When Notre Dame beat USC to seal the first losing Trojans season since before Pete Caroll was hired, many expected USC head coach Clay Helton’s tenure to be over. An airplane circling the Coliseum kindly suggested Trojans athletic director Lynn Swann make that decision. “Lynn Swann — Please Fire Clay Helton.”
Swann did not, instead issuing a statement announcing Helton’s retention. Declaring a lack of change is not usually something that needs to be done.
USC and Helton still made some moves, following the model created by Irish head coach Brian Kelly following his similar season in 2016 — retain the head coach, turn over most of the coaching staff, hope the stocked roster rebounds.