Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart to Recruit Urban Meyer If USC Struggles in 2019
Reggie Bush told Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times (h/t Brett McMurphy of Stadium) that he and Matt Leinart would "recruit" former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer to be USC's head honcho if the Trojans struggle under Clay Helton in 2019.
"We'll definitely be recruiting him," Bush said. "What makes you think we won't be recruiters? Nothing is off the table."
"They have to win the division," Bush added, per Brad Crawford of 247Sports.com. "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."
Helton, who coached the Trojans for one game in 2013 before taking over as the head coach in 2015, has led the team to a 32-17 record. His best season came in 2016, when the team went 10-3, won the Rose Bowl and finished No. 3 in the Associated Press rankings. The team then went 11-3 in 2017, losing in the Cotton Bowl and finishing No. 12 in the rankings.
But USC was poor in 2018, going just 5-7, and despite athletic director Lynn Swann deciding to bring Helton back for 2019, there's little doubt he's on the hot seat.
So hot, in fact, that former USC players like Bush and Leinart—who went 37-2 in their three seasons together at USC from 2003-05, winning a BCS title in 2004, though recruiting violations led to the NCAA wiping out 14 of those wins—are publicly stating they will begin recruiting his successors if the Trojans play poorly again in 2019.
Meyer, 54, retired from coaching in 2018. He has coached for Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and Ohio State (2012-18), winning three national titles and 11 bowl games. He was suspended by Ohio State for three games in 2018 after determining he did not properly address domestic violence allegations against his assistant coach, Zach Smith.
