BEN BOLCH, RYAN KARTJE, THUC NHI NGUYEN (LAT)
1. Arizona — Kevin Sumlin
Year at school, record: Third year, 9-15
2. Arizona State — Herm Edwards
2020 salary: $3.5 million
Year at school, record: Third, 15-11
3. California — Justin Wilcox
2020 salary: $3.05 million
Year at school, record: Fourth, 20-18
4. Colorado — Karl Dorrell
2020 salary: $3.2 million
Year at school, record: First
5. Oregon — Mario Cristobal
2020 salary: $2.7 million
Year at school, record: Third, 21-7
6. Oregon State — Jonathan Smith
2020 salary: $2.4 million
Year at school, record: Third, 7-17
7. Stanford — David Shaw
Coach: David Shaw
2019 salary: $4.61 million
Year at school, record: Tenth, 86-34
8. UCLA — Chip Kelly
2020 salary: $4.3 million
Year at school, record: Third, 7-17
9. USC — Clay Helton
2018 Salary: $4.5 million
Year at school, record: Fifth, 40-22
Coaching resume: Seen as the safe choice to steady the Trojans after the rocky tenures of Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, Helton was hired as the permanent coach in November 2015 after going 5-2 on an interim basis. Helton also had the strong support of the players he had nurtured in a variety of roles at the school after arriving in 2010 as quarterbacks coach and rising to offensive coordinator.
2019 fiscal year athletic department revenue: $118.6 million
Fast fact: A buyout that’s believed to be in excess of $20 million may explain why Helton has been granted more lives than Bruce Willis in “Die Hard.” He’s gone 13-12 over the last two seasons, not exactly the return that then-athletic director Lynn Swann expected in February 2018 when he lavished a more than 40% raise upon Helton as part of a contract extension lasting through the 2023 season. Swann was gone by the fall of 2019 after resigning amid a hail of criticism, but Helton has remained a campus fixture.
10. Utah — Kyle Whittingham
2020 salary: $4 million
Year at school, record: 16th, 131-64
11. Washington — Jimmy Lake
2020 salary: $3 million
Year at school, record: First
12. Washington State — Nick Rolovich
2020 salary: $3 million
Year at school, record: First
latimes.com
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The Pac-12 CEO Group statement — “The Pac-12 CEO Group had an informative and productive meeting earlier today. We plan to reconvene this coming Thursday, September 24 to make a decision regarding possible return to play prior to January 1. The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports will continue to be our number one priority in all of our decision making.”
Good Morning Allen. All the Pac12 football teams should be practicing as if they already know their season will start October 31. Even if it starts Nov 7, who cares, practice whatever you can, weights, conditioning, outside work in drills, 7 on 7 etc. Wear your helmets, do everything with the exception of tackling if that is not yet allowed. What is the worst that can happen? They can tell us the season is off. At least all the teams did their preparation. I truly think we will get some games played. Be it 7 or 8 games at least… Read more »
Have to agree with your comments. the Pac12 should give it a good try to play football. They can call it off at anytime if something happens. But to not forge ahead will not make the Pac12 look good. The most will probably be a 6 game schedule with a Pac12 championship game.
It will be great for the fans who have had much bad news lately.
Also the seniors deserve to go out properly to show our appreciation.
I do not think that the CA schools are in position to start that level of practice at this time. My guess is the reason for the week delay is that neither the Pac 12 Conference staff nor any lead AD were in a position to answer the hard questions about getting the necessary approvals and setting the protocols for running practices (I posted earlier on the some of the obvious problems). Hard to admit just how incompetent the Pac 12 staff and SC athletic department (that falls entirely on Helton, not Bohn) in particular is. The Big 10 was… Read more »
That is pure bull crap, and we all know it. They are only kidding themselves.
