USC Making Coaching Staff Changes: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The USC Trojans were one victory away from winning the Pac-12 title and clinching a berth in the Rose Bowl. Instead, the Stanford Cardinal gashed the USC defense during a 41-22 win Saturday, and new head coach Clay Helton did not waste much time, reportedly making a number of changes to the staff in the aftermath.

According to USC Trojans on Twitter, USC elected to let go of defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, defensive backs coach Keith Heyward, offensive line coach Bob Connelly and defensive line coach Chris Wilson on Sunday.

Adam Maya of Rivals.com added the following on Twitter:

In addition to wide receivers coach Tee Martin, quarterbacks coach Marques Tuiasosopo and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon, Lindsey Thiry of the Los Angeles Times said strength and conditioning coach Ivan Lewis was asked to remain on the staff, although Lewis “has received interest from NFL [and] other college programs.” 

Maya provided context to the developing situation:

It is easy to look at Saturday’s loss to Stanford as evidence that USC needs to make major defensive improvements and changes. The Cardinal finished with 417 total yards, and Christian McCaffrey was a one-man wrecking crew. The Heisman Trophy contender ran for 207 yards, tallied 105 receiving yards, compiled 149 return yards and even threw for a touchdown (he had three total scores).

McCaffrey made a critical 67-yard catch during the game when the Trojans had momentum in the second half, and there seemed to be a mix-up among the coaches on the play, per Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News:

Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com pointed out that it was a stressful Pac-12 title contest for Wilcox in particular:

USC announced before Saturday's showdown that Helton would serve as USC's full-time coach. He led the Trojans to a 5-2 record before losing to the Cardinal and put them in position to make their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 2008 season.

While the second-half turnaround was welcome at USC, Helton’s next moves will likely define his tenure with the storied program. Sunday's moves were just the initial steps.