Thankfully, Mike Bohn signed USC OC Graham Harrell to a big multiyear extension back in December…
Ryan Kartje (LA Times, Dec. 16, 2019) —
The coveted coordinator responsible for transforming the USC offense in his debut season will remain a fixture with the Trojans for the foreseeable future.
Graham Harrell signed a multi-year contract extension to stay at USC, the school announced Monday, ending a week of uneasy speculation over whether the rising star coordinator might leave L.A. for Texas, where he’d interviewed for the same position.
“Excited to be a part of this great university and part of the Trojan family,” Harrell said in a video posted on Twitter. “It’s a really special place. We’ve built something really special here.”
After making the controversial call to retain head coach Clay Helton earlier this month, USC moved swiftly to secure its offensive coordinator, offering Harrell a lucrative multi-year extension worth more than $1 million per year.
The offer, which The Times first reported Dec. 6, came soon after Harrell emerged as one of the most desired assistants on college football’s coaching carousel. A Texas native, Harrell interviewed for the Longhorns’ vacant coordinator position and was briefly discussed as a possible head coaching candidate at Nevada Las Vegas and Texas San Antonio.
But with Texas and its deep-pocketed program looming, USC made an offer convincing enough to keep Harrell at the helm of an offense that could be among the nation’s most talented next season. The school did not announce the official terms of his new deal, but the extension presumably places him among the highest-paid coordinators in the nation, not long after new athletic director Mike Bohn promised “a redoubled commitment” of resources for the football program, following the decision to keep Helton.
According to a 2019 USA Today database of assistant coach salaries, only one Pac-12 coordinator, Washington’s Jimmy Lake, reportedly made more than $1 million in 2019. Lake has since been promoted to replace Chris Petersen as the Huskies’ head coach.
By comparison, 12 SEC assistants boasted seven-figure salaries a season ago.
For USC, which is still mulling the future of several other assistants ahead of next week’s Holiday Bowl, it was a price tag worth paying after watching Harrell turn a stale USC offense into one of the nation’s most explosive aerial attacks.
Harrell was first hired last January at a moment of desperation, after Kliff Kingsbury, another disciple of Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, spurned the Trojans after just one month to be head coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Harrell stepped into his place soon after, following three successful seasons at North Texas, and his hiring would pay huge dividends for a program desperate for progress on that side of the ball.
That progress was evident through just one season, as Harrell oversaw the transformation of one of the Pac-12’s most paltry offenses into a high-flying Air Raid attack that ranked among the most explosive in college football. The Trojans improved from 91st to 36th in scoring offense and from 84th to 18th in total offense.
His father, Max Slovis, told The Times two weeks ago that Harrell was one of “the single most influential people in Kedon’s growth.”
With Slovis set to return, along with most of USC’s playmakers, Harrell may have one of the nation’s most talented offenses at his disposal next season. That potential, for a rising star coordinator, was reason enough to return.
“Moving forward, we’ve laid the foundation to compete for championships, not only at the Pac-12 level, but at the national level,” Harrell said. “We’re excited to be here. Can’t wait to continue what we’ve started.”
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Fox News — Lori Loughlin’s husband, Mossimo Giannulli, 57, has been sentenced to five months in prison in the Operation Varsity Blues/college admissions scandal. Giannulli’s sentence includes two years of supervised release, 250 hours of community service and a $250,000 fine. Giannulli must report to prison by Nov. 19.
The ‘Fuller House’ actress is set to appear in court later today for her sentencing (probably two months per her plea agreement).
foxnews.com
Was that the result for Aunt Becky? 2 months prison? And her daughters seem pretty ungrateful for the USC opportunity. Sad tale.