Yahoo Sports (Pete Thamel) — on the Pac-12 Presidents call: Friday Earliest possible start date: Oct. 31 HOW DID WE GET HERE? USC officials started pushing behind the scenes soon after commissioner Larry Scott’s daily testing announcement on Sept. 3, sources told Yahoo Sports. There are myriad complications with state and county rules just for the California schools to have full practices. What aided the process were the public letters from USC players, which were echoed around the Pac-12, about wanting to play. Those served as a catalyst to put pressure on public health officials and garnered the attention of California… Read more »
If you play the other 5 in your division and the winner of the North and South play for the conference champ will just have to do. The Pac12 champ is not going to the playoffs anyway.
Colin Cowherd — “I cannot tell you how much I love football. So last night, my stepson and his buddies came over for steaks and mac-n-cheese. We just sat there and stared at the television for three-and-a-half hours. The dogs were staring at the TV. My wife, who doesn’t like sports, was staring at the TV. So glorious.”
MMMM…Mac N Cheese and Steak!😋
Here’s how another Trojan responded to USC’s situation, and the Pac-12. His final thought is a concern of mine as well:
“The Pac12 has not looked good through this current situation. It’s got to hurt recruiting maybe as much as the sanctions.
“Scott looks horrible. Honestly the Presidents look as bad for their decisions.
“My big concern is the number of alumni walking away from the school. I haven’t talked to anyone who hasn’t said ‘no more money.’ It’s not the USC where I went to school. These are very successful people.”
Good morning Allen. I know this article is about coaches salary. But I have a comment that even in this hyper polarized political climate will be met with 100% agreement. LARRY SCOTT MUST GO! There is no left-right,or liberal-conservative. There is only LARRY SCOTT MUST GO!
I somehow feel very unsure about the Pac-12 presidents ditching Larry Scott. That would be too hard for them, if anything. Hope always prevails, of course, but I think the entrenched Scott has just as good a shot at holding onto his job as he does losing it. Hope I am wrong.
Allen, I concur. In fact, I’ve rarely ever seen the conferences presidents care that much about sports in general.
I am not as pessimistic as you, but I agree that it is quite possible the presidents will keep Larry. I am banking on the AD’s and newer presidents exerting influence. At least I hope so.
@Trojan5 If the Pac-12 AD’s and presidents haven’t been dissatisfied with Larry Scott up to now, why are they suddenly going to work to get Scott out now? What possible help is Carol Folt going to be?
Wilner and John Canzano have mentioned a lessening of confidence in Larry and a more critical attention to his actions. I wasn’t thinking of Folt. I don’t imagine she will be a leader, one way or the other. My thought is more that the guys who hired him are now gone and those remaining are less tied to him.At least that is what I recall Wilner, et al have said. My initial point remains. LARRY SCOTT MUST GO!
@Trojan5 Oh, I wish he was gone yesterday. But Wilner’s and Canzano’s comments notwithstanding, I doubt the Pac-12 presidents have the smarts collectively to do it. I’m sure not holding my breath. People like Folt only solidify my concern.
Dammit Allen. I’m trying to give you hope to hang onto. Work with me. LOL
Hah, hah. I appreciate that T5. Actually, I do have fantastic hope for USC football, primarily because it’s just been too good for too long to wither away IMO, regardless of what Caruso or Folt would like.
Unfortunately, I absolutely do not have great hope for the Pac-12 as a conference. The Pac-12 presidents and Larry Scott just don’t have what it takes IMO.
You are making a great argument for SC to leave the Pac. As we both know, under Folt/Caruso, that ain’t happening!
@TrojanRJJ USC and the Pac-12 are wedded forever, I’m afraid. I’m just hoping for four super conferences who specialize in big boy football some day — and seeing how that plays out for the now sitting duck Trojans, who should benefit by getting away from the strict Pac-12 as we know it today.
I am sure Folt is to busy tightening the requirement for blm study requirements and not worrying about the football program saving the cash strapped athletic department.
