Submit questions for Thursday mailbag

Will Lynn Swann make the necessary changes to better USC Football or if he doesn't will his job be in peril as well??

 

What do you make of all the James Franklin rumors ?

 

Garry, In your heart of hearts do you think Helton will be back in 2019?

 

WTF???

 

Are you really doing mailbag on Thanksgiving? What happened to my FIVE (5) legged turkey? [did you know JR and Madden are both from J Serra High in San Mateo as is QB Tom Brady?] I love some traditions, but not staying with the SC family of coaches or former coaching trees any more. Will we go outside this time, and will we do it in time to save the recruiting class?

 

Hi Gary-

With ND having the 8th ranked passing defense in the country, and with JT being a freshmen, will Clay make a strong effort to get the running game going this week, or at the very lease have some trick plays to try and generate some offense? If not and JT struggles, any chance we see Sears, with Clay hopefully coaching for his job and trying to pull out a miracle win?

 

Garry, how are you feeling?

 

Garry - In your opinion with your vast experience -- what does Clay Helton deliver that you consider "elite" when compared to the other traditional national powerhouses that could bring us any sense of hope? I don't see any part of his coaching that makes me think "Wow, we really have an advantage in _______ thanks to HCCH". Developing players, commitment to a team identity, team discipline, penalties, red zone efficiency, clock management, game time adjustments, great practices, innovation, quality coaching staff. Do you believe he is a top 10 coach in any category? If it is recruiting -- then why are we 5-6? Please compare him to other nationwide benchmarks rather than our record vs. a mediocre PAC-12. Thank you and FIGHT ON!

 

Garry, can you give us a list of 2019 recruits you think will end up at SC regardless of whether Helton returns or not?

Thanks, glad you're back at it.

 

Hi Garry,

I hope you are feeling better, glad to see you are back.

Should Helton come back next year, any suggestions as to how I can take SC football a little less seriously so the disappointment isn't so damaging to my normally positive outlook on life.....
Or should that be a question to my Therapist?
Happy Thanksgiving, Garry.

 

Garry, glad to see you back.
In the unthinkable event that Helton returns as a coach next year, and imagining that he does so under the mandate to clean house with his coaching staff, what would be your ideal supporting cast to surround Helton with next year?

Beat the Irish!

 

Word in the Trojan Huddle and other message boards is that Lynn Swann had every intention of retaining Coach Helton for next season and letting him right the ship. Whether or not those sentiments change following Saturday's contest, remains to be seen. My question is, WHOSE decision would it be whether or not Helton returns next year, given the state of flux the university is currently in. Without a President at the helm to guide an AD on such an important decision, what's your understanding of the CURRENT power structure within Heritage Hall? Would this be a decision that Swann makes on his own, or would the BoT and other major program donors have a say-so in how all of this plays out?

 

Garry,

Please tell me clay isn’t coming back???!!!

 

Glad to have you back, Garry.

Clancy seemed to be doing a good job with the D during his return tenure at USC, but this year has been a disaster like every other area of coaching. It's hard to believe, considering his track record as a top NFL D-coordinator and a Super Bowl winner. What happened to Clancy and his performance, in your opinion?

 

Garry, does your spidey sense still tell you that Lynn Swann will use the Notre Dame coaching purge in 2016 (and subsequent success) as the justification for retaining Helton? (Great to have you back and Happy Thanksgiving!)

 

The Helton staff has recruited a lot of talented high school players over the past 5 or 6 years. How many of those players do you think have developed above their high school playing abilities during their time at USC. I don't see a significant player development in these highly rated recruits from the high school ranks. The teams we've face from Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame have taken their highly ranked recruits and have made them dominate forces against our "High School" great players. That's what it seems like to me. Any comment?

 

Garry,

Not really a question about football.

Just as there will be fewer butts in the seats with a Helton team, have you seen any difference in your business under the Helton regime as opposed to when USC has had a decent coaching staff?

 

GarryP, what questions have been answered about the coaching staff and the players this year?
What changes would you implement going forward regarding coaches, recruiting, player development, scheme?
Do you think we are falling behind talent wise, both players and coaches?
scheme wise - offense, defense and special teams?
imho there is a wide gap between our support staff compared to the top ten teams.

 

Does anyone have any idea of what the Helton buyout is? It might have a bearing on his status.