Lori and Mossimo really made a bad turn back there somehow. I’d say they cut a fair deal for themselves, got a break due to the pandemic, and who knows how much actual incarceration awaits either? ABC News — Lori Loughlin and her husband lived an advantageous, “fairy tale life” and yet still “bribed their daughters’ way into college,” a federal judge said Friday as he sentenced her to two months in prison. The “Full House” actress appeared choked up as she apologized. “I am truly, profoundly and deeply sorry. I am ready to face the consequences and make amends,” Loughlin said. “I… Read more »
Oncoming football season is turning into a huge can of worms. No decision on playing/not playing this fall or even in the spring is getting a lot of support. In the meantime, we have players opting out whose team season has been cancelled. Along with that there are parents demanding the reasons why and players even talking about legal actions taken. You have coaches from other teams still scheduled to play wanting player transfers and public outcry administrations are trying to kill the sport using COVID-19 as an excuse. On the other side, the NCAA health officials inside & outside… Read more »
Yahoo.com — USC Trojans QB Kedon Slovis is ranked No. 7 in PFF’s ranking of all 130 starting FCS signal-callers. Slovis is ranked behind Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Jamie Newman, Sam Howell, Tanner Morgan, and Sam Ehlinger.
Assuming Slovis takes some strides in year two, he will easily be in contention for a Heisman Trophy before his time at USC is over.
Yahoo.com — Notre Dame announced Thursday that five football players have tested positive for COVID-19 while six others are in quarantine through contract tracing protocols. Amid a COVID-19 outbreak that followed the return of the general student population to campus in recent weeks, the Notre Dame football program conducted two rounds of testing this week — 232 tests in all. Five returned positive and those players have been placed in isolation, the school said. Because of the rising number of positive tests on campus — up to 304 since Aug. 3 — Notre Dame canceled football practice on Thursday. Following another round… Read more »
Smart thinking:
Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach
Source tells @TheAthletic that the D-I Council is recommending to the NCAA Board of Directors that all fall sport athletes keep their year of eligibility, no matter if they play in fall or spring or how many games. Board needs to approve this on Friday.
Too bad someone doesn’t try a proven therapy like preventative doses of a safe, cheap pharmaceutical (HYdroxychloriquin) on all of the football team’s players. Show me that it doesn’t result in greatly reduced numbers of Wuhan Virus positive tests—IF NOT ZERO positive cases. I would bet my Georgia Dental License on this. But, sadly, this would involve out-of-the-box, common sense thinking instead of following the crowd.
Common Sense is largely extinct, especially among blue state governors and college presidents.
Per Yahoo Sports Merton Hanks is the new Pac-12 Senior Associate Commissioner for Football Operations .
If that changes anything we will see !
The Pac-12 announced that they’ve hired former San Francisco 49ers standout, Merton Hanks, to oversee football operations. He’ll work with the 12 member university’s athletic directors and head coaches as well as with conference officials and NCAA officials. Hanks’ role will be as the Senior Associate Commissioner for Football Operations, a similar role as to the one he held while with the Conference-USA the past four seasons. He’ll start with the Pac-12 on Sept. 8. Hanks, a former All-Big-Ten CB from IOWA and former All-Pro S from San Francisco, he takes the role previously filled by Woodie Dixon, who recently… Read more »
Expect more Trojans to opt out of potential spring football season: LAT (Thuc Nhi Nguyen) — The Pac-12 postponed its fall sports seasons last week amid the coronavirus outbreak with hopes of restarting after Jan. 1. The conference — hoping for advancements in testing, a decrease in COVID-19 case numbers and more data on long-term effects of the illness — hasn’t announced plans for its delayed spring football season. The 2021 NFL draft is scheduled for April 29-May 1, and the 6-3, 315-pound Trojan DL Jay Tufele is the No. 2 defensive tackle prospect for this draft, according to Walter Football. “Although it pains me… Read more »
Bleacher Report — Lane Kiffin: ‘It’s a Shame’ Players Can’t Transfer Amid Fall CFB Postponements
With the Big Ten and Pac-12 announcing the postponement of the fall sports season, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin lamented the inability for college football players to easily transfer to another school, calling it a “shame.”
A player would need to receive a waiver from the NCAA to be immediately eligible upon transferring. Otherwise, he’d be sitting on the sideline for 2020.
Kiffin said Tuesday on SEC Now the NCAA should make an exception for this year given how the COVID-19 pandemic has upended college sports.
bleacherreport.com
What is a shame is Kiffen even bringing this up. Obviously his motive is to cherry pick from the conferences that will not be playing this fall. I do not think the SEC and ACC will have a successful season, something will happen and games will get cancelled and here they sit.