So his chances in your mind are 50/50? Last year I would think they were higher for staying. Seems he is losing his footing, public opinion is going to be the deciding factor I think. These presidents do read the paper.
I don’t know if the Pac-12 presidents care about what the public thinks here. If so, why is hugely unpopular Larry Scott still the commissioner? It would be great if public opinion truly swayed this choice. If so, I would think Larry Scott would automatically be gone. I still think he has a 50/50 chance at holding on.
Confusing, I know. I’m not really sure how much public sentiment matters in these instances. What do the Pac-12 presidents care about more than their salary, perks and jobs? Ideology in some cases, I assume.
Allen, thanks for the post. I always felt that Carol Folt did not understand SC and the Trojan Family; perhaps unfairly, I view her as the worst type of intellectual: rigid, judgmental, extremely self-righteous, and very political. She has, in essence, declared war on the Trojan Family. As you stated, she and Caruso have alienated a massive amount of alumni. She seems to think that she can simply outmaneuver her political opponents; I think she is in for a rude awakening. There is NO WAY her war on the Trojan Family will not impact recruiting hugely; it is also going… Read more »
Ya, it’s a total shame. I’ll be interested in seeing the media articles/response about the decline of USC fundraising in the future. Could be a pretty cold pill for her. At least, that’s what I am hoping.
And yet Allen, I don’t see Folt or Caruso sweating, so far, if they ever will. over what flack their decisions have caused so far. I just have a sense they planned these changes that have occurred and waited for what negative responses have come and die down in silence. Their next targets of change will be set in motion and I don’t see anything big enough to stop it unless the faculty and/or students rebel. They are the powers big enough to stop Folt & Caruso. And to think all it takes to tear down a constructive philosophy that… Read more »
Money Talks, BS Walks…
We’ll see how Folt/Caruso view things amid drastically dwindling donations and support (especially from a traditional Trojan stronghold like southern California) in the upcoming years.
If the money continues to roll in like the past, USC as we knew it is officially over. If not, there may be a whole lot of accountability that comes to roost, and “a reckoning” as they say.
Allen, they only tactic that I see working is a total boycott of SC. Recruits need to be told the Trojan Family is dead. If seniors do not get jobs because Trojans stop hiring Trojans, things might change.
Jamaica, Ideologues never sweat. If I am reading Folt correctly, she views herself as superior to the rest of us. She is on a mission to save SC from its racist and sexist and homophobic heritage. If she fails, it will not be her fault; it will be the fault of the despicable racists, sexists and homophobes. She is without doubt the worst hire in SC history.
Next question: how does the Pac handle practicing and Covid? What happens if a kid or two tests positive? Are practices to be suspended? And, if the teams need a minimum of six weeks of practice to be able to play, how is that going to work? You practice two days and then have to shut down for a week or so? Assuming the answer is the new testing machines that give results in 15 minutes, does that mean that practices cannot start until every team has such a machine? If so, how many teams have them? And if not,… Read more »
This whole fiasco begs the question- who is more overpaid, and worse at their job- Clay or Larry? I would pay a large sum of money to have the pleasure of personally firing either one of these incompetent buffoons.
Talk about a race to the bottom. Our conference becomes more irrelevant every day.
SC going independent makes a lot of sense, but with a marxists President, and corrupt leaders like Caruso, I can’t see that as a realistic option.
PN4SC, Amazing isn’t it? It is really stranger than fiction. If SC had competent leadership, it would be planning on leaving the Pac and going independent. Whether I would do it or not is another matter but I would certainly be planning for it. Candidly, when the Pac allowed (cheered would be a better word), the extraordinarily unfair abuse of SC by the NCAA, I would have given my ultimatum to the Pac at that time, but we had Haden as AD and Kiffin as the HC. But that is water under the bridge. At present, I would stay only… Read more »
No question about it. The way the administration treats its football program is like it is an annoyance that they have to bother with and feel if they ignore it, it will just go away. I am not so sure Mike Bohn’s hire was anything more than to quiet down all the noisemakers in Folt’s ears complaining about the decadence of the program. I just don’t see her caring that much about supporting USC football back into a top 10 program. Bohn will eventually get fed up & leave. Will Helton stay until his contract is completely up and how… Read more »
You are spot on. The school President and BOT don’t give a damn about football or the alumni. Soon the school will have to ask itself- can we afford not to fire Gomer?
