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Will USC’s Clay Helton survive as head coach? Probably not according to MyBookie oddsmakers.

After a getting clobbered by Utah, it’s clear that year three for the Helton-led Trojans isn’t going well.

By Jack Follman
NCAA Football: Southern California at Utah Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Oddsmakers at MyBookie.ag, America’s most trusted sportsbook, list even odds that Helton will be relieved of his coaching duties before the season is over.

Will USC Trojan Coach Clay Helton be fired during the Season

  • Yes 5/6 (-120)
  • No 5/6 (-120)

Expectations are always high at USC, further boosted by the talent on the roster and a weak Pac-12. Merely being above average isn’t good enough for the West Coast heavyweight. Their Blue-Chip Ratio tells the story; 71 percent of the roster is a top recruit. Of the three programs who have eclipsed 70 percent in recent years, USC is the only one that hasn’t won a national title.

It’s been 14 years since the last championship was claimed by the Trojans under Head Coach Pete Carroll. Which raises the question, would Carroll consider a return to LA?

NFL: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

MyBookie is out with a prop-bet offering odds on Carroll returning to USC for the 2019 season.

Will Pete Carroll return as Head Coach at USC in 2019

  • Yes 5/2 (+250)
  • No 1/4 (-400)

On the surface, this seems to be an unlikely scenario.

The winningest coach in Seahawks history, Carroll’s contract with Seattle is good until the end of the 2019 NFL season and will pay him a reported $8 million next year. But expectations in Seattle have changed since Carroll took over in 2010, and the team definitely took a step back last year - missing in the playoffs for only the 2nd time in his tenure. Perhaps he feels the heat, evidenced by a change at both coordinator positions this offseason.

The bigger problem could be his mismanagement of the divide in the Seahawks locker room. Seattle’s defensive players perceived strong favoritism toward QB Russell Wilson, and the once-dominant “Legion of Boom” has jettisoned, punctuated by the middle-finger farewell directed at Carroll from Earl Thomas as he was carted off the field.

As the odds suggest, Carroll’s return to USC is unlikely – but if the wheels come off the Seahawks and Trojans down the stretch, don’t rule out the possibility.

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