USC football coaching search: Where candidates stand as new schools enter the carousel

It got a small spot much crowded connected the coaching carousel connected Sunday. Florida joined USC and the different ranks of schools searching for a caller caput manager aft firing Dan Mullen aft an overtime nonaccomplishment to Missouri.

The Gators are different prominent, charismatic opening, joining LSU and the Trojans’ Pac-12 rivals Washington and Washington State among schools looking for caller leaders of their programs.

These caller openings corroborate that it was a bully thought for USC to occurrence Clay Helton arsenic aboriginal arsenic it did.

Athletic manager Mike Bohn and main of unit Brandon Sosna person had an other 2 months to behaviour a coaching hunt by making the alteration successful September. Other schools are conscionable starting the process, but USC’s caput commencement has fixed the Trojans the accidental to behaviour inheritance checks, tally down a agelong database of imaginable candidates and person discussions with agents already.

That doesn’t mean that schools similar LSU and Florida aren’t competitors with USC for talent, though. Here’s a look astatine immoderate imaginable USC candidates and whether they whitethorn beryllium fits astatine competing schools:

Dave Aranda, Baylor

Prior to taking implicit the Bears successful 2020, Aranda was the antiaircraft coordinator astatine LSU during the Tigers’ 2019 nationalist title run. This has led to a batch of speculation astir Aranda replacing Ed Orgeron successful Baton Rouge. But LSU diversion manager Scott Woodward is simply a large food hunter; he’s the feline who convinced Jimbo Fisher to permission Florida State for Texas A&M. So would helium privation to prosecute a manager with lone 2 years acquisition moving a program? And it’s not similar Aranda doesn’t person ties astatine USC aft interviewing for the Trojans’ antiaircraft coordinator presumption aft the 2019 season.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State

Campbell has nary ties to these competing universities to talk of; he’s spent his full vocation successful the Midwest and it remains to beryllium seen if helium considers himself a acceptable successful the SEC oregon adjacent the Pac-12 astatine a schoolhouse similar USC.

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

Like Campbell, Fickell is simply a Midwest lifer, though he’s adjacent much circumstantial successful that he’s ne'er coached extracurricular the authorities of Ohio. It’s wherefore galore speculate that helium would beryllium hesitant to permission Cincinnati — helium turned down the Michigan State occupation successful 2020 — for anyplace different than his alma mater, Ohio State.

James Franklin, Penn State

Franklin has SEC experience, which would beryllium a positive astatine LSU and Florida. After all, if helium could get Vanderbilt into the Top 25, you’d person to ideate helium could person much occurrence astatine SEC programs with deeper resources. But Franklin’s 11-9 grounds the past 2 years could scare distant programs similar USC and others.