Am I understanding this correctly? The Big 10 teams were practicing for weeks as if they would play and the Pac, in effect, has not practiced at game level practices since December? So, it is going to take a minimum of six weeks (probably 8) for the Pac to commence playing games in a manner which would protect player safety? And, the Pac did not seek and simply was not prepared to get the required waivers? So the soonest the CA teams can start practicing will be mid next week? So the earliest the Pac can realistically play would be… Read more »
It’s true, even though the Pac-12 always knew, as did everyone, that the Big Ten was in turmoil and under enormous pressure to pop their season right back into play. The Big Ten totally hammered the Pac-12 which now has to suddenly trail along, looking for possible morsels in a season that probably ends up with the Pac-12 ineligible for the playoffs. I don’t know how the bowls as a whole plan to go forward. I think the season will be 5-6 regular season games. In the end, it’s better than nothing from where I sit. I had totally canceled… Read more »
Allen, Thanks for confirming the “stranger than fiction” narrative. I do disagree, in part, that the reason is the Big 10 hammered the Pac 12. What happened is the Pac 12 hammered the Pac 12. The Big 10 has an incompetent bag of wind as its commissioner (my guess is he is gone shortly); granted, Larry Scott is probably more incompetent and a much larger bag of wind, but both Conference Commissioners are buffoons. The difference is the Big 10 has competent ADs and coaches and exist in a totally different political environment, with tOSU, NE, MI, and PSU leading… Read more »
It was just a matter of time RJJ, that a Carol Folt would be hired to run USC. The BOTs, run by a chairman who is full of himself, have lost the charge to keep USC uniquely traditional & independent and not as a follower of present day social politics extremism. Over time, the professors Folt will hire in will mirror her political-philosophical beliefs. Who knows what USC sports will look like by then.
Jamaica, I appreciate the input. I am one that does not accept the inevitability of the “victory of the proletariat.” The ideas that Folt and her cohorts are pushing have been around for at least 250 years and have failed whenever they gain ascendancy. The type of academic political games that we are now witnessing have been around for millennia (you can find them being played at the University of Paris in the 1200’s when Aristotle’s thought was the hot topic rather than Hegel/Marx/Rousseau/Nietzsche thought as is the present hot topic). But, my views are irrelevant. Folt/Caruso clearly control SC… Read more »
It was just a matter of time RJJ, that a Carol Folt would be hired to run USC. The BOTs, run by a chairman who is full of himself, have lost the charge to keep USC uniquely traditional & independent and not as a follower of present day social politics extremism.
I’d rather they play than not play, so this is good news. But, wow, do we play in the terrible conference lead by terrible commissioner.
Chris, Do you really think a four to six game season is worth it?
Totally worth it. Just being able to play the little gutties is worth it. USC should win the pitiful Pac-12, especially with ORE so depleted with opt-outs now. Can’t wait to see the Trojans try.
It seems that one thing that would suffer the most by not playing would be recruiting. Such indecision and not playing would make kids wonder what is coming next.
Porter Gustin is playing fantastic at DE for the Browns (#97) against the Bengals. Browns lead 28-16 at the end of the 3rd Q.
LAT (Ben Bolch) — One USC assistant coach said Thursday that the Trojans would need six weeks before being ready to play. Conference officials must also consider the concerns of the #WeAreUnited movement that arose before the season was postponed. One player involved with the movement who spoke on condition of anonymity said safety issues persisted amid a possible hurried start to the season and that the Pac-12 shouldn’t mindlessly follow the Big Ten. “We are simply not in the same situation,” the player said. “The sentiment that players don’t have a real voice in decisions that have so much… Read more »
Just when I was seeing a glimmer of hope of seeing some SC football–clubhouse lawyers pop out.
