New USC AD Mike Bohn Won't Rush to Judge Clay Helton Amid Job Security Rumors

As he gave his introductory press conference Thursday, USC athletic director Mike Bohn indicated he'll take his time to weigh the job status of Trojans head football coach Clay Helton.   

"We all understand the importance of football; it's very similar to every institution that I've been a part of," Bohn said, per ESPN's Edward Aschoff. "It'd be premature to be talking about coaches or any situation when I just arrived and am in the process of learning and trying to listen. But I have a good sense of really quickly being able to connect and find out how we're doing and where we're going, and I want to impact recruiting."

When Lynn Swann resigned as AD in September, many wondered whether Helton was on borrowed time. USC finished 5-7 in 2018, and the Trojans assembled the No. 20 recruiting class ahead of the 2019 season, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Things have only marginally improved on the field. The team started 3-1 and upset No. 10 Utah 30-23 on Sept. 20 before dropping three of its next five games. Starting quarterback JT Daniels might be out for the year, but the fanbase remains disgruntled all the same.

More damning than anything, USC's 2020 recruiting class sits 66th with zero 5-star recruits and two 4-star recruits so far. Chip Kelly isn't considered a master recruiter, but he has UCLA 32 spots higher on the list.

With three games left in the regular season, firing Helton now wouldn't make much sense. The Trojans would probably have to wait until the end of the year to approach the top candidates on their list.

Plus, USC still has a path to the Pac-12 title game. It's one game behind Utah and would have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Utes. Even if Bohn ultimately plans on making a change, one could argue Helton has earned the opportunity to possibly pull off a miracle.