbell makes a lot of sense here, as his culture would help revive the program and his energy could give the Pac-12 a much-needed boost,” Thamel wrote. “It’s hard to come up with a five-name list for USC at this point, as there’s no logical West Coast candidate. Campbell is the favorite, barring a Hail Mary candidate emerging.”
Campbell just finished the Big 12 season with Iowa State with a win over TCU. His Hawkeyes were disappointing at 7-5 after starting the season ranked in the Top 10. Even so, Campbell’s streak of five seasons with seven or more wins with ISU is the best in program history.
A highly respected figure in coaching, Campbell has been pursued by NFL teams and other high-profile college football programs. USC managing to get him out of Ames would be a major victory.
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