The torture goes on. Now it looks like the Pac-12 will be forced back into the 2020 season by the Big Ten, without realizing all the benefits, such as a shot at the playoffs.
Anything can realistically happen in this shortened 2020 season, where so many players have opted out. But I don’t see how a mid-Nov start date Pac-12 squeezes a season in before the big play-off vote on the four teams to play for the title.
Why start so late? November? What’s the point for the PAC? So we can have some horsesh*t football intramural league?
I’m still hoping for an Oct 23-24 start by some miracle. But November seems more likely. The Pac-12 HAS to play in 2020.
Nobody else will be playing in the spring. So USC would have to take a full-on year off, while all the other truly big program names are on the field. Just too big of a bad PR hit that makes USC and the Pac-12 look completely small-time, regardless of what Pac-12 coaches or officials spit out. JMHO.
A good read trashing Larry Scott.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2020/09/canzano-pac-12-conference-lacked-urgency-until-it-didnt-may-have-cost-the-oregon-ducks.html%3FoutputType%3Damp
Boy they should be pissed up in Oregon. The one legit national contender in the conference and Larry Scott screwed ’em.
John Canzano — “Scott’s ‘push the envelope’ posturing on national television on Wednesday night was laughable. He should have had his foot on the gas weeks ago.”
I wonder and bet someone has, but must ask, has anyone compared Helton’s current salary to John McKay (adjusted for inflation)? I remember a time when football coaches had smaller staffs and other responsibilities. I just cannot see how they can justify paying someone of Helton’s low stature as much as they do.
I wish they’d make a settlement offer and boot Helton. Then take their chances with the litigation. I can’t believe anyone would side with Helton’s incompetence.
I did my best math and using McKay’s salary in the 1975 NFL (2mil over 5 years or 400k a year) and putting it an inflation calculator, his salary would only amount to 1.9 mil.
How is Helton worth more than McKay?
Not worth more, but paid more.
Bruce Feldman (The Athletic) — In the wake of the Big Ten’s decision that it will kick off its football season starting the weekend of Oct. 24, a flurry of optimism seemed to rush through the Pac-12 as well. Months of stagnation in local and state government were alleviated. That led to reports of a possible kickoff of Pac-12 games as soon as late October. But that timeline does not seem at all viable from a safety standpoint, several league coaches and administrators told The Athletic. “Ain’t happening,” one Pac-12 athletic director said Wednesday night when asked about a possible October start to the… Read more »
Not surprised, especially in the Pac12, that many coaches and players just shut it down months ago. I say, if you aren’t ready forfeit till you are. Really pathetic lack of leadership from Scott down to ADs to coaches to not stay on course, if nothing else for their physical and skill development.
All of this is a clear and remarkable demonstration that football just isn’t as important in the west. All the Pac-12 teams have been just cruising along while the Big Ten teams have been preparing diligently for a possible mid-October start date. As a result, it now looks like the Big Ten may be able to start a full three weeks earlier than the Pac-12. Ugh. Talk about digging your own grave. 😞
Dear fellow Trojans on our blog here–are any of us surprised that Larry Scott didn’t push his employers to keep fighting for a 2020 season? Are we surprised that the rest of the conference didn’t keep their teams in active practice so if a season was announced, the PAC-12 could be ready in 3 weeks for the delayed season as is the Big 10? Instead, our conference is lagging behind again–maybe we can get around to starting our season by November. The Trojans are part of a train of fools when we reside in the PAC-12. I think we could… Read more »
Some would suggest USC, in its current state, fits right in with pathetic Pac-12 football. Other Trojan fans will never stoop to admit such a fall from past glory. Clay Helton recently said USC “would be ready” when the time came to play.
