The 2018 coaching carousel doesn’t look like it’ll spin anywhere near as quickly as the last two years did. But if there are any big jobs to open, the biggest with questions surrounding them are Ohio State, Auburn, and USC.
Malzahn and Helton got Dreaded Votes of Confidence, and Meyer gave himself one, too
Auburn and USC’s ADs have officially said The Right Thing. Urban Meyer has declared he’ll be back. Now, what will happen when the season ends?
At these bluest of blue bloods the seats that aren’t quite hot yet for Urban Meyer, Gus Malzahn, or Clay Helton, but they are each interesting.
Meyer’s situation doesn’t have a ton to do with on-field stuff, though the Buckeyes have indeed struggled for reasons that go back to him. The Zack Smith scandal is a black mark on the program, while Meyer’s health concerns are a factor. For now, Meyer’s vote of confidence is coming from himself.
Helton and Malzahn are taking their votes of confidence from a much more conventional place: their bosses.
“I believe in him,” Swann said during a segment on Trojans Live. “I like the position that he takes. He is passionate about what he does. He is honest and real in what he wants to accomplish and how he wants to accomplish it. There is no false chatter.”
“He’ll be the coach next year, and I’m confident that he’s going to — he’s already proven that we can get through adversity,” Greene said. “Every team has it, and I’m looking forward to working with him for a long time.”
While there are cases for making changes, each still has a reasonable argument to stick around.
Meyer’s situation is obviously more about whether he wants to stay than about whether his school wants him to stay. His incredible consistency makes a season in which his team will finish 9-3 at the absolute worst look like the program is irreparably broken. Ohio State nearly made the Playoff last year and is still in contention to do so this season.
Meyer and Malzahn are among the foremost offensive minds in college football. Malzahn’s work with Auburn’s running game over the years is one reason they’ve been able to compete consistently. Auburn beat both participants in last year’s national championship game and was an SEC title game win from the Playoff. The root of Auburn’s issues start on the offense line after losing three NFL talents, but that is still an issue for an offense that stakes its identity to the running game. The pro-Gus view would mean arguing he can eventually repair this offense.
Helton has youth and injuries as plausible excuses for a lack of success. USC didn’t exactly have its quarterback situation settled, but JT Daniels’ injury struggles has thrown that position into disarray. The level of squandered talent at USC is indeed absurd, but if I’m Helton, I’ve already given Swann a pound of flesh. Helton fired offensive line coach Neil Callaway and effectively demoted offensive coordinator Tee Martin by stripping him of play-calling duties.
But after Helton took over, the offense immediately played well against a bad Oregon State team, but holding onto the game after squandering a 21-0 lead is noteworthy for a team that has struggled with consistency.
There’s enough to earn another year, if only barely.
When you get the vote of confidence from up above, it doesn’t guarantee you stick around for another year.
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