Bleacher Report —
Antonio Morales@AntonioCMorales
#USC DT Jay Tufele has opted out of the potential spring college football season to focus on preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft. Tufele is viewed as a potential top-100 pick.
twitter.com
I think that this article misses the broader point about Graham Harrell and the air raid offense It wont win national championships. The article talks about the explosive air raid offense and how well USC ranked. OK. Mike Leach’s WSU offenses rank higher than USC in total offense (#6) in the nation. So when measured against a team (WSU) with inferior talent that runs the same offense, they didnt measure up. But the problem with the air raid is that it doesnt win the big games because it doesnt control the line of scrimmage, cant score in the red zone… Read more »
gametv, It is impossible to answer your point. It may well be with an elite coach, the air raid can win the national championship. Say, someone like a Pete Carroll. Unfortunately, at present, SC has, in best case scenario, no HC (a cheerleader to quote Allen) or, if he has anything to do with the football end of business, an incompetent one. You correctly (yesterday I think) correctly noted that the problem with retaining an incompetent HC (which Clay is) is a young OC like GH (who is really good and has great potential) must develop himself. Experience in coaching… Read more »
gametv, Below is a theoretical response to your post. This will be a concrete response. 2020 is in the books. SC is not playing. So, look at the 2021 team. Right now SC has four RBs; Stepp, Carr, Malepie (spelling?), and Christon. In 2021, it should have one: Christon (who is ideal for the air raid). Stepp will be eligible for the NFL this spring and would be crazy to return; Carr and Male (unless they want an advanced degree or a job in coaching) should also be moving on to the NFL (or some other pro league). Given the… Read more »
Right on gametv. Bringing GH in with his Air Raid offense realistically is a quick fix move that will eventually put the football program into a bind with its recruiting. Look at the better recruits who have come here since GH arrived? WRs & QBs mostly. Few RBs, poor OLs and then you have the defense take the brunt of having to play more minutes in the game which will affect its recruiting. After 3-4 years of this, you have a roster that can play only one way well. Then when a new offensive scheme is brought in, it will… Read more »
Former USC All-American and NFL LB Chip Banks is out of immediate danger and recovering from his gunshot wounds sustained in a deadly Atlanta attack, per his nephew Brennan Banks:
“My uncle is improving everyday,” Banks said recently. “Spoke with him again this morning. He is getting stronger everyday but there will be a long road for his recovery from multi-gunshot wounds.”
Banks has also thanked “everyone for their prayers & thoughts over the last days,” especially concerned Browns’ fans.
I am relieved that Chip is recovering. I am also happy that he was on the right side of the law. The local paper did not make it clear if Chip was part of the house robbing crew of thugs! Fight On Chip! Thoughts and prayers for a complete recovery!
Same here…. glad Chip is going to recover positively.
I respect this website and part of it is due to being able to responds to postings. ESPN has chickened out eliminating responses to their writer/reporter articles. Maybe it was because they were laughed at with a lot of their writings? You wind up losing respect for those who care not to take in others views and there is a lot of that going on today in this Country. Where would this football program be if Harrell hadn’t been brought in… That much is obvious. But to say he will be the savior of it is a little pre-mature in… Read more »
Some items as I see it: 1) Harrell has never been under any obligation to publicly divulge what he plans to run. What his plans are from game-to-game, or season-to-season are much more his business than mine. And besides, it was never reasonable to expect him to do more than what he did in one single season, even though he immed lost his QB starter. Year two should be when he really gets to show what he can do. 2) I don’t see how Harrell can just “demand” that the OL be better during year one. Apparently, not one single… Read more »
You covered it all — leaving me very little to say/post. Thanks so much! 😊
But that being said, if Harrell would just state that he wants our running game to return to what we were used too in our past, I’d be patient and satisfied for awhile. 👍
USC hasn’t had what I would call a truly great back since Reggie Bush.