What always-under-fire Helton didn’t tell us was that USC’s program was on the Larry Scott delayed-reaction, no-rush schedule, which is considerably behind the more successful Power 5 conferences.
Allen, you’re just throwing chum to the sharks here! Oregon is getting a bargain and USC of course is getting hosed.
That’s true. Cristobal may be grooming himself for eventually filling Nick Saban’s shoes at ‘Bama, when his coffers will runneth over!
Trojans may hope Bama makes that offer yesterday!
Paul Finebaum on the Pac-12’s likely late entry into the season: “I don’t think it’s going to be a big factor. If you look at the Pac-12 objectively, there’s really only one school, Oregon, that may play big into the playoffs. The Pac-12 just has not been a serious contender. “The big story is the Big Ten. They DO matter, in the playoff. “Everyone would love to see the Pac-12. I don’t think they’re gonna make it in time for the playoff. But that’s their own fault. They’ve been sitting around, moving forward towards spring ball, while the Big Ten… Read more »
The feckless incompetence in all areas and at all levels of governing on the west coast is beyond belief. But heh, we are all such an enlightened woke people, so superior than the rest of the country.
Check out my post above where Bruce Feldman gives the impression that numerous Pac-12 head coaches don’t feel there is any way the Pac-12 could be ready for anything other than mid-Nov football. So probably no real shot at the playoffs. “I don’t think people know that when the seasons were postponed, the Big Ten and Pac-12 took completely different paths,” said one Pac-12 HC. “They kept going like it was still training camp. They kept the same schedule like they were gonna play. We didn’t. Half of our schools couldn’t. Our nose is so fucking far up the Big… Read more »
I really doubt USC had a shot at the playoffs anyway, but how about the bowl games? I want to see SC play a nice tough bowl opponent, so we can get a measure of this team that goes beyond the pathetic Pac-12. Last year Iowa proved that we were not up to the task. I want to see whether the new coaches have improved the team at all.
If the new, in many cases highly regarded, 2020 coaches haven’t managed to noticeably improve the 2019, 8-5 soft-playing Trojans, then we USC fans are in for a world of hurt!
In 2019, USC belonged in the “pathetic Pac-12.” While not a great team by any means, the 2020 version should at least be one of the top two teams in the conference. Since ORE has lost so many players, there’s no reason to think USC shouldn’t nail down the top available bowl game to the Pac-12. Anything less is just another strike against Helton.
I just think that USC is really a bigger question mark this season. We have new defensive coordinators, but will they have enough time to really install their defense and make it work? will AVT return and will the offensive line be better or worse than last year. if it is worse, does that mean that there will be no run game and that Slovis will be under constant pressure? will the GH offense take another step forward in the second year? one big problem is that the 2020 recruiting class was so bad that our talent base took a… Read more »
USC jettisoned some of the absolute worst coaches in college football and the team isn’t somehow better? Slovis is now in year two and USC isn’t somehow better?
USC’s still #2 to Oregon in the conference because it is, after all, the Pac-12 we are dealing with.
I’d much rather have this unknown 2020 Trojan team with the new coaches than the hapless 2019 group which got totally blown out by UW, ORE, and IOWA.
You guys actually think there will be bowl games? They barely exist on the tickets they force onto the schools. No fans, no bowl games.
LOL — Karl Dorrell, @ $3.2 million. Do you realize, Allen, that gives Helton a safety net? 😊
I believe Heltons safety net must be compromise pictures of somebody important. USC has certainly not been getting their monies worth. Currently they are being whipped by Oregon on the recruiting front.
@UtahTrojan Cristobal can seriously recruit. No doubt about it, especially when it’s against USC for any high-ranked prospect in the trenches.
I’m very surprised Dorrell got the job after his miserable failure as the UCLA HC. Nothing special in his career since then either.
College football is Land of the Retreads. Always has been. You’ve literally got to walk out of the profession for it to let you go.