No school, not even USC can afford to fire a coach after a year like the one Clay Helton had. USC wants a big time coach, but they wont get it if they fire guys too easily. There are far too many good jobs available every off season in college football. Clay Helton has a Rose bowl and Pac-12 championship during his short tenure. an 8-4 season with 2 expected losses and 2 somewhat respectable losses (BYU was a trap game) is not bad. The whole recruiting thing is moot. He will get more guys before signing day and that will improve. He already has multiple 4 start commits for 2021. They made the right call to keep him.