The Trojans are due for another one of those types, who is more than just decent-to-good, but is also ready to become a special player in Trojan lore. I know that doesn’t fix the USC OL issue, but it’s still an ingredient USC has been missing for awhile now. Maybe Markese Stepp can become that. Maybe not. But nobody since Bush has really stepped up to occupy that kind of space IMO.
I disagree with this statement. Markese Stepp is an incredible talent, but he needs a decent o-line. No running back can run without blocking.
Markese Stepp still has a lot to prove if he ever wants to go down as a truly great back in USC’s phenomenal history, as I said. He’s obviously not there yet, coming off a serious injury leading into his third year and with only 340 total yds rushing in his career as a Trojan.
I know folt is satisfied with sports mediocrity–especially if the Ivy League/Vanderbilt are the models for college sports in her mind. Please God, make her move on!
The sooner Folt moves on, the better for USC. The removal of the John Wayne memorial/exhibit was the last straw for me. She’s tearing down the traditions of USC which us alums hold close to our hearts. Caruso needs to be replaced as well.
Regarding the offensive line, I am not an expert here, so please explain something to me. In interviews, Tim Drevno has talked about the fact that he has essentially 4 offensive plays to teach his players, so he has more time to focus on technique. Well, when he states this, he doesnt sell the idea that he likes it at all. So my question is – does running only 4 primary plays for the offensive line really work? and is this one of the reasons that USC cant get the top talent on the o-line anymore? is this the reason… Read more »
@gametv USC now runs the Air Raid, an offense you have never wanted USC to be saddled with. I don’t see you happy with the Trojan offense while running this system, period. You probably have a lot of company.
i would be quite content with an offense similar to LSU with Joe Burrow. that was still a very pass-centric offense, using spread formations and alot of receivers and tempo. all similar to the air raid. but they still had the ability to run the ball when required and have not given up on dominating the line of scrimmage. LSU has to play top teams in the SEC all year long. USC’s offense would get crushed if it had to play Alabama, Georgia, Texas, etc. But if we are going to compare SC’s total offensive output, I want to compare… Read more »
I’m sure most of us would be happy with a USC offense that mimicked that of possibly the greatest and most dominant college football team ever assembled in the game’s history.
Bleacher Report (Brad Shepard) — Transfer Portal: 14 Dream Pac-12/Big Ten Transfers to Teams Playing in 2020 Kedon Slovis to LSU Remember the last transfer quarterback from a blue-blood program who decided to finish his career on the Bayou? Yeah, that worked out pretty well for Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, who bolted Ohio State and wound up having arguably the best passing season ever while leading LSU to last year’s national title. Now, the Tigers have to find a way to replace the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. And while head coach Ed Orgeron must move on… Read more »
Interesting thought. As 2020 is not being played, it is the perfect time to transfer to other programs. You will not play in the Pac, so why not transfer to a program that has a culture and administrations that actually care about football? I had never thought about this, but, to be honest, the elite Pac kids would be foolish not to think about this. Imagine what would happen if Kedon, Drake Jackson, and few others were to leave for the SEC?
Here’s another one for you from Bleacher Report: Amon-Ra St. Brown to Notre Dame Let’s stay with the USC Trojans, who were going to trot out a pretty prolific offense in 2020 with Kedon Slovis and all those receiving weapons. With the Pac-12 sitting at home and waiting out the pandemic, why not give the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a star playmaker like Amon-Ra St. Brown? After all, he could have wound up in South Bend anyway. Head coach Brian Kelly was deep into the recruiting battle for Amon-Ra, especially after his older brother, Equanimeous, played for the Irish before moving on to the… Read more »
Do me a favor Allen. If that scenario comes true, keep me away from sharp objects. Good grief!!! 💀
Well, if the team is gutted, Helton won’t put it back together. We can finally cut that walking, talking cancer loose.
If all of our returning stars transfer to a school that plays football, it would be another way to show to the powers that be in University Park the folly of staying in the Pac-12, (as an additional bonus to finally getting rid of Hugs).
I would be more pleased if Folt lost her job and Caruso was removed from the BOT. Those the the people that made the decision to vote against playing and retained Clay Helton.
Take the chains off Bohn’s legs and let him run with this thing already!