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USC fans on social media were not exactly pleased to hear reports that Clay Helton will return as the Trojans head coach.
On Tuesday night, a report from Zach Barnett of Football Scoop set off a firestorm of anger and protest from USC fans across social media.
What was the report? Clay Helton will be retained as the Trojan head coach.
Barnett was later backed up by a handful of other reporters indicating the Trojans’ plan to keep Helton in place.
USC Twitter did not take it well…
— Mitchell LeBlanc (@MitchLeBlanc13) December 4, 2019
— dave schwartz (@davesch77551372) December 4, 2019
You were the chosen one Mike@USC_mikebohn pic.twitter.com/DoYoqH4wTY
— Barstool SC (@BarstoolSC) December 4, 2019
I am a Navy veteran and I am having a hard time not listing every curse word I can think of or make up. I walked away and haven’t watched her baseball since the 1995 strike. If they announce they are keeping this POS I am done. Dumpster fire!
— Bob-O (@upsetUSC_Alum) December 4, 2019
USC leadership is sending the message it intends to send: excellence in football is not a priority. I will send my own message by not going or caring anymore.
— Judy Madden (@allmaddenmom) December 4, 2019
What a mess for USC football and the new AD. Gonna see donations come to a standstill. If they can’t get Urban anybody would be an improvement. Helton might be a “good man”, but he is a terrible football coach. Another doomed recruiting year which is the lifeblood of any sport.
— Jeff Tebbs (@JeffTebbs) December 4, 2019
Never have I seen such out of touch incompetence in all of my life. @USC_mikebohn had ONE job to do and now in less than month he will be the most hated athletic director of all time. So much for listening.
— William Casey Wells (@wc_wells) December 4, 2019
If this is true and football scoop is reliable, my Saturdays next fall are all clear if anyone is looking to do anything other than watch USC games. Won’t be in Dallas to watch that blow out either. https://t.co/hLK6lOO6Ll
— Sports Untrained (@SportsUntrained) December 4, 2019
If this is what your rivals are writing about keeping Clay Helton - that "Christmas came early" - do you really think this will end well? @USC_mikebohn @PresidentFolt pic.twitter.com/UxNpmJMqCY
— Tanner Watkins (@tannerjwatkins) December 4, 2019
USC decided to keep Clay Helton. I’m extremely upset. The best use of my time at this moment is heading to Southern Cal to protest this decision. #FireHelton pic.twitter.com/WitSO0CnQp
— Payton Carson (@payton_carson) December 4, 2019
Clayton Helton is still our Coach Face pic.twitter.com/75tf54McAR
— Andrew Saporetti (@AndrewSaporetti) December 4, 2019
That’s just a sample. The overwhelming majority of responses echo similar sentiments.
BarstoolSC tried to capture the mood of the fanbase with a thread of DMs from fans reacting to the news:
In the past few hours I’ve gotten dozens of messages of:
— Barstool SC (@BarstoolSC) December 4, 2019
I’ve had it, I’m a x-year season ticket holder and I’m out. This school doesn’t give a shit about football anymore and I’m done
IS CLAY HELTON WORTH ALL THIS MIKE? Of all the hills to die on, it’s THIS GUY?! THIS IS IT?? pic.twitter.com/t5ksmYXP9y
If you don’t want me to post DMs just let me know, but I think it would be helpful to start a thread of all the venting, personal stories, and individual reactions of you good people to the concept of Helton return
— Barstool SC (@BarstoolSC) December 4, 2019
Troy is burning
(A thread) pic.twitter.com/A6cEN3j29R
TMB isn’t pleased either... pic.twitter.com/KjelnbZG3r
— Barstool SC (@BarstoolSC) December 4, 2019
— Barstool SC (@BarstoolSC) December 4, 2019
To be fair, while a majority of fans on social media have their pitchforks out, not everyone is anti-Helton.
For people who don’t get it, the players ride for their coach. “Fans” may hate him, but his players love him and that’s way more important than outside opinions. This was also year 1 for the OC and Slovis who balled out. Ceiling is higher than it’s been in a while.
— Ryan Wesley (@coachwes_23) December 4, 2019
Former USC longsnapper, and blind golf champion, Jake Olson spent most of Tuesday trying to calm down the frenzy.
To those saying that Helton was just good for stability after Sark but now we can move on: seems u forgot we had to hire a new AD, new prez, pay a 250M lawsuit, fire 2 health deans, a buisness dean, and had an admissions scandal. If we needed stability then we sure need it now!
— Jake Olson (@JakeOlson61) December 3, 2019
Amen Jake. After a down ridden 5-7 season, down to a 3rd string QB, loosing the top 3 RB's , multiple 2ndary injuries, Helton improves to 8-4. Remember, the win vs Utah was with a 3rd string QB folks. Any other program beating a top 10 team with a 3rd string QB? Just asking.
— Stuart Hoffman (@drstuarthoffman) December 3, 2019
Well the conniption everyone is having isn’t helping. I understand the frustration, I’m frustrated! But again we just won 8-nine games with a back up quarterback who looked really good. Be patient and calm down. If we have Helton for 2 more years we’ll be fine!
— Jake Olson (@JakeOlson61) December 3, 2019
Then you stay on course and fire him after his contract ends. When you’re in a better position to hire someone else as well. But let me ask you, what if we beat Bama? What if we win the Pac 12 again? What happens then?
— Jake Olson (@JakeOlson61) December 3, 2019
As for where the Trojans go from here? Let’s start with Andy Staples of The Athletic pointing out the state of USC’s Trojan Athletic Fund donor website:
In case you’re wondering, a person still couldn’t log into their Trojan Athletic Fund account if they wanted to, say, change the amount of money they donate to the program. What a spectacular coincidence. pic.twitter.com/4LUlltA7nS
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) December 4, 2019
There may be an innocent explanation for that. USC could indeed be “upgrading” the online account experience, though what an unfortunate (or fortunate depending on your perspective) week to be doing it.
Alternatively, perhaps a flood of donors attempting to access the site after the Helton news broke on Tuesday night crashed the site. Of course, that explanation does nothing to lessen the embarrassment. It means Trojan fans are speaking with their wallets.
They may also be speaking with their feet in the 2020 season. At least that’s what you could determine from the results of USC Psycho’s Twitter poll, with a strong majority of fans indicating they will attend fewer or no games if Helton returns.
If Clay Helton is #USC's head coach in 2020 will you go to...
— USC Psycho ? (@uscpsycho) December 4, 2019
cc @USC_mikebohn @PresidentFolt
Social media only wields so much power though. According to former Trojan player Petros Papadakis, the unrest is not contained to just Twitter.
The South Bay is fighting back so hard right now
— Petros Papadakis (@Theoldp) December 4, 2019
“The South Bay is fighting back so hard right now,” Petros wrote on Wednesday morning.
The question now, as the Trojan family awaits official word on Helton’s fate, is whether the discontent will have an impact.