After new permanent head coach Clay Helton was appointed on Monday, a trip down memory lane reveals many things about the Trojan coaches of the past near-century, but one thing stands out above all — USC coaches usually come from USC.
Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson and Howard Jones were independents who built the foundation of the program, but since their time in Los Angeles ended in 1940, there have been exactly two head coaches without a direct link to USC.
Helton has that link as a promoted assistant with six years under his belt in Los Angeles.